Did Mepitel film let anyone else down?

@Zoffiel @Captaingrumpypants Thanks to you both for your hugs...I need every one at the moment. yes, that wheatbag.....& drugs are getting me through & everything is very sore but slowly improving every day. @Zoffiel It sounds like you speak of first hand experience so i assume you have had this surgery. Yes, the gas is the worst pain & hits you so hard & unexpected. So good to hear your advice & know that in a few days, the pain will lessen & thanks for the tip to do some gentle stretching. I would've been too scared to do too much but if you say it helps then, I might try some today. Thanks for the info re the wounds, I have 3, with one being in the navel so i will watch that one. I think they must be disolvable as i don't have to go back & see him for 4-6 weeks so I'll keep an eye on it.  Thanks again for your help. There is always someone on this forum who has been through what you have & hearing your stories & advice helps so much & makes me believe that everything will be OK. Hugs to you both xxxx

Oh no @Anne65! I didn't realise. You poor thing. It's no fun when literally everything is painful and difficult. I hope the wheat bag (and the meds!) work wonders. Big hugs to you xx

The belly wounds heal @Anne65 but watch the one in your navel, particularly if your surgeon used disolvable stitches. Which may not. I had trouble with those which, apparently is not unusual. Being in a hole in a fold and all.

 Some of the pain is probably related to the gas used to inflate your belly--it can take a few days for that to settle down. Cuddle up to that wheat bag but a bit of stretching, of the very gentle variety, will help get your bruised innards back to normal. Mxx

@Captaingrumpypants You go girl, back at the gym pumping iron!! It's amazing how the "little" things we take for granted like having a nice shower, can be such a welcome relief when you haven't had one for so long. You have endured so much pain from your rad symptoms during a time when you should have been concentrating on your actual treatment. So happy you & your skin have bounced back the other side. i came out of hospital two days ago after having my ovaries, tubes & uterus polyp removed so i have taken a back step at the moment. I am back having cautious showers as my abdomen has 3 surgical sites that have to be treated with care. My pain is worse now than my breast cancer surgery which seems ironic as this op is precaution due to my mum dying of ovarian cancer at 46 y.o. I have just taking my pain meds so I'm off to bed again. Can't do much at all, breathing, eating, walking...in fact everything is hard & hurts so I'm going to heat my wheatbag & cuddle it to sleep. Good thing my rad treatment went so well as moisturizing my skin is taking second place to everything else that hurts at the moment. Please pump some iron for me. So happy your spirits are lifted. It makes me happy when others are over there pain & can see sunshine after the rain! Hugs xxxx

Oh @Anne65, you're so kind. I was having a really hard time. I like to think I've coped pretty well with everything but that was just too much. I rather dropped my bundle for a little while there.

It's a big relief to be getting better. I am absolutely loving the proper showers, and I managed to get back to the gym today for the first time in weeks. I'm feeling like a new woman!

I'm so touched that you thought to ask your nurse about me. I agree that Mepitel in a Brisbane summer is a recipe for failure. The nurses did a lot of patching up along the way but half the time it was all sweaty and bubbly again by the time I walked from the clinic back to my car! I don't think I got much effective time it out it.

I'm glad to hear you're continuing to recover so well. Onwards and upwards x

@Captaingrumpypants So lovely to hear that life is improving for you. You were in such a bad way & i felt so sorry for you as I had such good luck with Mepitel. I went back for my last f'up apt with my rad onc last week & he was amazed how good my skin was. i also popped in to see the nurse to say "Hi" & i told her your story. She said that your climate doesn't suit Mepitel & the fact that the nurses were checking you over AFTER your treatment where they should have been replacing the film BEFORE hand. They also told me how amazing the StartaXRT was but that is was also very expensive which is why they probably don't offer it to everyone. I was in the situation where the Mepitel suited me & it worked for me but there are many others in different climates or bigger breasted women, who would benefit from the StartaXRT. So happy for you that you are out the other side & I bet you are enjoying the nice long showers again. take care & look after yourself. Hugs xx

Oh @PatsyN, I'm sorry that sucks. Yep, I was in the jelly bolus club too! And yes, I thought I looked like an extra from The Walking Dead from the neck down, but leprosy is not far off either.

It really is awful and I got so disheartened, but it is healing beautifully and rapidly now. Be super kind to yourself and here's hoping the turnaround happens for you any minute now xx

@Captaingrumpypants I had lymphovascular invasion as well. During each radiation I would have a thick jelly-like pad placed over me and then they'd tape it down pressed up against my skin. It was always freezing. @JoeyLiz tells me it's called bolus and it tricks the radiation to go closer to your skin instead of thru it. My skin was affected right across my ribcage which was one of the reasons I was inoperable to start with. However at day 6 post radiation I look like I've got leprosy and my armpit stings the most. To hear that your skin is growing back is very encouraging for me. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks to all the lovely ladies who chimed in with ideas. I was having a really hard time of things for a while there. Lots of pain and discomfort, not to mention fear, because I really didn't understand why things got so bad. It helped so much hearing from you all.

I saw my oncologist yesterday to ask why things went so badly for me, despite the mepitel film. Apparently it's not uncommon in cases like mine. Because I had lymphovascular invasion, they were treating the very surface of my skin on my chest (among other things). As you would expect, that messes skin up badly. I don't really understand why we bothered with the film in that case, but never mind.

My skin is growing back, my dressings are gone forever and I'm finally done with daily visits to the hospital! It's a good day.

Small victories @Captaingrumpypants Once those dressings are off you will probably heal very quickly. Its like really bad sunburn--all consuming misery then you realise one afternoon that you haven't thought about it all day. Mxxx