I have three types of closures on my wounds.
The incision on my back is closed with both staples and stitches. The only time they hurt is when I forget myself and put pressure on it when I am laying down.
The steri strips under my armpit (lymph node sight) are another story. They are incredibly itchy. So itchy that I am almost to the point of ripping them off even though I know that that would be the wrong thing to do. I am allergic to adhesive tape. I put that on the allergy list at the hospital. But didn't think anything about steri strips, boy am I mad at myself. After doing research on the internet today, I found that people with adhesive allergies get blisters, and super red itchy skin from steri strips. Not only are the strips adhesive, but usually a spray GLUE is applied to make them stick even more. Apparently I should have just listed adhesive (not adhesive tape). It has been 4 days since they have been put on; with regular band aids, within one to two days, my skin is cherry red. I am almost afraid to see what the skin under the strips looks like.
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Thanks for visiting my blog. I haven't updated my links of people with melanoma who blog in ages but I will try to remember to do it soon and add your link. I hope that you get good news soon from your sentinel node biopsy. I did have melanoma in my sentinel node and had the complete groin node dissection in March of 2005. I have had some scares but no recurrences. Given how deep my primary was, plus more melanoma removed during wide excision and a positive node, I have done great. This coming March will be five years for me and so far so good.
ReplyDeleteWishing you the best of luck. I have friends from all stages with melanoma who have done well. One woman I know had it spread to lungs and brain 7 years ago and she has been disease free since her brain surgery. I thought I'd tell you that because the odds for stage III and IV melanoma can look so bad but there are survivors in all cases. And of course the odds are quite good for the lower stages.
I hope that your nodes are clear but either way there are so many positive stories out there.
Take care, Carver