Abcessed after surgery :-|

[Ice456 0]

Ugh, so what I have been going through since my surgery...

I was out from college/work for the week right after the surgery, back in school the next week, then my lower abdomen started killing me... I went to my surgeon and my PCP... my PCP found the bladder infection, we killed it with antibiotics, meanwhile I went back to class... about 2 days after my infection was gone, and I was feeling somewhat human again, I started getting these stabbing, shooting, killer pains in my back and side. Long story short, I told my surgeon and PCP over and over that something was wrong, but my surgeon sent me away and my PCP couldn't find anything and diagnosed me with "anxiety," telling me I needed to stop focusing on the pain (which, by the way, felt like someone had a knife and was twisting it into my back!). I finally started to give up on them finding anything, but I had noticed a swelling in my abdomen. I showed my surgeon, who told me that it had always been there and if I regularly felt my stomach, I would have noticed it. I had just gotten my first fill, and he removed it just in case it was the pressure from the fill. I have hardly been eating anything in this time, by the way... I am losing about 7 lbs a week now. I really felt something was wrong and called a few times to say that the area was hot and red and painful... blah blah... it turned out that I had a freakin' abcess that had to be cut open this past Friday and drained. I have a 2 inch deep crater in my stomach that has to be packed full of gauze every day twice a day. So, that's been my life. My schoolwork is really suffering and my paychecks have been really low, if not absent. Anyone else experienecd something like this????

[Apples2 19]

Ice, so sorry that neither of your dr.s took notice of what you were going through. Wishing you a quick recovery.

Have you talked to your profs about your school work? Maybe they can give you some ideas as of how to catch up. Good luck to you.

[kathystrick 3]

Sorry you had to go through this, especially the aggrivation of the doctors trying not believing your feelings about your own body. GEEZ!! Glad you are feeling better now.

As Apple said, talk to your Professors and explain what happened. All they can say is no and at least you will have tried.

Good luck!

[SElaine 3]

Hi Ice456,

Yes, I've gone through something similar... twice. I've had a series of abcsesses that required surgery and draining. One was so severe they had to remove part of my liver that attached itself to the abcsess and became infected. I've also had to have a series of blood transfusions. I understand what you mean about the stabbing pain.

I didn't know what it was at first, either. I went to the PCP and an urgent care facility and got no help whatsoever. The best I got was "you have the flu, sleep it off and get plenty of liquids." (I had a fever and was complaining of severe, stabbing abdominal pain.)

The good news is my lap-band docs believed me the first time I called and I was in the hospital having a CT scan within hours. A few hours after that I was in surgery.

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this as well. Contact me anytime if you want to talk.