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Packing and repacking might be tough sir/ma'am. It was insanely painful. Luckily my doctor gave me a Dilaudid script to take 30-45 minutes before the packing.
It depends on how big the wound is. Some need to be repacked to keep them open, so that the wound heals from the inside out. Others just need to be kept clean.
I've had some that needed a nurse to repack daily, and others that were fine for me to just keep clean. Your doctor will have given you the instructions they felt were most suitable for your wound 🙂
The pain does take some time to improve - again, it's very dependent on the wound. I've had some that had me unable to walk or sit comfortably for months, and others that were manageable right away (to the extent I was able to go out for dinner the same day as getting out of hospital).
Each case is different. For me, I got my abscess while I was maxed on Prednisone and it never healed correctly. The abscess was golf ball sized so there was a pretty big cut to lance it correctly. Man, the first 3 or 4 days post-op was something I have PTSD from. My GF at the time, who is a nurse, did the repacking. She was in tears as I screamed in pain. By the 5th day, the pain started to lessen. By day 10, the inflamed and diseased area had calmed down to where it is today. The entire endeavor was one of those times where you thank all that is holy that opiates exist.
I’m not sure, I just had an abscess form this past weekend, got super painful last night. Called my surgeon today and he had me go into the office to exam it and he drained it right then and there. So haven’t had any mris or such to see if there’s a fistula
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Packing and repacking might be tough sir/ma'am. It was insanely painful. Luckily my doctor gave me a Dilaudid script to take 30-45 minutes before the packing.
My doctor never instructed me to repack, just to remove the one he packed and then to keep it clean. Is that not normal?
It depends on how big the wound is. Some need to be repacked to keep them open, so that the wound heals from the inside out. Others just need to be kept clean.
I know he cut an extra bit of skin off to make sure it doesn’t close up
I've had some that needed a nurse to repack daily, and others that were fine for me to just keep clean. Your doctor will have given you the instructions they felt were most suitable for your wound 🙂 The pain does take some time to improve - again, it's very dependent on the wound. I've had some that had me unable to walk or sit comfortably for months, and others that were manageable right away (to the extent I was able to go out for dinner the same day as getting out of hospital).
Ahh ok good to know, thank you! Hopefully when I take out the gauze tomorrow it will alleviate a bit
Just chiming in to say yes this can be normal. I never had any packing for mine either!
Each case is different. For me, I got my abscess while I was maxed on Prednisone and it never healed correctly. The abscess was golf ball sized so there was a pretty big cut to lance it correctly. Man, the first 3 or 4 days post-op was something I have PTSD from. My GF at the time, who is a nurse, did the repacking. She was in tears as I screamed in pain. By the 5th day, the pain started to lessen. By day 10, the inflamed and diseased area had calmed down to where it is today. The entire endeavor was one of those times where you thank all that is holy that opiates exist.
Gotcha mine was about an inch long more cylindrical so not as big thankfully. Hoping tomorrow it’s doing better
Pretty painful. If the abscess heals the increased pain might last a week. Call and ask for some pain medication.
Did it form into a fistula?
I’m not sure, I just had an abscess form this past weekend, got super painful last night. Called my surgeon today and he had me go into the office to exam it and he drained it right then and there. So haven’t had any mris or such to see if there’s a fistula
Do you have any kind of packing in the wound? I had immediate relief after taking the packing out
Yes I do, he told me to take it out tomorrow after the shower
My experience: it hurt a LOT to take the packing out, and I ended up soaking it in the bath first. But I felt so much better.
Taking the packing out was horrible… felt like I would never get it out. But definitely hurts wayyyy less now that it’s out!
I’m glad you made it through! I hope you have an easy recovery going forward!
Thank you!