6 Weeks post-op. Is this pain normal?

[JessPeper]

I was diagnosed with Crohns disease in April of last year. On March 14th I went to the ER with extreme abdominal pain. I ended up having emergency surgery that evening. The surgeon took out 8 inches from the ileum through the cecum. I have 6 inch incision from just above my belly button down. The incision it's self isn't healing the way that it was supposed to, I have hole about an inch in diameter below my belly button that has been being packed for the last three weeks. As far as that goes I don't have any pain. The muscle to the right of my incision kills. I sneeze and I double over in pain. When I saw my surgeon last week she didn't seem too concerned with the pain, its all part of healing. Has anyone else experienced this sort of pain? If so how long did it last? Something has got to give.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

I was diagnosed with Crohns disease in April of last year. On March 14th I went to the ER with extreme abdominal pain. I ended up having emergency surgery that evening. The surgeon took out 8 inches from the ileum through the cecum. I have 6 inch incision from just above my belly button down. The incision it's self isn't healing the way that it was supposed to, I have hole about an inch in diameter below my belly button that has been being packed for the last three weeks. As far as that goes I don't have any pain. The muscle to the right of my incision kills. I sneeze and I double over in pain. When I saw my surgeon last week she didn't seem too concerned with the pain, its all part of healing. Has anyone else experienced this sort of pain? If so how long did it last? Something has got to give.

I certainly did not experience anything like this. I know 4 weeks after my surgery I was running for a train and this caused me to feel some discomfort but was fine again pretty quickly. I remember feeling very well by 6 weeks. I would ask to get scanned. I am also wondering about hernia

 

[cmack]

Hi JessPeper,

Welcome, I'm very sorry to hear of the pain that you are having. Do you have allergies? Maybe you might ask about an antihistamine. I have hay fever and when I had surgery and sneezed it really hurt, especially with stitches still in place.


I hope the pain gets better,

cmack

 

[JessPeper]

Hi Cmack,

I do have allergies. That's my big struggle right now, the pollen around here is crazy. I take allergy medication daily. It just doesn't seem to be helping lately.

 

[JessPeper]

I certainly did not experience anything like this. I know 4 weeks after my surgery I was running for a train and this caused me to feel some discomfort but was fine again pretty quickly. I remember feeling very well by 6 weeks. I would ask to get scanned. I am also wondering about hernia

When I saw the surgeon last week she checked for a hernia below my open wound because I had mentioned to her that there was some pain there that wasn't there before. The muscle pain to the right of my incision has been there all along but as of recently has gotten worse. She did say it could be from being more active. I went back to work three weeks after surgery. From what she tells me most people are just coming back now. Maybe just a case of too much too soon. After a miserable night, I plan to call her this morning in hopes of her being able to see me before my appointment next Thursday. Thank you for you response! Its nice to hear from someone that's been through it!

 

[JessPeper]

Update

Saw my surgeon yesterday. My wound on my belly is not healing, she says its because of the Lialda. Going to switch from packing it twice a week to packing it daily. I'm having a CT scan on Tuesday to check for adhesions and to see if there is anything else holding the belly back from healing. The thought of the adhesions scares me, she told me the fix for that is another surgery, this one would be less invasive. Just the thought of having another incision that may or may not heal like it should is just plain scary!

 

[cmack]

Hi Jess,

I know the feeling when it comes to surgery. I'm here if you want to talk.


Best regards,

cmack

 

[JessPeper]

Update:

Saw my surgeon again today. She was able to give me the results from my CT. I do have adhesions but only small ones not anything that they would need to operate on. My open wound has some inflammation around it so she is going to start me on an antibiotic. My colon looks healthy no signs of inflammation!

I am on the mend, just slower than I would like!

 

[cmack]

Jess,

I'm happy for you that you don't need any more surgery. I hope you keep getting better and continue to heal.

 

[JessPeper]

Jess,

I'm happy for you that you don't need any more surgery. I hope you keep getting better and continue to heal.

Thanks Cmack!

 

[ronroush7]

Jess,

I'm happy for you that you don't need any more surgery. I hope you keep getting better and continue to heal.

I agree

 

[JessPeper]

Thanks Ron!!

 

[ronroush7]

Welcome