ok i had surgery almost 3 weeks go to remove my ovaries due to cyst. My incision isn’t healing at all. It is still open, and my dr thinks it has to do with diabetes. My question to ya’ll, is if anyone has had surgery since they were diagnosed, and if so, did it take a long time for your incision to heal.
thanks!
I have had several surgeries since being diagnosed, but I haven’t had a problem with them healing. Diabetics are at increased risk for slow healing though so he could be correct.
I’ve never had surgery or anything, but it usually takes a long time for cuts and bruises on me to heal. I was diagnosed when I was 8 and when I was 11 I cut my thumb open with a hand saw and it took awhile for it to heal. I think it verys from person to person, but no, you’re not alone in taking awhile for wounds/incisions to heal.
Hi Kathleen,
I had a major cut that absolutely refused to heal. My doctor started me on supplemental protein drinks. I am to continue to use them indefinitely. I use Eas low carb protein powder (chocolate, although there are other flavors) and mix it with a cup of skim milk. I use this to replace my lunch and am to try to get in a second one if possible I suggest using a double scoop per glass of milk. It only adds 3 carbs per scoop .
We also used supplemental protein for all my cancer patients at the hopsital. Simply because it helped them to heal after surgeries and also to deal with chemo.
Another thing my doctor insisted on was an increase in vitamin C. I hope this helps. Good luck.
I have never been a fan of protein drinks, but I definitely give them a try. Im desperate at this point. Thanks for the info!
Get unflavored protein powder and mix it in with food you cook. THat is what i do.
with anything?
I do. Jello, oatmeal, cereal, meatloaf, green beans
I have found that depending on what my blood sugars are running will depend on how fast I heal. I have had 2 surgeries within the last 18 months. My first surgery took a lot longer to heal from than the second one. The second surgery was much more invasive than the first.
Kathleen
When you choose the protein powder you want to use, be sure to get the ones with the amino acids you need as well. It doesn’t matter what you mix it with, just so you can use it…
Hi! Geez, sorry to hear that you are not healing.
No, my OB/GYN said I had healed Well. He was also surprised how Good
my abdominal muscule tone was after carrying my Kids. Perhaps that had
something to do with my incisions healing Well. I never thought about it.
I had my first c-section for my Son after having Diabetes for about 20 years
and my second c-section for my Daughter about 4 yrs. later.
He did a bikini cut for my 1st c-section. Four years later, he cut in the same
spot for my 2nd c-section. Then 3 years afer that, he cut in the same spot
again to remove my right ovary because it had a cyst on it.
No problems except about a week after my 2nd section, I got a bad
cough. With all the coughing, I managed to rip open the right side of the
incision about 1 1/2 inch. So I had to go back to my OB and he stapled
the rip(he stapled all 3 of my incisions) . My sugars were in mostly Good
control at these times also.
I hope that the protein helps you. I’ve never heard of that for healing.
No surgery , but I had a little accident with a line trimmer. I slung a stick into the front of my shin. All the way to the bone. When the wound didn’t heal quick enough, the doctor sent me to a wound care center. At the center, the surgeon told me that the wound will heal from the inside out. The first doctor was just inexperinced with diabetes and felt that the slow healing was beyond his expertise. I guess I have to respect him for that. The wound was a hard bump for a while , but it eventually reduced and disappeared.
Try eating a high protein, low carb diet with lots of green, orange, and red vegetables. This is described as a “healing diet” by many people and can really help. I know several people with non-healing wounds from plastic surgery who found this diet turned things around for them.
How low should the carbs be? Low enough to keep you from spiking over 140. How many this is depends on your own individual body.
You need a lot of protein to provide the building blocks for new tissue.
The greens and veg have a lot of micronutrients that help subtly. Taking pills is not as effective as they aren’t absorbed as well by your body and they may cause imbalances because other nutrients not yet known about to science are missing in pills but available in the body.
sad thing is, I am not a veggie person. I so wished i was, maybe that is why Im healing slowly!
I have had 3 csections, but I wasn’t diabetic for any of them. My last one, 7 yrs ago, I was gestational, and it took a bit longer then the others to recover, but my ob messed up on the stapling. This incison was about a half in higher then the csection incisions, bc of all the scar tissue. I was thinking maybe it was taking longer to heal because of where the incision is. Its hard to stay in bed when you have 2 young kids, and a husband always gone working. My sugars were horrible in the hosp only because I don’t think they were experienced enough with a diabetic patient. But once I got home, my sugars went back to normal.
I am going to try the protein. Im not one for those things, but Im not a veggie person, and I hear protein really helps the healing.
I’ve found a strange thing. When I’m eating a bunch of carbs, I don’t want to eat veggies. When I cut back on the carbs, they taste a lot better and sometimes I even crave them.
I have no idea why that might be.
If you aren’t used to eating veggies, try buying some romaine lettuce and pick the darkest leaves you can find. Cut into slices. Throw some of your favorite grated cheese or cold cooked chicken breast on the top. Put in slivers of fresh red, yellow or green peppers (the sweet kind, not hot!) --1/4 to 1/2 a pepper.
Fresh spinach added to your salad is extremely good if you don’t mind the taste.
Experiment with salad dressings. I like Ginger People dressing/marinades from Whole Foods as it has an interesting delicious flavor. I don’t like most commercial dressings.
Try boiling up some swiss chard, another colorful veggie. Cut off the bottom of the stalks and dice the rest of the stalk.
Some people also swear by the healing properties of Lemon Tea after surgery. You make it by squeezing 1/2 a lemon and adding boiling water. Use fresh lemon. It will need sweetener. Drink it with a straw as it can be tough on teeth. Only drink one or two a day. For some reason it is supposed to be better hot than cold.
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thanks for all of that! I will definitely try them all. I love lettuce, esp the romaine lettuce.
Kathleen this is all really good advice. You will get some very important vitamin A from the dark green vegies and the very important vitamin c from the sweet red and yellow peppers and the lemon juice. And i definitely agree with Jenny that the natural way is the better way than the pills Make sure that you don’t just depend on the meat for the protein, but get the supplemental as well. I am sure these things will make a major diffference for you. Just please come back and keep us updated. What happens to one of us, happens to us all. We care how you are doing.
that is very sweet. I have had nothing but helpful people over the year since I have been here. I love the advice that everyone gives, and I like to think I in return have given some good advice. I knew if I posted my problem, people who truly know what I am going through, would give me some good sound advice. So thanks to everyone! I am going to try the advice, and def keep you posted!