The continuing story of my experience with a Thyroglossal Cyst, and the Sistrunk Procedure/Surgery to remove it . . .
Thursday morning I had a really long nap. I was so grateful to get some good rest after having a horrible night. After lunch I decided to have a bath and tried to wash my hair, but that was virtually impossible. I realized after I had sunk my head into the water to wet my hair, that it was going to be extremely difficult to add shampoo, lather, rinse, add conditioner and rinse, without getting my incision-site wet. So, all I did was wet my hair and relax in the bubbles, but that was short-lived because I didn't want to get my incision wet.
I have begun to realize the amount of strain human beings put onto their necks during normal living. My neck is quite sore and not as mobile as it was pre-surgery. I painfully discovered this when, on Thursday afternoon, I took my boys to their drum lessons, a 45-minute drive away. We made it to the lessons fine, but shoulder-checking with lack of mobility in the neck is not easy.
After the lessons, I went shopping for some scarves and bandages. The scarves, for the purpose of covering-up my throat, which looks like someone tried to slit it (that's what my boys say about it, anyways), and the bandages, to cover-up the incision, in-the-event that someone actually sees my damaged neck under the scarf. I really like wearing scarves, and 'm super-happy that they are actually fashionable at the moment. I wonder how many days I'll have to go with wearing a scarf before I feel confident enough to reveal the wound?
By the time we returned home on Thursday evening, I was feeling pretty wiped. When I got home, I changed the band-aid that I had on, and I'm happy to report that the size of my new band-aid is only 2 inches x 3 inches in size. That means that my visions of a 7-inch incision can be put to rest. Initially it seemed like the incision was larger, but since the band-aid is just covering it, the incision must be no longer than 3 inches. That thought makes my day, actually.
My collar-bone area directly below my incision has now turned a lovely shade of yellow, and there are pen marks on my neck that I can't seem to get off. I haven't tried very hard to remove the marks, though, because they are pretty close to the incision-site, and any undue pressure in that area could create some pretty horrible pain. I'm assuming those pen marks were placed there by the surgeon so that he knew where to cut. I am still very swollen, and my neck and chin are just kind of one big mass of puffiness. It's quite disgusting, really, and I hope I'm not going to be permanently puffy.
I don't like the look of my stitches/incision, and I am quite concerned about how this is all going to look once it's completely healed. I don't see any signs of infection, but everything is just really swollen. I'm icing the area on a regular basis in an attempt to bring down the swelling, but that doesn't seem to be helping one iota. I know these things take time, but my patience is wearing thin.
I wish I could report that I'm feeling 100% Day 3 post-op, but I'm not. I am trying desperately to get sufficient rest, but that's difficult for someone who is used to being active. Not to mention, I've got 101 things that I see around me which need attention, and I can't do anything about it because I know that if I do, I'm going to be set-back in my healing. I'm trying to find that perfect balance of returning to normal and doing small things to help me regain my stamina . . . to not overdoing it physically. It's tough.
I am, however, pleased to report that I've cut back on the need for pain medication by at least half. I think that's good news, and I hope the next few days continue along the same path with regards to my need for Tylenol and/or Ipuprophen. I added Ibuprophen to the pain-relief equation on Thursday afternoon, and I think it works better than just straight Tylenol. The other good thing is that my neck no longer feels numb. So, all things considered, I think my body is slowly healing.
I was looking at the pictures of my incision, and I think I'm going to hold-off on posting the pictures for the time being. Perhaps when I have a successful "after" photo to post, I'll allow you to see the "before" mess. I am hoping and praying for a miracle with regards to this incision. Like I said, to me it looks pretty bad, even though I don't know what it's supposed to look like. Maybe it is normal and I just don't know what normal is after a Sistrunk procedure. I guess I'll find out from the doctor when I get the sutures out on Tuesday.
Until next time . . . have a great day!
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