Saw the man with the open wound needing a wound vac and it brought back really scary...

When watching the Real Skinny, the show in general was very interesting but it also brought up some really FREAK OUT memories for me as well as the typical reactions to the loose skin that most of us had.  I have alot of loose skin and it was upsetting for me to see but when I saw the man with the severe infections needing  a wound vac - I nearly lost it.

Last winter when  I was in the hospital for a perforated and needed an illiostomy, the infection in my abdomen was so severe that they couldnt' close my incision.  They had to let it close from the inside out. The incision was from 5 inches below my belly button (which I cant find anymore) to 1 inch below my bra line.  It was 1 inch wide at the bottom and about 4 or 5 inches wide in the middle - it was pretty gross and I had to look at it every day when they changed the bandages 2 times per day.  Then at about 2 weeks, they decided it wasn't healing fast enough and they put in a wound vac which I thought would be great - they said it was a system that drained out all the fluid and helps it heal faster but they didn't tell me how painful it was putting in, while it was in and especially while they changed it which was every 2 days.  After 2 changes, I insisted on an IV push of morphine 10 minutes prior to them changing but it was still very painful -there are tons of nerve endings in the skin in your abdomen.  I had to have the wound vac for 4 weeks, they even had to transfer to a convalescent home for 2 weeks to heal but I got a complication and had to go back to the hospital which I was happy about - not the complication but going back to the hospital.  The wound vac kept leaking - it was within an inch of my illiostomy, so it was very difficult to change without disturbing the illiostomy, so they would both leak and I would have to have both changed and the nursed would get pissed off.  I finally got to go home when it was closed enough to have the wound vac taken out but I still had to pack it daily. 

Hey,
Did not see the show and who knows how long it will be until it hits Israel's Discovery Channel!??! I do however know all too well about the WoundVac as after my pannilectomy /apronectomy in August 2011, I developed a slough turned gangrene are maybe size of a dime around my non-belly button ( i insisted I did not need one so as to avoid any complication -yeah right !! Says the gal laying in hospital after debridement from mid-Sep until almost end of Oct.
I named the WoundVav Jack and took him for walks around the hospital on a wheelie cart.
As for pain-in hospital after Panni op I had to neg gor a pain med stronger than optalgin as nurses were concerned for constipation to which I tried explaining to them my RnY. However after debridement I got percocet almost whenever I asked. The pain OMG felt like burning pain down and in my mons when gangrene had been higher. And I learned very quickly to ask for liquid oxicod right before docs on Rounds came into my room in hospital.
I posted most of these medical tidbits in the Plastics Forum.
Mikimi in Israel

thank goodness I was in a large hospital in New York City with a great pain management department.  When I went into the hospital I was wearing a fentanyl patch of 50mcg and by time I left I was on 100mcg.  For quite some time I had a pain pump with dilaudid in it because morphine didnt' work on me.  After awhile, they took the pump away but they continued to give me the dilaudid through my IV every 3-4 hours depending on pain which was excrutiating - I had a perforated colon with sepsis, an iliostomy - part of my bowels removed because they died, a G Tube.  I almost died.  At that point I wished I had.  I was never in such pain in my life.  They sent me home on dilaudid at such a high dose that the pharmacy called the hospital to confirm and luckily the pharmacist knew me because one of them questioned if I was a drug seaker but the main pharmacist said it was okay.  I was on high dose every 3 hours for amonth and I slowly reduced my dose for the next 3 months - I still take it as needed 1 year later.

But wound vac was horrible - mine was about 12 inches by 5 inches and it was torture.  When I got up to walk, they usually disconnected it because I also had all my IV's and there were too many things to attach to the pole.  It was no fun.  I have to say the morphine they gave me before the vac change did nothing and now that I think about it, if it didn't work in the pain box, it wouldn't work on me in an IV either - now I know not to let them give it to me and to ask for dilaudid.

Sounds like such a scary yucky experience that I cannot even fathom!
My gangrene was do small that aside from knowing it was there I had no sensation so I could have easily ignored it had I not been going for weekly clinic apptmts.
I also never went thru some of the moods/depression periods on this journey from WLS/Plastics which I think has a lit to do with my reading/lurking on OH and knew what could happen so I guess it didn't overwhelm/freak me out as one might think. I was very lonely in hospital as it was Jewish Holidays season and many friends could not take off from work/home life to visit me after a three hour bus ride each way. In spite of all that I am happy with my flatter tummy and all that I have been thru.
May we only have continued Health and Healing in our lives.
Mikimi

I know what you mean about it being lonely in the hospital during the holidays - mine wasnt the high holidays but I will never forget one of the nurses coming up to me and wishing me a happy hanukah and I didnt' even know it was hanukah.  I had been there from Oct to the end Dec - so I missed thanksgiving and hanuhak -got home in time for Christmas and New Years and then went back in for Valentines Days.