so this is my health issue at the moment:
i had an abcess that was cut open and drained at the e.r.--this was more than a year ago... it took more than 6 months before it looked healed and i could finally take the bandage off--but less than a week later it got red, hard, and burst open. this healing and then bursting pattern has been going on for more than half a year. when it bursts, there is only a tiny hole but so much stuff comes out of it that there must be a pocket, some space under the skin... i have a history of abcesses but i have never had one that wouldn't heal like this. and it is right on the incision line, but it happened years after my surgery.

and this is why i am SO frustrated:
many months ago, i went to my dermatologist for my skin, and i happened to mention this open wound had been there a long time so he swabbed it. he also gave me an antibiotic ointment (i used it a long time, but it didn't work)... later on, i finally saw my family doctor and he told me, "the swab shows it is a sterile wound." since then, i have been to my family doctor a few more times to tell him about the development of a healing/bursting pattern, but he just keeps saying "we'll keep an eye on it" -- he has not even taken the bandage off to see it at any of these appointments. oh, and i should mention that i saw him before my dermatologist did this swab (just to tell him it was not healing), but he didn't think of swabbing it... he just said we would keep an eye on it...

so i decided to see my family doctor again recently, but in the time between booking the appointment and seeing him, it "healed" and didn't look too red yet (not that he wanted to look at it anyways)... i went to the appointment anyways, and i asked him to refer me to the dermatologist (even though i am not sure this is the right kind of specialist for this problem)... my family doctor said he would refer me, but i still haven't heard anything and it has been a couple weeks now.

i like my family doctor and i've been seeing him for years and years, but i don't think he knows what to do in this case, or who to send me to. maybe he is burnt out, but i feel like he should be taking my concern more seriously and showing more caution. i feel like i was brushed off...

the last week i find i am sleeping more and i wake up nauseous. it could be dehydration (it's hot here and i started a new work out routine)... or maybe it's because the wound is infected? i don't know. i am debating whether to bother making an appointment with my family doctor. i think i might just go to a walk-in clinic (even though i hate going through my long medical history with new doctors lol). i feel a bit guilty because i feel like i'm being disloyal to my family doctor, but my health has to come first.

besides all this doctor b.s. and fear of getting sick, i am frustrated that i have a nasty soaked bandage to deal with every day! and i am not supposed to soak it in water- so no baths or swimming for me (don't worry, i can still shower so i don't smell lol).


well, if you've managed to make it through my long and boring rant, thank you for listening.

So, is it on your stomach? If it happened on a surgical scar, I'd be inclined to call the surgeon (or another surgeon) for an opinion. Since your family doc seems to be of absolutely no help, it's time to move on. I wouldn't wait for a referral (unless you absolutely have to have one.) I've never had an abcess, but I wouldn't mess around w/ it, especially since you aren't feeling well.
Hope you get some answers soon.

Is there a wound clinic affiliated with your hospital? It might be time to get a referral to one. Best wishes.

thanks for the replies and support

ya, it's right on the surgical scar. the scar was more than a year old when it happened so the doctors said it had nothing to do with surgery... but i think it's pretty weird, especially considering i had another abcess on the same incision line when i was healing from surgery (which burst open a few days after i got home but healed quickly). that one was a few inches below this one.

i don't know if there is a wound clinic i could go to, but i will look into that!

Optimist,
I am with CeeeeCeeee on this...the only place I would go is to a wound specialist/clinic but the bottom line is still the same...something is in that wound that will not allow it to fully heal...either there are sutures that your body reacts to and rejects that cause you to create steril abcesses that open up eventually when they get too full or there is some other sort of irritant that is doing it to you...I am a chronic dehysser (I usually open up between 7days and 8 weeks post op...out of more than 2 dozen abdominal surgeries and as many elsewhere on my body I finally figure out that it is Me and that my skin/body is allergic to something that they are using...turns out that there is a syndrom called D'Hellers-Danlos syndrom that is a cronic collagene deficiency...my body does not make enough collagene (the glue that holds things together)to allow it to heal (very common in redheads too) so I split and react to anything left in my body...including sutures.)
I take tons of suppliment that help and try to have a plastic surgeon present when I am being closed (uses special stitches) but if not...I split and it takes up to 4 months to close...sometimes I heal better if I can convince them to put a drain in.
don't let your family doc poopoo you...ever time that I asked my French surgeon if how to prevent a new abscess/split he would ask me, 'why do YOu want it to split'...my answer was that I don't but that it will anyway...and it always did.
Find someone who listens to you and understands the problem.
Sharon

I don't know if this will help or not but I had an abcess develop under my incision after my 1st surgery. I asked the surgeon about it at each visit and called several times and they kept saying it was normal. It was not red but kept draining, when the little hole at the top of the scar closed up it would break open and drain from the bottom of the scar then when that healed it would drain from the top etc. During surgery #2 they ended up cutting it out and I had a big hole in my stomach from where they removed it. So I think you need to go back to your surgeon or another doctor. I know mine happened right away but draining like yours is for a year can't be normal.

I hope you get it cleared up soon.

I realize a lot of us are attached to our docs, but I can't understand staying with one out of loyalty just because they've been your doc for so long. Yes, there is the hassle of finding someone new you like and getting to know them, but there is no sense continually going to a doc who won't even entertain your concerns enough to look at the wound. And you have put up with this for a long time.

Good luck, and hope you find a good wound clinic or doc who can help resolve this for you.

i have never had this problem but my home health nurse said she always suggested a drink called Juven. it is by Ensure and is for tissue building. She swears by it. I agree about the wound doctor thing. They have lots of techniques that help.

thanks for the replies!

my ostomy nurse is a wound specialist, but he is not replying to emails. i haven't talked to him for two years though... and the home nurse clinic hasn't called back yet... so, i think i am still going to the walk in clinic-- if they are clueless, maybe they can at least tell me who to call for wound care because i have no idea where to go.

i will try to find this Juven drink too. thanks NJK!

Good! Please let us know how you are doing after you finally get someone to take you seriously.