Bed sores anyway?

kdholt

Hi ladies! I had BMX on Monday and came home yesterday. It feels so good to be home! I was totally prepared for this mentally but was completely blindsided by the pain. I knew it would be painful but this is the worst surgical pain I've ever experienced. Each day gets better but still so sore. Anyway a new problem I have is bed sores on my rear. I'm not sure how to take pressure off of them. I'm putting neosporin on them and trying to boost up with pillows. But I sleep in my recliner so I'm always sitting. So still putting pressure on the same are. This actually started in hospital. I discovered the blister as I was getting into the shower for first time. Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do for it? Thanks!

Debbie

moth

I think you need to let your physician know and possibly get a wound care nurse involved asap. Are you walking, standing, changing positions? Is there are a reason you can't sleep in your bed? You're allowed to sleep on your side. 4 days post op I'd expect you to be feeling better by now. BMX here is either overnight or day surgery. Discharge education is that by day 2-3'ish pts should be resuming normal daily activities. And pain should not be that severe. How are your drains?

Trishyla

You should call your doctor ASAP, Debbie. It is not normal to have bedsores develop in such a short period of time. It would indicate a lack of circulation.

Bedsores are caused by pressure on one area for a prolonged period of time. That's why bedridden people develop them. They don't move around enough. Are you getting up and moving around? You should be spending most of your day sitting upright. You should really only be reclining to nap or sleep.

Also, could it be a blister caused by an allergy to tape or disinfectant that may have been used? That seems more likely than a bedsore.

Good luck. Hope everything works out for you.

Trish

kdholt

I am up and moving around quite a bit at home. I had to spend an extra day in bed after surgery because they put me on heparin due to an artery problem during surgery. And I slept sitting up because it hurt to lay down. I'm taking a baby aspirin and am keeping a watchful eye on it. If it gets worse by morning I will definitely call my dr. It could just be irritated from sliding in and out of bed and clothes rubbing. I also live an hr and a half away from the hospital where I had surgery so lots of sitting. I forgot to add that I had immediate diep flap construction also so little longer hospital stay was required.

MinusTwo

Well yes, if you had a diep flap this is a major difference from a BMX - even one with TEs. Still, this is Friday and you should be moving around. So it may hurt to lay down in your bed, but put a pillow under your knees and get the pressure off your butt. If you habitually slept on your tummy, put a pillow on each side of you so you don't revert to that position in the middle of the night. Get out of the recliner.

Finally - bed sores are not a joke. You can easily become septic if they are not treated immediately and aggressively. As the Trish & Moth said - call your doc immediately. AND since this is the weekend, call again if you don't get a decent answer.

Cowgirl13

kd, I think its very important that you get the right pain meds for your pain. Baby aspirin won't cut it and pain impedes healing. I hope you can do this very soon. Thinking of you!

Trishyla

I think Cowgirl is right. You really need to get your pain under control. I hate opioids so I always ask for Tramadol for pain control after my surgeries. Stronger than OTC pain relievers but without the side effects of opioids.

I had Diep flap as well and ended up with an eight day stay in the hospital due to complications. My nurses were adamant about my changing positions frequently so I didn't develop any issues.

Do keep a close eye of the area and if it becomes worse get in right away. Your immune system is pretty beat up right now from such a major surgery.

Good luck. I hope you feel better soon.

Trish

kdholt

Hi everyone! I’m so sorry for not being clear. I’m sure my foggy brain is caUsed by the pain meds. I am using pain meds and the pain is getting better. The aspirin is because I’m no longer on the heparin IV and I have a small surgical procedure next week. They need to go back in and clean up some radiated skin tissue that is probably not going to survive. We planned for this before the BMX and my plastic surgeons harvested extra tissue from my belly at the time of surgery. what I worried were bed sores turned out to be a flare up of an autoimmune skin condition I have. So some little bumps but hopefully they start finally working themselves out.

Debbi

MinusTwo

debbi - good luck with your next surgery. BTW - aspirin is a blood thinner and my docs made me stop that before any procedure. As well as Omega 3 and Vitamin E and several other things.