Friday, December 25, 2009

NOT such a Merry Christmas

The reason you've not seen my tummy is that since Tuesday, it's been really bloated. I was told it's normal swelling and that it can be so discouraging because right out of surgery, it's perfectly flat. I was told it could be 6 weeks before it will be looking normal. Well, Wednesday when they removed the drains, she said about 1 in 15 women will have problems after the drains are out with too much fluid being gathered. She told me the warning sign is if you tap your belly and it wiggles like a water bed.

I awoke totally in pain with my belly as it is terribly distended. I was told too that after the drains come out, getting a bit more swollen there is normal, so I didn't pay much attention to it until I went to the bathroom this afternoon, and did the water bed test. I failed. So, here it is Christmas and I had to call my doctor. Fortunately, he made it very clear I could contact him with any questions at any time. He called me after I left a message with his service and we're meeting at the surgical center in an hour where he will draw the excess fluid out with a needle (YIKES!!!). He assures me I won't feel a thing as that part of the belly has no nerve sensation and advised me to simply look the other way.

PLEASE send positive vibes my way and a VERY happy holiday to all y'all!!!

UPDATE


Okay, I'm back. It didn't hurt, and I wasn't overreacting about my belly. He was very glad I called. He drained 42 cc's of fluid and I'm to return tomorrow to have it done again. UGH! He said  hopefully it wouldn't take too many times to get it under control, so who knows how many more times I'll have to have this done. He said if it doesn't resolve we may need to do another drain, but more likely he'd operate to fix the problem. Quite frankly I'd rather he operate than to do another drain. He said the likelihood of needing to go in again is 25%. Let's hope we can control it with the manual draining with the syringe. It was SO less traumatic than having the drains out.

3 comments:

lavenderdiva said...

OMG- sweetie! I'm so sorry you had this happen today! You were very brave with the needle thing-- I hope you had a xanax at the ready? Thank goodness your Dr. was available, and able to help you today. He does sound like a very good guy.

I hope whatever is causing the fluid retention/tummy distension is resolved, and you can carry on with your healing and recovery. Does the Dr. think its just something 'normal' that occasionally happens with this sort of surgery? Good to know that there's a 75% chance of NOT having to do anything other than another manual drainage. That is good news, at this point.

I'm sending you LOTS of good healing energy, and lots of very gentle hugs (nothing too tight near your tummy!)......

Christy said...

Yikes!!! I hope you're feeling better soon!

indigosfir3 said...

Don't be discouraged! From what I'm reading you've got weeks to normalize! I'm sending you energies for a healthy and harmonious healing!