Two weeks out of surgery, feeling good with a small worry

General
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Tomorrow makes two weeks since my surgery which seems crazy! I must say I've done really, really well thus far in my recovery. I got released the day after surgery, made a shopping trip to Target that day, had a few dinners out since, and regular walks around the block.

The only concern I've had is that my incision is red and itchy. I had a wound check scheduled the week after surgery and the PA said she thought I seemed to be having an allergic reaction, possibly to the surgical glue. In the past I've reacted to tape and bandages so this isn't all together surprising. Just a little uncomfortable. She said I was healed enough to put some hydrocortisone cream on it and I have carefully balanced my meds with benadryl here and there.

Today however I'm a bit concerned. Last night I went to a Halloween party. My husband tried to tell me it was too soon but it was nothing too wild, just a friend's house with a costume contest and a pumpkin carving contest. Well I guess I overdid it. Probably sitting without good support hunched over the pumpkin to carve it. I came home with pretty bad neck pain and woke today with a bit more pain than usual but nothing too bothersome.

What concerns me is that I now have a lymph node swollen in my neck. This combined with the continued red/itchy state of the incision has thrown me into a full scale panic that my incision will get infected. So far I still have no fever or drainage. The site is a bit warm but it was warm when the PA looked at it and she said it definitely wasn't infected then. So basically is there anything I can do to stop an infection if this lymph node is a sign one is impending? A blizzard is forecast for tomorrow and my doctor is five hours away. I know worrying isn't helping matters but I can't help it. Any advice on warding off infection is appreciated!!!

Thanks for all your help and I know that my recovery so far has been amazing and I am very blessed so I hate to even complain about this!

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Hi Anglyn, I had a swollen lymph node at the base of my skull on the left side for about 2 months after surgery. Doc said it was nothing to worry about and just a reaction of my body to the surgery. I never developed any infection but I did have an irritated couple of staple sites at the bottom of my incision. I still have lumps there even after 2 years post surgery. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you start running a fever or your incision starts to leak or bleed. I have reactions to bandages and steri-too. I hope that eases your mind a little, Terri in MN

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Hey ms. surgery-on-the-same-day buddy.

I have hunkered down at home for the most part since being released from the hospital. I was there for 4 days, then did an IKEA and Sam's stop at the way to my daughter's house (of course, I stayed in a wheelchair). I have felt wonderfully marvelous compared to before surgery.

Well....2 nights ago, I felt a lump on the back of my neck and was a tad alarmed. Found another one last night, and another today. They range in size from a round half of a pea to a marble. I noticed today I also felt pretty run down, which again in light of how I have been feeling, was very alarming....Finally late this afternoon i decided '"that's it" and headed to the local hospital. I am 7 hours away from Dr. Oro. (who is your dr., by the way?)

They called Oro's office, and the on-call doc at the office called Dr. Oro. Here's what went down: I had a CT scan to look for pockets of fluid (csf leaks) and a white blood cell count to look for infection, I also had all 24 of my staples removed.

The little lumps are lymph nodes, and the lowest part of my incision was a tad pink, but not infected looking. I have no csf leaks according to the preliminary radiology report, but it will be read tomorrow also. My WBC is normal. I do have a slight right side sinus infection (weird, i NEVER get those) though. So, treatment: steroids for 10 days to get the inflamattion down (my head also felt stuffy) and antibiotics to ward off any simmering infection and treat the sinus.

I really felt it was best for me to go in...this is NOT something that we want anything going wrong with. Hell, I know I have met my insurance deductible after surgery, what is an ER visit? haha I know the docs here in my small town are very ill, if not non-informed about chiari, but my main goal was to use the tools the hospital has (CT scans, MRIs, blood draws) to get the info to my surgeon.

Let us know what you end up doing.....oh, and again..who was your doc? where are you located? I am in colorado.

good luck, but do follow your gut, an infection could be disasterous to us.

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OMG I am so jealous!!!! I was in the hospital for 5 days and my surgery went perfect! How the heck did you get out in 1 day? There is no way in Hell I could have gone to the store or a party the first few weeks. Was it the decompression surgery you had? WOW WOW WOW! I am impressed! I had a bad reaction to the tape as well. I thought I was going to die from itching! I too had a swollen node for several weeks, but the doc said it was nothing. If I were you, I would tell everyone that you need to do some bed rest for a week or 2 to make sure it is not from overdoing it. You are exposing yourself to a lot of germs by going out so much and you are increasing your risks for meningitis, MRSA (thousands of people are carries of MRSA and don't even know it.) and other infections. Especially this time of your you need to be extra careful. I don't mean to scare you , but inflammation in the nodes can equal infections. If it gets any bigger/worse or you really are concerned, then call and talk to your doc. Better to be safe than sorry.

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Thanks guys! You have scared me and I am going to lay low for a bit.

I guess part off my reasoning was that the doctor was originally putting on my leave paperwork that I could return to work in 2 weeks…which is today! I had to ask for four weeks just so my short term disability insurance would pay some of my lost wages! Now after reading these I wonder if I should even attempt going back at 4 weeks!

I guess after feeling so bad so long it’s just hard to resist when I feel like going out for a change…

Thanks so much for all the care and concern. I even value the yelling because i needed it! I have a visit scheduled this Thursday in Cincinnati to get this looked at…if I have any fever, drainage, or other signs before then I will head to the local ER.

For my same day buddy, glad you got the work up and seem to be well. Sounds like we both need to Rest, with a capital R! My doctor is Dr. Ringer with the Mayfield Chiari Center. He didn’t anticipate releasing me the next day but I have an abnormal pain tolerance and passed all the OT and PT tests so he said I would do better at home where I could sleep without interruption!

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Thanks Razzle, I will definitely press for more time off! At the 2 week out mark I feel decent but not going to work good. Not sure 2 more weeks will make that big of a difference either! I am so tired all the time.

Sadly this blizzard is going to prevent me from getting to Ohio for my incision check Thursday. I still have the swollen lymph node but the incision still looks ok and I'm not running a fever so hopefully it will be ok.

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Beeba thanks for the tough love! :) I have been on house arrest (the blizzard helped, lol) and napping like crazy the past two days!