Messiness and Mincemeat
Today, having experienced another increase in bleeding while dilating and clearing my bowels, and having had only very general advice on my open sutures from Charing Cross, I saw my Practice Nurse. She gave her opinion....
Firstly, the surgeons have done an amazing job. Mr Thomas really is a master of his art.
Yes, two suture lines are gaping rather at the lower end of my vagina. They gush a little when I put pressure on them (hence, during dilation and toilet trips). They look sore (well, they *are* sore). There is some superficial infection, which is preventing the wounds from healing properly. I've been prescribed two antibiotics to knock that on the head.
Tomorrow, I must return to have my wounds dressed properly. I should heal well down there, and scarring is very unlikely. That said, thrice-daily dilation will make healing a slow process - I need to talk to Charing Cross to see if I should reduce my dilation pattern (I already have a good idea of what their answer will be).
I must get lots of sleep, rest up, avoid straining, and keep myself clean and dry. But I've been meticulous in doing these things anyway, for the most part. Is there anything else I can do to speed up the healing process? Am I eating enough? Yes - but only veggie food. Maybe I should consider breaking with vegetarianism, just for my recovery period....
I spent some time mulling this last point over.
[Now, mercuryneedle has just thrust some mince at me. I'm dubious - I've been veggie since I was a small child. I can probably override the silly guilt, as it will only go to waste if I don't eat it... but what if it makes me retch? mercuryneedle points out that, if I can bear the gruesome sight of my own bloody, diseased front-bottomage, I ought to be able to stomach her lovely mince without complaining. Perhaps I might even be able to, y'know, *compliment* her cooking - after all, when she's put *so* much into it... OK, OK - I'll give it a try, but only on condition that she *doesn't* tell me what dirty beasts have been added to the mix. This way, I can just think of it as vegetarian lasagne *with a difference*...
It's not so bad, actually. mercuryneedle is offended. Um, that is, it's quite nice actually. It hardly tastes of *flesh* at all. As long as I can keep eating things that aren't especially identifiable (bearing in mind that I've done a lot of dissections), I might be able to incorporate *some* meat into my diet for the time being.
This really is a time of change for me....]
Firstly, the surgeons have done an amazing job. Mr Thomas really is a master of his art.
Yes, two suture lines are gaping rather at the lower end of my vagina. They gush a little when I put pressure on them (hence, during dilation and toilet trips). They look sore (well, they *are* sore). There is some superficial infection, which is preventing the wounds from healing properly. I've been prescribed two antibiotics to knock that on the head.
Tomorrow, I must return to have my wounds dressed properly. I should heal well down there, and scarring is very unlikely. That said, thrice-daily dilation will make healing a slow process - I need to talk to Charing Cross to see if I should reduce my dilation pattern (I already have a good idea of what their answer will be).
I must get lots of sleep, rest up, avoid straining, and keep myself clean and dry. But I've been meticulous in doing these things anyway, for the most part. Is there anything else I can do to speed up the healing process? Am I eating enough? Yes - but only veggie food. Maybe I should consider breaking with vegetarianism, just for my recovery period....
I spent some time mulling this last point over.
[Now, mercuryneedle has just thrust some mince at me. I'm dubious - I've been veggie since I was a small child. I can probably override the silly guilt, as it will only go to waste if I don't eat it... but what if it makes me retch? mercuryneedle points out that, if I can bear the gruesome sight of my own bloody, diseased front-bottomage, I ought to be able to stomach her lovely mince without complaining. Perhaps I might even be able to, y'know, *compliment* her cooking - after all, when she's put *so* much into it... OK, OK - I'll give it a try, but only on condition that she *doesn't* tell me what dirty beasts have been added to the mix. This way, I can just think of it as vegetarian lasagne *with a difference*...
It's not so bad, actually. mercuryneedle is offended. Um, that is, it's quite nice actually. It hardly tastes of *flesh* at all. As long as I can keep eating things that aren't especially identifiable (bearing in mind that I've done a lot of dissections), I might be able to incorporate *some* meat into my diet for the time being.
This really is a time of change for me....]