Help, did 'cellulitis' happen to you?

Help!!!! Did anyone experience 'cellulitis'? It's a hard fluid sac by my incision. Hi, I'm new to hyster-sisters. I had a TAH on July 18. I felt and looked good for the first 3 weeks. My 4th week, I felt like I had just come home from the hospital -- I hated everyone and felt lousy. Last Friday nt, aug 12, I started with the chills (unusual because I could usually heat a small house just by standing in it), and felt like I had the flu. I saw a hard (size of an egg) lump just above my incision. I called my doctor who sent me to the ER. After 6 hours at the ER, they sent me home with antibiotics. I saw my doctor on Tuesday, Aug 16; he said to continue the antibiotics, and that if fluid in the sac hasn't tried to escape from my incision in a week to go back and see him. I need to know if anyone else has experienced this--I still feel like I have the flu, have shooting pains, feel lousy, and the lump just keeps growing. My doctor said that it wasn't anything I did wrong to get this, and that my body would tell me when to rest. What to do, what to do, what to do. Can anyone help.

Hello outofnames

I am 5 weeks post op TAH and yes, I had cellulitis. It was exactly as you explained like a huge egg just above my incision. What finally prompted it to drain was a warm bath. I had a bath and almost instantly after getting out and drying off my "egg" started to drain through my incision. It split about an inch long hole in my incision which didn't hurt but it drained almost 2 cups of fluid on the floor. Sorry, don't mean to scare you but it was a lot better to drain out than in. Once it drained we headed to the ER where they put my on IV antibiotic for 5 days and then 10 days of oral antibiotic. It took the hole about two weeks to heal and the drainage lasted pretty much that long. It wasn't painful and I didn't get to the point where I had chills or fever or flu like symptoms other than I just felt really crappy. I hope you are doing ok and if you have any other questions please feel free to contact me. Take care and I will be waiting to hear how you are doing.

Thanks so much, I've been going crazy for the last couple of days. I really want it gone, but after hearing what happens, maybe I'm better off this way. Hope you are doing well. I just feel like I'm never going to get past all this.

You will get past this, I am living proof! lol. Once that "egg" starts to drain you will feel so much better. I found that once everything started to heal again I had so much more energy and my good days outweighed the bad for sure. It's not as bad as it all sounds and hopefully things will start to drain and you will feel better. Just be careful as I had a bad time with my "egg" becoming very infected before it finally drained. Take care and let me know how you are doing.

Yup! Had 2 small lumps that kept draining and growing and draining and growing. Docs office called today - last weeks culture showed more bacteria. So another round of antibiotics for me. I have one small opening left for it to drain from. Hoping this takes care of it once and for all.
I thought I was going to be done with pads after surgery. Nope - using a few each day for the blood. I will say that after the shower each day it is the worst. Mostly when I bend down to dry my right leg. The left side of my incision gets the pressure from bending and starts leaking.
I know it is TMI, huh?!!

Hello wildrose 2094. I called my doctor today, and he prescribed me a stronger antibiotic. The one they gave me at the ER was a broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat any infection I may have had--because they didn't know what was wrong with me when they sent me home!!! Anyway, I have to go and see my doctor on Friday morning at 11am, and he said they might have to re-admit me to the hospital-----they will have to drag me kicking and screaming (:
I felt a little better today, but my 'egg' doesn't even look close to ready to drain itself--it does keep getting bigger though.
Thanks for your support, and I will let you know the outcome. lol

I will be anxious to hear how you do after your doctor visit. Keep your chin up and let's hope the antibiotics work their magic.

I just heard from my doctor--they are not going to admit me to the hospital because my blood counts look good. My MD also told me that it is very rare for someone to get this infection so far from the surgery date, usually people get it in the hospital. The nurse practitioner that I saw this morning told me that if I had not demanded antibiotics in the hospital, I would not be here to tell my story------yikes!!!!! She also told me that the reason she was not admitting me to the hospital this morning is because I'm being so dilligent about keeping an eye on the infection. I told her that I was afraid of it bursting, and she said that hopefully with the antibiotics, my body will reabsorb it; I still need to use warm compresses though.
Thanks for caring about me, it is so great to have someone that understands what I'm talking about. From the waist up, I look and feel great, but the rest of my body feels awful. Today, I had my 13 year old son and his friend clean the house, it was great....they scrubbed bathtubs, scrubbed floors, cleaned windows and mirrors, dusted, vacuumed, and even polished the kitchen table. Having a clean house makes all the difference in the world to me, and having extra money in their pocket makes all the difference to them. lol

Hi again,

Just so you know that what your doctor said about it not usually happening so long after surgery, I was almost two weeks post op and things had been find when we first discovered my "egg". I was almost 3 weeks post op when it finally ruptured. Keep working the warm compresses and let's hope it just dissolves. I am so glad you demanded the antibiotic. Take care and keep in touch. You can always feel free to contact me through hystersisters email if you want.

I wonder if you both had what is usually called a seroma? A plastic surgeon or a wound care specialist can drain these with a needle suction called aspiration. It sounds painful but it is most often done in numb areas so it doesn't usually hurt. I am kind of surprised that your GYN won't try draining it but maybe s/he isn't used to that kind of wound care? I had to go back in the hospital after my surgery 9 weeks ago and I'm telling you, if I was told I needed to go again, they'd have had to drag me kicking and screaming, too. I HATE being in the hospital! Hope the new antibiotic works for you and it goes away ASAP. Sending {{{hugs}} to you................