Infection following surgery

Renatha, I'm glad you are finally getting the right treatment. I got cellulitis in my wrist after my first chemo at the intravenous site. I was onto it immediately and went to Emergency  I can't imagine what you have gone through for all those days  and in such a tender area too. It shows that we have to be the protectors of ourselves and be that bit more demanding. Hope you're over it soon 

@kmack @lrb_03 having knowledge of other women's experiences from the discussion board really helped, and @Zoffiel's advice that "if you don't advocate for your own health no one else will" became my mantra. Good to know "complaints" departments actually do their job. Thanks again @lrb_03 for following this issue, really there are some very caring people in this world.

I'm glad you did all that, and got appropriate treatment.  It shouldn't have had to come to that, but sometimes.....
Good to hear you're on the mend. 
@kmakm, it's unfortunate that sometimes cages need to be rattled, but that's the way it is. It can be so hard though, to find the most effective avenue

@Renatha @lrb_03 It's amazing what can happen when you rattle the cage eh? I spent 10 years working in the media. Whenever I had any kind of issue that required complaint and redress, I held my place of employ back in the first volley, but if it wasn't solved at that point the next letter/phone call/email mentioned my employer. You'd be astounded how quickly the problem was then solved... Sometimes I had a phone call within minutes of pressing send, having waited in vain for weeks. Transparent and absurd.

Hi @lrb_03 thanks for checking in - and for all the good advice of others. Things really happened when I phoned the complaints dept at the hospital, I was strongly encouraged to go back to the surgeon, who immediately sent me to Emergency where I was admitted. It is cellulitis and being Fri afternoon was able to have ultrasound and fluid drained (with local anaesthetic) and put on IV antibiotics until results of culture. Improvement happened with IV, no bugs found in culture, so then changed to oral antibiotics. Discharged home today. BCN phoned and visited on Monday am, both BCN's had been away for a week at a conference but hadn't changed VM. There was an apology. Complaints person phoned today to follow up (she used to work in infection control, so knew what she was on about) and I was able to report all has been resolved. (Touch wood)  :)

Hi @Renatha, just checking in.  How are you? Any improvement? 

We often don't see as clearly when it's ourselves

I think I recall now, your comments about the drain removal. I can understand your reluctance to go back, now.
I hope that your physip can work some magic for you. Many years ago, they used ultrasound on mastitis. Not sure if that's old hat now,  but it might be worth asking about. It worked well for many casesof mastitis, so.....
Take care, hope you're feeling better soon 

@lrb_03 thanks for your comment. I tried all 4 numbers for bcn's (2 in area) all went to v/m. Didn't leave another message and was considering phoning McGrath's tomorrow. I will ring the hospital. I discussed with GP seeing specialist again, she thought emailing him enough. I'm the one reluctant to see him as removing the drain was so painful (he is 1 of 2 surgeons for the whole region and a friend tonight is waiting to hear when her 102 yo mother can be operated on by him to clear out 2 large sores which developed on her legs! Someone else had colonoscopy done by him!) Different story in the city where I had my previous op. I went public but have had no issues with delays. Seeing the physio again in the am. She specialises in lymphedema. Thanks for all your suggestions. I used to be a case manager (in my previous life) but it can be hard to case manage oneself! 

Not good enough from the bcn's. How many are there in your area?
Sounds to me like you really need to see your surgeon. May I ask if you're going through the public or private system? Notthatitshould makeany difference, you need to be seen by theteamwho did your surgery. The antibiotics are working very slowly, you would normally see a significant difference about 24-36hours after starti g on them. 
@Zoffiel is absolutely correct, you need to advocate for yourself. If you don't hear from them in the morning, reing the hospital and ask to speak to someone from there consumer feedback team, or the area to make complaints to. Then they will have to address why it has taken so long to get back to you.
Take care

@iserbrown thanks for your post, I'm somewhat better with pain patch and anxiety medn, have seen GP everyday since Monday, not today, and she seems to think antibiotics are making an improvement, though from my point of view the whole area is still very red, hot and sensitive. The hardness has reduced slightly. She emailed the surgeon yesterday. Still can't get onto BCNs. Not impressed. Have f/u appt with GP on Monday.