Post-op Infection-Back in hospital

Friday, I posted that I had been having severe pelvic pain and fever and sister Hope talked me into calling my dr. I called and they sent me to the ER. Once there, they checked my urine, (i thought for sure I had a UTI), but that was normal except for protein. They made me drink barium and injected me with dye and did a CT scan and it showed I had an infection/abscess at the top of my cervix where they put the Intercede adhesion prevention cloth and where he cut my uterus. It was about 5cm place where fluid and pus was. My white blood count was also 20,000, really high, so they admitted me..wouldn't let me have even an ice chip, because they said I may have to have more surgery to remove abscess! I was SO scared.
Sat. morning, a dr. came in who was covering for my dr. (who I never had a chance to talk to!) She decided to just do two antibiotics through my IV, so i had that and blood thinners until today. Fri. in the ER, I had started spotting again..like yellowish pink...they can't even tell me what that's from, but my dr. said it could be normal at this stage after surgery? I think it's the infection draining..not sure.
My bp went down to 69/32 and stayed low...and they still let me go home..just gave me some more IV fluids first, but it's staying down , so I don't know what to do about that, but it scares me, because they said if it gets too low, I can go into resp. arrest and I have an incurable lung disease as it is..Oxygen level was low for some reason, so they had me on oxygen the whole time...and didn't even check it without o2 before they sent me home? I didn't have a fever there, but I took it tonight and it's 100. I don't know what's going on..also, my blood sugar was sky high there (diabetic), but pretty good here tonight.
They sent me home with Flagyl and Augmentin antibiotics and I have to take those for 10 more days and see my surgeon on Thurs. I hope this goes away so I won't need surgery. I had just lost 8# from all the fluid, now it's back again along with swollen legs and feet!
If any of you are feeling bad or fever post-op, don't wait..they said if I had waited, I could have sepsis and that's serious...
Thanks Hope for making me scared enough to do something about it. I'm still worried now that my fever is back, though...maybe it just takes more time? It also still hurts when I urinate, yet no uti.

Hi, thanks for the update I was worried about you
I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry that I was right.
I'm really happy you listened and went to the ER.
It's good that they didn't have to do surgery and are
felt confident about medical management.
With your other medical conditions I would call your
doctor that controls you diabetes in the morning.
Infections can do funky things to BSL's. Do you have
a cardiologist or a pulmonologist? Give them a call
also. They may have something to say regarding your
medical management at the moment. Or, if nothing else
your file is upto date with current information.

Like a party let everybody in on the fun.

I'm sure the doctor have everything under control
But
If you feel 'off' tonight do not second guess yourself or be
brave or second guess yourself, do not wait for morning.
Go back to hospital. You have an awful lot of stress on your body.

I hope the rest of your recovery goes well with no further
complications. Sometimes when it rains it pours
Get a good nights sleep, I'm sure you need one.

Sorry for all your problems Hope your feeling better soon.
I think I would put a call in for your Dr.I think he needs to know what is going on. Let him decide if you should wait to be seen.
Lots of luck to you Keep us posted.

I'm glad for the update too but so sorry you've had a tough time. I assume you've got someone there watching over and helping you, right? I would stay on high alert for any changes to your condition and if in doubt, head back to the ER. This is the time for an abundance of caution. I also think contacting your dr. tomorrow, rather than Thursday, is a good idea. It sounds like you still have some questions, so write the down and ask each and every one of them. I hope you have a calm, restful night and things are on the upswing now. (((HUGS))) and I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks..no, my idiot hubby showed up 3 hrs. after being told I was discharged! Then he had the nerve to say, "I'm done with this. I hope you have someone to help you out!" grrrr

Tonight, I've been guilty of reading too much on the net, and now I'm scared, because it's saying you really don't get rid of internal abscesses unless you have the surgery with the drain tube. I don't know what to believe, but it hurts so bad when I urinate, and I don't know if an abcess on top of cervix would cause that? then the low bp since surgery, the temp, etc. Has anyone else had a post-op abscess?
Although all three Iv's infilterated, I think I am going to demand another ct scan after i'm done with these antibiotics! These meds may mask a fever and cause my blood count to go down even though it's still there....
Oh...and not to scare anyone, but another symptom they said that I said to watch out for was excessive vaginal discharge, which I had...well I guess b/c mine is on my cervix.

I'm usually guilty of reading too much on the internet myself. It's a blessing to have the resource but sometimes it causes more confusion and fear. It's late where you are but morning will arrive soon and I think your question about the abscess is a legitimate one and hopefully your dr. can calm your worries. What you've dealt with is outside the norm of recovery so please don't be afraid to push for some answers and reassurances. You deserve to have your mind at ease.

I too had a post-op infection. Had TAH on 7/7, was discharged on 7/9, then back in with 101.4 fever on 7/12. BP was low, 83/60 (morphine brought it way down), was dehydrated, had pretty severe lower back pain, and heart rate was in the 120's. My white count was 27 (high/normal is 11)

CT showed pools of infectious fluid (or possibly hematomas) in my pelvic area. They pumped me with fluids and my gyn oncologist started me on Flagyl (yuck) and Levaquin. My family and I consulted with an infectious disease specialist who recommended a different protocol, however the Flagyl and Levaquin were working well by that time.

One of the surgeons from my practice did a 'therapuetic" exam, creating an opening in my vaginal cuff so the fluids could have a better chance of draining. Two days later the fluids came gushing out, just as my surgeon was walking in to visit me.

The next day my white count was at 10 and I was released on 7/16 with another 5-days of Levaquin and Flagyl. Within a week my count was down to 7.5, and two weeks later was 6.4. A followup CT showed normal post op stuff. I am no longer draining and feel good. Took until week 6 to feel better, but its all good now.

Hope this helps you. Please let me know if you have any questions. I must say that my doctors were excellent, and my family were my biggest advocates. Its hard taking care of yourself when you feel so ill, thankfully my family was there to ask the questions and make sure that I was getting the proper treatment.

sue

Thank you so much for posting the update. I vividly remember your post and Hope's great advice. I've been really worried about you and watching for this update.

I'm glad they seem to have found what's going on. I don't have any experience with it, so no words of wisdom here.

Definately do be cautious. When you are dealing with multiple health issues, problems can easily become more serious. I know my DF's diabetes can easily be thrown off by other medical issues.

Take care and keep us updated, please.

Sorry your on your own, any family or friends to call for support? Keep the phone near you while you sleep in case you need help. I'm not a doctor and I'm not claiming I know the correct answer but to try help you sort through information here is my two cents.
If an abcess has a path of drainage it can be medically managed and does not always need surgery.
Depending upon the location and size of the hematoma and the associated regional inflammation bladder issues can be expected.
When researching on line it is important to access the source of information. The most reliable information is from a primary source but that is difficult to attain on the internet if you can not access the journals yourself. Next I would like the American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control, links to Medicare, other professional association websites. Then webMD, wikapedia ect.
Hystersisters is a great source of information but not everything you read her is accurate and can be bias. Members are posting the truth as they know it but it may not be the whole 'truth'. Often if you read an entire thread you will get a feel of consistency or debate on a topic. Again that doesn't make it accurate but gives you a direction.
There are other sites that post completely inaccurate information and cause more harm than good.
I think your desire to request a follow up CAT scan is very reasonable. Maybe you can research what is the best diagnostic criteria for post-op hematoma along with differential diagnosis.
What does IV infiltration have to do with an additional CAT scan?
Please do not be frightened. You are taking a proactive approach to your healthcare and that is a very good thing. By doing so you are in a much safer position overall.
I hope you're sleeping and do not read this for hours

	Quote:
Originally Posted by SLongIsland I too had a post-op infection. Had TAH on 7/7, was discharged on 7/9, then back in with 101.4 fever on 7/12. BP was low, 83/60 (morphine brought it way down), was dehydrated, had pretty severe lower back pain, and heart rate was in the 120's. My white count was 27 (high/normal is 11) CT showed pools of infectious fluid (or possibly hematomas) in my pelvic area. They pumped me with fluids and my gyn oncologist started me on Flagyl (yuck) and Levaquin. My family and I consulted with an infectious disease specialist who recommended a different protocol, however the Flagyl and Levaquin were working well by that time. One of the surgeons from my practice did a 'therapuetic" exam, creating an opening in my vaginal cuff so the fluids could have a better chance of draining. Two days later the fluids came gushing out, just as my surgeon was walking in to visit me. The next day my white count was at 10 and I was released on 7/16 with another 5-days of Levaquin and Flagyl. Within a week my count was down to 7.5, and two weeks later was 6.4. A followup CT showed normal post op stuff. I am no longer draining and feel good. Took until week 6 to feel better, but its all good now. Hope this helps you. Please let me know if you have any questions. I must say that my doctors were excellent, and my family were my biggest advocates. Its hard taking care of yourself when you feel so ill, thankfully my family was there to ask the questions and make sure that I was getting the proper treatment. sue

Oh Sue, I'm sorry you had to go through that! I don't have a cuff, as I had LSH, kept ovaries and cervix, so I wonder how they could non-surgically drain it? they didn't mention hematoma, just pelvic/cervical abscess..is it the same?

Why yuck to Flagyl? Is that a bad one? Any side effects I should know about? They have me on both Flagyl and Augmentin.

Did you have severe pain before and while urinating?