Ohhh, the itching - steri strips, healing and opiates, oh my!
I don't remember my c-section wound itching like this, but then again by day 8 I had that wide open and packed with gauze due to a big fat seroma.
I guess this is just a vent, but if anyone has any advice for dealing with the itching, I'm all ears. And wondering when people removed steri strips (I know some nurses/docs say to let them fall off on their own but one nurse practitioner at my clinic said that can take 6 weeks on some people and the skin starts to break down! Eeek!)
On the plus side, I have lost 12 pounds! Wheee!
My steri-strips were removed at one week post-op. The steri-strips were starting to fall off, so I removed them myself. No problems.
My surgeon and his resident were OK with that when I told them at my first post-op follow-up appt.
Congrats on your 12# loss! 
Vicki 
DS (lap) with Dr. Clifford Deveney. Cholecystectomy (lap) with Dr. Clifford Deveney 19 months post-op.
Has not weighed myself since 1/2010. Letting my clothes gauge my progress instead.
I had my gb out this summer and withing a week got terrible red itching areas at the incision sites. Benadryl did nothing. Here's a sample pic -- it's a bit gross but you might want to compare:
The dermo. I saw said it was contact dermatitis. (Possibly caused by an allergy to the steri strips and betadine). He gave me a steroid ointment. It took a while to go (it gradually got better so the itching was much less) but it was terrible. I still have a bit left now but don't need the ointment very much.
I'd see a dermo. before it drives you nuts.
BTW, nice loss.
Duodenal Switch/Lap -- Drs. Alfons Pomp & Michel Gagner - New York City
4/4/05: 265 lbs/BMI: 45.6
4/11/05: 256 lbs/BMI: 43.9 (date of surgery)
7/27/08: Gallbladder Removed
I'm not sure if you could use lotion or not at this point, but if you can, Aveeno makes a great cooling lotion with lidocaine & menthol in it. Works wonders on my winter legs.
I just saw "itching" and went with it. If it's open in any way, definitely don't use the lotion though. I hope someone has something better for you than this.
I had the itching and everything else you are talking about. I talked with the surgeon at a day out, and he said that I could take the Steri-Strips off if they irritated too much. I am sensitive to adhesives too, and they started to make the areas around my incisions all raised and red. My procedure was laparoscopic. After removing the Steri-Strips, I used triple antibiotic ointment in a thin layer over all incisions at shower time and bed time.
As for the itching, it turned out I am highly allergic to the surgical prep they use. It's a combination of alcohol and Betadine that they use. I actually just had my gallbladder out 2 days ago, and I forgotten completely about my issues with the prep and didn't mention it at all. So far, at 2 days past surgery.. I am fine with no itching. I did make sure to use antibacterial body wash this time and wash my abdominal area VERY well. When I had the issues at the time of DS, I ended up in the ER. They gave me a combination of Benadryl and Pepcid because Pepcid is a different kind of histamine blocker than Benadryl. I also was given a course of prednisone by the ER docs but did not use it. The thing that helped the most was using hydrocortisone cream in a very sparing and thin layer. I made sure to use cream and not the greasy form in an ointment.. that seemed to irritate things more.
Good luck!
