The aftermath

It’s been a few weeks since my last post and an update is well overdue. I had my 4th surgery just over two weeks ago. It was more extensive than my consultant had predicted and so I am left with a large open wound because it couldn’t be stitched up. So this is somewhat of a new experience for me, and now I have undergone every different type of commonly used surgical treatment for a Pilonidal Sinus. I haven’t seen the wound, nor do I think I want to at the moment at least. From what I’ve been told I think it’s a rough elliptical shape about 8-10cm wide and about 2.5 cm deep. This is certainly the most painful surgery I’ve had. The first couple of days weren’t too bad, but after the anaesthetic wore off, it was pretty sore all the time for about 10 days. I was taking pain killers four times a day either paracetamol or co-codamol depending on how I felt, and if I forgot to take them I knew about it. It’s being packed with Aquacel/Kaltostat, which for those that don’t know are similar dressings which soften and become like a gel in contact with moisture, this helps keep the wound moist and draws exudate away as well as being more comfortable and less abrasive  for the wound than just gauze. This is then covered with a Mesorb dressing pad and Opsite topsheet. Packing changes were a lot less painful than I had expected though. In general the pain dropped off sharply at the end of week two and it’s reasonable comfortable now. I can hardly feel it during packing changes now which are happening once a day at my GP’s practice and the district nurse at the weekends. This is going to continue now until they decide that it can safely be redressed every other day instead. The balance lies between faster healing with less disturbance of the wound but at the same time increased risk of infection.

I’m currently visiting my consultant once a week when he shaves around the wound with a scapel to prevent hair getting into the wound. It’s possible than when I’ve healed I will have some laser treatment in specific problem areas of hair growth to minimise the risk of recurrence since I’ve had so much trouble so far. I’m feeling pretty good about it at the moment, progress seems to be good although I have been warned that it will likely go quickly for a while and then healing will slow down later. Sitting is still not at all comfortable though I can sit for short periods now so at least travelling to the surgery doesn’t invlove lying in the back of the car any more, and eating is no longer a dangerously messy affair. Try eating peas standing up and you’ll understand the problems involved! Summer seems to have arrived with a vengence which is a bit depressing because I can’t really be out enjoying the sun much, but all in all it’s not too bad and I’m alot happier than I was a few weeks back before the op.

I’ll try to update the site more often during the healing process and I’d like to say thank you to those people who have contacted me, with their own stories and experiences. It’s nice to hear from others and to know that people are finding the site helpful.

DRINK!

No I don’t mean get plastered. Although sometimes I feel like it just to forget the bloody sinus for a bit. I mean make sure you’re well hydrated before surgery. Yes blah blah, drink lots of water, we’ve heard it all before. Seriously though, it makes a difference to a lot of things, you will feel much better after a general anesthetic if your body is well hydrated. I say that from personal experience. Over the years I’ve come to realise why medical people always tell you to drink lots of fluids. If you’re interested do some digging to find out why I’m not going to go on about the reasons, but it is one piece of advice that is well worth listening to.

Antibiotics

Well Sammy the sinus must have got wind of his forthcoming attempted exorcism because of late it’s been much more painful and generally nasty looking. On wednesday I went to see my consultant to see what he thought. He was pleased that I’d come and agreed that it looked like there was an infection and said he could now feel the swelling that I’ve been complaining about ever since the last nasty infection I had in January. So he’s put me on a week’s course of Metronidazole which for those who don’t know is one of the antibiotics that you REALLY cannot drink alcohol with. Personally this doesn’t bother me much as I don’t drink that much anyway, but medical staff always seem so apologetic when they tell you you can’t, it makes me think normally people make a fuss about it, and we as a nation must have more of a fondness for alcohol than I would imagine.

So the past few days and esspecially yesterday night I felt really ill, my temperature was up, so was my pulse, headache, nausea, defintely mild sepsis. I’m fed up with feeling like this. I feel slightly better today. I’m just hoping that it clears up before a week monday when my op is scheduled for because if not there’s a good chance it’ll get postponed. Fingers crossed.

Get a haircut

Pre-Surgery tips. I’ve thought of a few things I need to remember to do before my surgery in about 4 weeks time so I’m going to make a note of them here, and maybe they’ll be helpful to you too dear readers.

Get a haircut - This might sound like a bit of a weird pre-surgery tip but esspecially if you like having short hair, make sure you get it cut before going for your surgery. This only dawned on me after my first one but for weeks after the surgery sitting is difficult, and doubly so in a hairdresser’s chair, esspecially when you have to lean back to have your hair washed, and all the weight is on your bum.

I suffered with long hair for quite a while.

Same applies to toenails, cutting your toenails (or doing anything to them for that matter) means really bending your back and lifting your leg up high. Simple things that I just didn’t think of.

Pilonidal Sinus and Mouth Ulcers (Canker sores)

As I think I’ve mentioned elsewhere on the site, I suffer with mouth ulcers that seem almost always to coincide with Pilonidal infections. I’ve always had a pre-disposition to getting mouth ulcers from childhood. If I accidentally bite my mouth or eat something particularly acidic, I’ll often get ulcers. However since having my PNS they’ve been pretty bad and I’ll sometimes get three or four at once, nasty ones that don’t heal for quite a while. This suggests to me that I get them basically because my immune system is hampered by fighting the Pilonidal infection. In some ways it’s like an early warning system for me. If I get more than one mouth ulcer at a time for no apprentent reason I know it’s likely that my sinus is about get problematic.

I Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this? I doesn’t seem to be a common problem. In fact so far I’ve never heard of anyone who’s had the same problem and I think perhaps it’s just me.

The road ahead

Well this is my first post on this blog about my experience to date with Pilonidal Disease. If you don’t know what a Pilonidal Sinus is and aren’t sure how you’ve got here, I’d leave now if I were you because I can’t pretend it’s very interesting stuff. However if you know why you’re here but don’t know what a Pilonidal Sinus is then can I point you to this page of the site.

I have lived with Pilonidal disease on and off for roughly eight years now. Should you wish to, you can read a bit about me and my intentions with this blogsite. I will soon be having my fourth surgery for my PNS you can read about my Pilonidal history in my story and accounts of my previous surgeries are also on the site. This blog part of the site is essentially to track my progress from now on, and to try to spread and perhaps exchange some knowledge about this really annoying condition.

There is plenty of information on the web about Pilonidal disease but not so much is UK specific, and one of the things I’d like to do is connect with other people in the UK who’ve had or are currently suffering with Pilonidal disease. After 3 years of surgeries I’m getting pretty fed up, I needed a project and to write about my experience, hopefully it may help someone, even if it doesn’t I’ll have felt better about venting some of my frustration.

Solidarity goes out to everyone else suffering with a Pilonidal and I’d also like to take the opportunity here to say thank you to those people who have helped me over the last three years, ferried me around, been with me in hospital, helped me with dressings and generally looked after me. You know who you are, thank you, without you I don’t know where I’d be. Not forgetting also all the people who have put up with me; not being around at work; not being able to go places and generally being a drag to everyone.