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Pain after abscesses drainage?

Today I had some unexpected surgery to have a perinatal abscesses drained. I suspected it was there after seeing my surgeon today ( I had ileostomy surgery less than 3 weeks ago) he decided to put me under and drain and pack the abscesses.

I am now back home and I have been told that I am going to have a district nurse come out everyday to re pack my wound because I am unable to make it too my gp at the moment due to having countless complications after surgery.

My question today is that I am currently in a lot of pain from the various issues and I am exhausted from the past few months and I was wondering how painful it is to repack my wound? I was told the abscesses was about the size of a cherry tomato and it was drained completely. It is currently quite sore and I am unable to sit directly on it. I just don't know what to expect tomorrow and any information would be helpful so I can stop freaking out.

Thank you.
 
I just went through this exact situation and I was terrified it would be so painful!! I didn't hurt, not even a bit. It's uncomfortable having someone down there doing the packing every day but it does not hurt. At least it didn't for me. I only did packing for a week. This was a month ago for me now and it's still draining. My surgeon put a seton in cause I developped a fistula. Keep the area super clean and dry. I stick a 4x4 piece of gauze between my cheeks to keep everything dry and it catches whatever drains. I change it every time I go to washroom. Once I was done with the packing I have a few very warm sitz baths every day. I got pain killers but only took them once the day of surgery. Hope it gets better for you.
Just a tip....the first time they changed it it did hurt a bit cause some blood had dried and made the packing difficult to pull out. Request that they wet it first and let it sit for a min or 2 just to loosen it up. I had no issue with any of the following ones.
 

DJW

Forum Monitor
I've had it done many times. It's not painfull. The nurse soaked my gauze in sterile water before packing the wound.
 
That's a relief! I woke up in so much pain from everything this morning I don't think I would be able to have handled the packing if it hurts! How long does it normally take to pack it?
 
That's a relief! I woke up in so much pain from everything this morning I don't think I would be able to have handled the packing if it hurts! How long does it normally take to pack it?
Only took me like 5 min. Mine is not deep or big however. Maybe take a pain killer before hand if worried about pain.
 
The nurse was unable to pack if with ribbon as it was too sore and painful so she is bringing a gel tomorrow to fill it with today. She found it quite difficult to find where the abscesses was and determine how big it was so I think mine is more internal? I'm new to abscesses so I don't really know what I'm talking about, I just know that I am finding it extremely painful post surgery and the pain is more intense than before it was drained :(
 
The nurse was unable to pack if with ribbon as it was too sore and painful so she is bringing a gel tomorrow to fill it with instead . She found it quite difficult to find where the abscesses was and determine how big it was so I think mine is more internal? I'm new to abscesses so I don't really know what I'm talking about, I just know that I am finding it extremely painful post surgery and the pain is more intense than before it was drained :(
 
Hmmm...sorry about that! Maybe it is deeper/ more internal. I know I could actually see the packing poking out and it was just a very small piece so I am guessing mine isn't deep or large. How did it go today?
 
The gel was so much better, didn't hurt at all and it even soothed the area for a short while, although the pain quickly returned :(

I'm also getting a lot of foul smelling pus draining from the abscesses and there is quite a large lump from what I can feel ( too scared to look!) is this normal? I would have thought there wouldn't be a lump after an abscesses has had surgery done on it? I don't know what is normal and what I should look out for.
 
The draining is normal but I would be concerned if it's foul smelling and also if the lump/ abscess is returning. Are you on antibiotics?? Was the nurse concerned? My draining has no smell at all.
 
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