Health Organization for Pudendal Education

hi all
i have decided to do a diary of recovery after pn surgery to help anyone going through this or contemplating the surgery
my surgery was with mr dixon assisted by mr wong and dr greenslade at bristol spire hospital left side only. the surgery itself was no problem at all and i was only in hospital 1 night.
the first week was great, i felt really good and the pain from the wound site was minimal and the pain from the pn a lot better, so much so i think i may have overdone it, as the second week, which i have just completed everything has been far worse pain wise than before surgery, i have constant burning in the anul and vulval area which is worse than before surgery and also stabbing pains in these areas especially if i move too quick or after having a pee or bm movement. i think one of the problems is that i wasnt really given any instructions on what to do in recovery, i did ask and was told to do knee lifts and also to do what i could, so consequently i have been doing a little bending, hoovering etc and i dont think i should have been doing this, as our american friends seem to have a strict regime for recovery, so from now on i will take it easy.
my wound at 2 weeks post op is absolutely fine and just feels and is a little bruised, they are no stitches on the outside just disolvable ones on the inside.
i havent taken any pain meds apart from paracetamol and the odd tramadol when the pn pain gets too bad.
just wondered if anyone had any imput concerning the extra pain and also the stabbing pain that is new
will keep you all posted

andrea

Andrea, I took it easy for months, not weeks, after surgery -- but then I was in too much pain to do much, really. Please take it easy and let your nerve recover.

Violet

hi violet
i think thats one of the problems in that i dont feel unwell in myself and the pain isnt completely excruciating to stop me from wanting to do things. i am having problems at the moment with constipation but this was also a problem for me before surgery, very strange though the first week after surgery when everything seemed better the constipation disappeared and reappeared when i started to have the extra pn pain this week, so i am now quite sure that the pn is causing the constipation


andrea

Hi Andrea

Well done for deciding to keep a post-op diary. There are certainly people like myself who are curious (and anxious) to know how it goes. It does sound like it may be a long road before you can be sure of feeling some benefit. I have to say that I find it hard to begin to imagine being worse than I currently am (I suppose I can). I do a lot of fighting against the condition in order to try and carry on some semblance of normal life. Perhaps sometimes we just have to give ourselves a long break and take it very easy. I don't mean give in to the wretched thing, but just allow ourselves a long rest and try and enjoy life again in a somewhat different way.

All the best
P_M

hi pm
i know what you mean but i am just desperate for some of my life back, eg sitting, driving, going on holiday and wearing trousers again! i am trying to get hold of dr greenslade or mr dixon as i have some questions i want answered but nobody has got back to me yet, i must say as someone else said, i feel abandoned and left to cope on my own, i went to my gp yesterday and whilst she is very sympathetic she has admitted she knows nothing about this problem so cant really help.
my pain is still worse than before surgery and hurts very much more when having a bm which i am concerned about as i now dread having a poop
i really need some reassurance from someone that i havent taken a leap of faith for nothing


andrea

Andrea,

Are you taking Lyrica or Gabapentin? I hope you feel better.

Best wishes,
Rea

hi rea
no i cant tolerate meds like that so i just have to tough it out


andrea

week 3

well not doing too bad and i think things have started to settle down a bit as my pain is just a bit more at the moment than pre surgery, dr greenslade rang me this week and i explained the increased pain and how the first week after surgery i felt as though most of the pain had gone and that now i was worried the surgery hadnt worked and he told me this was quite normal and as far as he was concerned a good sign. he felt really sorry i had had a super week the first one after surgery as it had shown me what life might be like again, oh well i will keep the faith

andrea

just to say dr greenslade did say hot baths are very helpful for the nerve pain


andrea

1 month out from surgery

well i am not doing too bad, still have the constant burning which is still slightly worse from before and the issue of bowel movements being difficult nit through constipation but the pn nerve.
the scar has healed nicely but is still quite sore and feels bruised although there isnt any bruising, feels more like muscle pain than anything else, some of the extra pain i had after surgery has diminished very slightly so it seems i am not far away from pre op pain levels, but i havent noticed any improvement at all, i have a consult with mr dixon 11th september so i will know then if i will be having ketamine infusions then

hope this information of my progress is any help to anyone going through the recovery period


andrea