I now have an internal infection

Bless you. I hope it helps and continues to heal.

Changing bandages and packing the wound isn't very hard. I had a nurse show me once and then I did it myself but I did it daily.

When I had a csection a few years back I had an abscess caused by the pain pump they gave me. I had a big red spot on my stomach it was really hard and hurt. Went to the ER they numbed the area with a local anesthetic cut it open to try to drain it,then packed it. Went back the next day and the packing was dry they pulled out the packing (worst part because it was dry) they did not repack it since it was dry. A few days later I was laying on the couch and it started draining (gross I know). I was on antibiotics at the same time. Sounds like that is what they will do to you. Just sharing how the process went, it was not really serious, just uncomfortable. Mostly a burning sensation no worries :) Goodluck!

Your avatar reminds me of Britney with the baby on her lap. Please don't crash, you'll kill him!! It's probably safer to put him on the seat next to you. He will be so happy.

I guess if you get your egg drained it will at least give instant relief rather than waiting ages. Let us know how you get along!

Great news. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. I went to the Dr again today. He did have to lance the infection and clean it out, but the short term pain from the lancing or actually deadening of the area, was nothing compared to the excruciating pain I had been in. It no longer hurts like hell to just sit up from laying down. I feel like I can actually do a sit up or actaully a bunch of them now. I won't be pushing it though and do anything stupid like that.

The Dr told me again it is going to hurt the same way he did on Monday. I looked at him and said, is that the best way to go about breaking this news? He was a bit stunned that I said something. He looked up and saw the look in my eyes, they were smiling somewhat. He said, I am just trying to be honest with you. I told him I know and he said he was sorry, that he did see how saying it that way could feel a bit uncaring. I never said that to him, he got it after thinking about it. The rest of the visit went very well, we joked with each other, and we parted with much more respect for one another. He genuinely sounded concerned and told me to call if anything else comes up, otherwise, see you in three weeks.

Oh yeah, he referred me to the wound care department at the hospital, my first visit will be Friday morning. They will assess the wound and schedule my return visits accordingly.

hope your follow  up at wound care went well today.

Thank you for checking. Yes it went well.  They sure have a lot better products to choose from than the dr did. They even sent home some of the same stuff they used today. 

I asked how long they thought it will take four my wound to heal, and they said that it should be healed within about a month. 

So, good news all around. :-)

great news all around, mike. here's to wishing you a smooth road ahead. now that others have chimed in as well as yourself it is in fact pretty much exactly as my "wound" was. it's where the "tube" was sticking out of my side and was just...ow! it got drained one time and though still a bit painful i was greatly relieved, also. now....on to some weight loss for you!

all my best to you and yours, and Happy New Year 

Even in the worst case scenario, you DONT have to go to the hospital to ahve it unpacked and re-packed! It is very simple to have a nurse show you how to do it at home.  That is what MOST people do.

My tummy tuck incision turned necrotic -- about 3/4 of the incision -- and had to have a LOT of dead tissue cut away and therefore ended up with two sections of open wounds (one of which was so deep at the center that I could see the muscle fascia) that had to be cleaned and re-packed twice a day for FIVE months. It is disgusting until you get used to it, but it isn't rocket science and you absolutely CAN do it yourself. 

Besides, if there is any infection remaining (as with my tissue that was still prone to dying), you MUST change the packing at least daily.

Take a deep breath, though. They usually advise to keep the area VERY clean with an antibiotic soap (which you didn't mention), so if you are not already doing this, I would suggest calling the surgeon's office -- or perhaps your PCP rather than your surgeon -- and asking about whether you should be doing this.

Lora

Thanks Raze, mine wasn't the drain tube incision, it was the lower left one where they did all of the work from. It is getting to be less painful by the day. :-).

I am changing my outer bandages daily. The inner bandages are being changed by the wound care nurse at the hospital. I am very happy that you were able to do your own bandaging, I am doing my own outer bandaging, but the inner bandages, I am leaving for the nurse. For one, I can't even see what I'm doing, to do it properly.