I have a pocket of fluid along the incision line. It apparently is not infection, the Dr. did not prescribe antibiotics. Terry and I drained most of it at home. We called the Dr.'s office and were told to come in immediately. At first he said infection, but as Terry pointed out when he saw it infection never came up again and the treatment was different. He used some forceps to open a hole in my abdomen, no pain. He then "wallered" the forceps around in the hole to increase the drainage. Terry had to avert her head as he was sticking that instrument about two and a half inches into my body. After he was satisfied the drainage stopped he put some type of a ribbon into the wound, about 8 to 10 inches of it, left a portion out and told me that was for me to pull it out on Friday. This was a Wednesday when we saw him. His instructions to us were to wait till Friday, take the bandage off, and using a sterilized cotton swab swab the wound with peroxide. We were to insert the swab into the hole in my side to keep it open and draining until it healed on its own.
In the meantime I still am plagued by fecal matter burning my anal area. At times it gets quite intense. I frequently have a BM, and they are now mostly formed. There is a progression going on from very loose, shapeless, debris to round, small but formed stools. The consistency may be firming up, last night they were like glue, in fact it took a while for them to drop. Also on the 2 AM to 6 AM episodes the stools were formed and not just loose material as the night before. So that is encouraging. However, the fecal matter sticks quite stubbornly to my anal area and just burns the skin immediately. I have taken to getting up and cleaning myself as best I can as soon as I feel the burning sensation even though I may not have a BM.
Terry and I saw the oncologist on Thursday, and maintenance chemo will be delayed until the fluid pocket is healed. The oncologists did tell when I asked if he had any wisdom that might ease my predicament that I should take one Immodium when I go to bed. The idea is to slow the movement of fecal material through the system to give my system time to recover. I did take an Immodium and did not experience any BM's until 2 AM, which provided me with some much needed sleep and relief.
I have been going some this morning and suffering the burning sensation. I am also going to try a Low Residue Diet that is supposed to reduce the amount of waste produced and thereby increase the time between BM's.
Are there good signs? Yes. I am able to urinate standing up without feeling like I will have an accident. While there is pain from the fecal matter contacting the skin, I am not really suffering the bloating, gas pain and upset stomach I had for over a year earlier. I do feel like if the large intestine is able to reduce the water content of the fecal material some more and slow the process that I may return to a somewhat normal digestive regime. I pray for that. These pain is relentless and at times I almost feel as though I will go mad as I am not able to get relief. However, I do get relief. I just to a percocet, had a BM, cleaned myself with some Aloe Vera wipes and am sitting quite comfortably right now. However, tonight we shall begin the routine again.
I do believe things will work out. I want them to, they must.
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