Angry, worried, but mostly scared stiff......
Posted , 16 users are following.
Quick recap first, TKR #1 March 6th, TKR #2 October 29th. Making excellent progress with #2, bend now at 95, extension -5 but working hard on it. ROM good, sleeping ok.......
Then a few days ago, I noticed a small area on my incision was looking a bit red and inflamed. I kept a close eye on it, then yesterday there was a small amount of weeping and blood from it. I had physio yesterday, so asked them to have a look. 3 of them looked, and advised me to get it properly checked. I rang my GP surgery, all they had was an appointment with the Practice Nurse, which I took. She had a good look, and decided she wanted a second opinion, so fetched the duty GP out from his consultation. He spent less than a minute looking at it, proclaimed that it was an area that was slow to heal, there was no infection. Great news - although this idiot doctor told me 16 months ago there was nothing wrong with my knees......5 months later I was booked in for TKR.....
Anyway, I digress. Forward to this evening, I rubbed the skin next to the inflamed area as it was a bit sore, and green pus came out of it!
I've cleaned it with salt water, gently dried it, and covered it with a sterile dressing. I've also phoned the Surgical ward I was on for advice, and the lovely nurse told me I need to go back to GP and get them to do a swab to establish if there's anything growing......bloody GP should have done that yesterday!! Of course it's now the weekend, so no GP surgery until Monday....... her advice on that was to monitor it, and if it gets noticeably worse, or more painful, then I am to go to A&E......
So that's me tonight. Terrified that it could be serious, fuming at the Doctor, and willing the night to pass so I can see what tomorrow brings....
Thanks for reading, I know you guys will understand how scared I am just now xx
2 likes, 30 replies
angela52217 terri59470
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I am so very sorry to hear this but you must go to A&E not the emergency walk in clinic which we were not overly impressed with. Daughter and I took my husband recently and although they said they thought he was probably OK said he needed routine tests which they cannot do so go to A&E. You definitely need a test so go straight there.
Angela
ElaineA terri59470
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liz00723 terri59470
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Just read your posting. Not surprised that you are worried, I would be to. I was operated on 3 days before you and this morning one area where one of the staples was is ever so slightly spotting blood I would say. I am keeping a close eye on it. I put Vaseline on the scar which the nurse told me to do.
please let us know how you get on.
liz
RethaT terri59470
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irish_linda terri59470
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terri59470
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Just back from A&E (Emergency Room) and all is well!
It just appears to be a little bit of a dissolvable stitch that's causing some surface irritation, and that's why it was a bit gunky. It was thoroughly examined and there's no evidence of systemic infection, it's not hot, I'm not running a fever, and the inflammation is receding. It's been dressed, and I've got some further dressings so that I can keep checking on it but re-dress it afterwards.
I was told that I did absolutely the right thing in getting it checked out, and I'm to keep an eye on it, but the Dr said she was confident that there was nothing untoward going on.
So PHEW!! What a relief!
I can't thank you all enough, you really helped by being so supportive - I don't think that anyone who hasn't been through this surgery understands how terrifying the prospect of infection is.
And finally, a big shout out and thumbs up to the NHS. From Reception, through to Triage, then through to the Doctor, took half an hour! I know some people are unlucky and have terrible experiences of substandard care, but I can't praise them enough.
Thanks again everyone, I'm off to do some exercises, then I feel a nap coming on 😴
irish_linda terri59470
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ElaineA terri59470
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debz13 terri59470
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That is excellent news! I am so happy that it wasn't an infection!
Wonderful that you were able to be seen so quickly.
Thanks for letting us know the great news.
Happy exercising!
patsyrose terri59470
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Take a deep breath now...onwards and upwards!
Patsy
liz00723 terri59470
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Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Liz
cheryl90571 terri59470
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Here is a tip from my nurse at the hospital: Take your temperature throughout the day for awhile. That will keep you feeling confident that all is well. If your temperature goes up, you will know RIGHT AWAY and can act accordingly.
Taking my temperature helped me feel at ease that all was STAYING well.
Get some rest, relax, and enjoy the welcome sense of relief!
chrishappy terri59470
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pyesangel terri59470
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pam1313 terri59470
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