Wound-Vac? 3 weeks post op, some questions

Whew, what a journey this has been!
I had a TAH/BSO, Vertical incision, diabetic, colon cancer survivor, well, sorta..
Anyhow.. I did OK at first, then after my staples came out, I got an infection in my incision. Landed me back in the hosp for 3 days on big antibiotics. Doc came in and while I was awake, sitting in the chair & totally unprepared, he cut the incision back open, to release the drainage & infection. I thought I was gonna drop dead right there! Ok,so back to sq 1 of PAIN, and now I am attached to a wound vac. Anyone else use this thing?! I have a wound that is 6 inches vertical from pubic bone to belly button. It's weepy down near pubic bone, and its about 4 inches DEEP at belly button, by an inch or so wide by 3 inches. It gets packed with sponge, and then a plastic sticky drape goes over the wound, then a vacumn hose is attached to suck out drainage. It hurts like heck when the visiting nurse comes to change it every 2 days. Now, I am also having a FOUL oder, and I am ot sure if its the drainage stuff, or the vaginal funkyness. ( which was oozy greenish, and is now brownish/milky greenish) and stinks! All day yesterday, I kept asking "what is that smell!" .. turns out, it is from me, somewhere!
Also, 3 weeks out, am I supposed to be this darn tired?
I can walk, I can wipe up and pick up, but am completely exaughsted after a shower, and after wound care.
I make it through about 3 hours and need a nap.
Literally can't lift my arms.. am zonked. Sort of like when i had chemo fatigue.
I'm also still taking 2 percosets every 6 hours. If i don't, I am in horrible uncomfortable pain. Could be from my fibromyalgia, and my diabetic neuropathy though.
I need to know if anyone has dealt with a wound -vac machine, and how long the healing process takes.
I can barely get around my house and I have to g back to work in 3 weeks. ( no way in heck i tell ya)
If anyone has suggestions, i'd love to hear them..

Grumpysad - first off hugs to you for all you've been through.

I can't help with the wound care but I would definitely presume because of the infection and additional time to drain and heal it that you would need more time to heal. I would think your doctor is probably going to want you to have more time off, the incision isn't closed and won't start healing until they get you past the infection.

Prayers and hugs.

Well, I am a home health nurse and have about 8 years of wound vac experience (applying to patients, I have not had one). The odor may be coming from your wound vac dressing if the dressing has a leak. Even the smallest leak will allow that odor to leak out. If your dressing looks okay, make sure your canister is not full. Usually if there is an odor, it is from the drainage sitting in that sponge and not an infection in the wound it self. However, any concerns should be directed to your visiting nurse. As for as healing time, my experience has been based on your physical health and most important, nutrition. I usually recommend 3-5 times the amount of protein you usually eat. If you are unable to eat that much, try Whey protein, Walmart sells it in the pharmacy dept. It will probably take about 2 months to heal, but again that depends on you. You won't be able to go back to work with an open wound with a wound vac. As far as being tired, that is normal from just a normal hysterectomy. But having the wound vac and extensive healing going on, that is completely normal. Make sure you report any concerns of infection (fever, nausea, change in wound drainage, etc....) to your doctor or nurse right away. The wound vac is an amazing machine! Feel free to contact me if you need any more support!

Lisa,
Thank you for all that information.
We changed the dressings today , and boy did it STINK. It's much better now. Put a call in to the doc, and they said to "just watch it".. grr... why they couldn't give me an antibiotic before it gets too bad and i end up in the hospital again?
Anyhow.. One day at a time. Hopefully it drains better now.
Thanks again for the reply. It means alot to just know someobody out there is listening.

Antibiotics are not always the answer and the wound vac is designed to pull drainage and infections away from the wound while increasing blood supply and nutrients to the wound. So wait and see is not uncommon, but like I said before, if it gets worse or you concerned, call! Good luck in healing

I had a TAH on Sept 30th. Had to have my incision reopened 4 days later in clinic due to infection. I was put back in hospital and on a wound vac and heavy duty antibiotics. I stayed in hospital 6 days and was sent home to home care nurses with wound vac. I had it on for 7 weeks and 4 days and then did wet to dry dressing changes for 2 weeks after that. It is a long healing process but the wound vac does help pull the incision closed from inside out. I had about the same size incision you described and I also am diabetic. Good luck to you and please contact me if you want to talk more about the wound vac.