Persistant Infection in Leg

[Tiggeroo]

dh had bursitis and then mrsa, possibly from the test for knee fluid. IT is very scary and not something to mess around with. Your symptoms sound very similar to his. In spite of minor improvement he didn't get better until an infectious disease person was handling the situation.
I'm sure you know that uncontained mrsa is contagious. If unchecked it can be fatal. You need to see an infectious disease dr.
DH spent five days in the hospital and came home with iv antibiotics twice a day for two more weeks, followed by three weeks of oral antibiotics. He was also on very high dosages of pain meds in the beginning. It was a very scary thing.
Once they put him on the right antibiotics he began to improve but it was over a month before all the redness and pain were gone from the knee.
If you drink alcohol stop also as it appears that the sugar in the alcohol can fuel the infection.

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[disney kid at heart]

Wow, sounds scarey!!! If it is MRSA and you need IV abx, you may need a PICC line to have IV Abx at home, if that is not possible you may need the zyoxx, MRSA is running rampant not just in hosptials but now in the community, please keep us updated

P.S. I am a Nurse and I would not have gone to the ER either, we always think NOTHING is wrong with us!!! Hugs to you

Agree with this!!! My Dr took 1 look at my leg and ordered a PICC line immediately, Abx for 10 days for cellulitis. It is more dangerous to be in a hospital these days. The horror stories go on and on. Hope you get the right tx. prayers and good wishes for op's recovering.

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[Marion]

Ok young lady... that's enough! You get better NOW, you hear?!

Seriously though, you look after yourself and get better soon, thinking good thoughts in your direction!

 

[mcco5543]

You call your family phsician immediately tomorrow and demand a refferal for an infectious disease guy.. No more cautius treatment...i'ts time for the big guns. This can get worse fast as you now know. And it needs to be treated by the Dr. that knows best. Please do it immediatly so that you can go on your Disney Vacation without giving it a second thought.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I just sat down again after that little bit of time up on my leg and the darn thing has turned red again almost as bad as it was 3 days ago.....not yet swollen, but definately red. I am so over this darn thing! If it doesn't look significantly better by Monday, I am going to have to push for something else to happen. Just when I think it's getting better, I have these little setbacks and it just freaks me out! Maggie

I'm not quite sure why the course of antibiotics was so short. You are describing exactly what my Dsis had. She was on antibiotics for well over a month in the beginning. The infection started in her foot and spread to just under her knee. But everything you have described, including what the skin looks like, is just like what she had. I know it was not a 10 day dose and she was hospitalized for IV antibiotics. Maybe its time to insist on something stronger.

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[lsyorke]

Well, the pantry is now stocked and I have more Advil....always a good thing. The leg is red and ticked off looking again.....go figure. I have it propped up and I am hoping that it gets less ticked off real soon. I am so tired after that. I think that I am going to need a nap soon. Ugh....does tomorrow have to be Monday? Maggie

Go Figure???? OMG......The short run of oral antibiotics is going to do NOTHING for what you have. If this is MRSA, then a 6-8 week run of IV antibiotics is necessary. You are not doing yourself any favors by thinking that this is going to go away with Advil. Continuing to stand on it and walk on it is only going to increase the damage that is already there.
Get an ID consult, get OFF the leg, get ON the right IV antibiotics. This is nothing to take lightly. You are heading down the sepsis road and that can be fatal!!! Yes, I am a nurse who see's this EVERY day!!

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I'm sure there are many Disers who are questioning the flippant attitude of the original poster. I know if I had a persistent leg infection I would not just stay home, prop my leg up, and hope for the best.It is obvious that you need to be in a hospital under a specialist's care. My advice is to get to the ER. We can all hope your leg improves but without medical intervention, that is not likely to happen.

 

[Missy Mouse]

Get an ID consult, get OFF the leg, get ON the right IV antibiotics. This is nothing to take lightly. You are heading down the sepsis road and that can be fatal!!! Yes, I am a nurse who see's this EVERY day!!

I second this.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have been following your thread and I noticed your 40th birthday blowout coming up.

If you do not see an infectious disease specialist you can pretty much mark your 40th celebration off of your list.

Please go see the right doctor. It looks like you help other kids...it is time to give yourself the same treatment.

 

[chirurgeon]

Maggie,

I thought I knew my health better than anyone. My symptoms weren't anything bad. Just going to the bathroom ALOT, and a little bit of blood that had to be from hemmroids caused by the frequent bathroom trips. Must be Irritible (sp) Bowel Syndrome. A couple of doctors later RECTAL CANCER. 1 1/2 years later, I'm fine, no cancer. I'm ALIVE. Find the right doctors. MRSA is nothing to mess with.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

I read though the whole thread and I have to say I'm shocked you're not taking this more seriously. I'm even more shocked that your employer isn't taking this more seriously.

I just have to wonder when you'll take this more seriously, before or after you end up in the ICU.

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[CEDmom]

I don't understand why folks here think that I am not taking this seriously. I am! I have never experienced anything quite like this before. I have been through 4 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics and took the prescribed 2 week course of oral antibiotics. I have had 3 follow up visits with my doctor and have followed their instructions as best I can. I have missed almost 3 complete weeks of work. I have run out of paid time off this year and am going to be "borrowing" a week's time from next year. I will not have any pay during the vacation that we have planned, because I have run through it all.

The leg is still painful.....not as bad as it was. I am controlling the pain, for the most part, with Advil. The Toradol that I got from the stay at the hospital doesn't work for me, because it causes me to have issues with my breathing, I have asthma, and it messes with my sleep producing really disturbing dreams and leaves me feeling hungover. The leg still has redness....not as much area as it once was and not as bright red as it once was and certainly not as swollen as it once was, but it does "flame up" when I am up on it much. My energy level is not what I would like for it to be, but then again, I have just been through a major battle with infection, so I expect it's going to take a little more time before I am 100%.

I have been calling this an MRSA cellulitis because it was ASSUMED by the hospital doctor that it was MRSA because it responded to the Vancomycin. There never has been any sort of culture done directly on the infected area, because it has never produced any sort of abcess or drainage. My nasal culture and blood cultures were both negative, so there was nothing there to confirm that it was MRSA either. I left the hospital when I did on the Doxycyline with the hospital doctor's blessing. My doctor's office keeps telling me that it is improving. Certainly they have seen more of these infections than I have, so I have to trust that they know what they are doing.

Am I freaked out, yes. Am I concerned that after finishing the antibiotics that the leg still looks like it does, yes. Am I taking this serious, yes.

I am going to work tomorrow. I was cleared by my doctor to return tomorrow and depending on how it looks, I have an excuse to only return for half days if I felt like I needed to cut down on the strain of it all, which given my energy level, I might have to do. I am going to get the opinion of my bosses in the morning about how they think that it looks. I have listened to everything that folks here have to say, and I do think that seeing ID is probably the best answer at this point, but I don't want to over react either. I second guess myself a lot in case you could not tell. Maggie

I don't even know why I'm posting since you're not really listening to people here. You say you are but that's really not true. You can't follow your dr.'s instructions as best you can. You have to follow them to the letter. I have a hard time believing any dr would clear someone to return to work if their condition was not corrected. You're not out of the woods. You obviously have a persistant infection that's not going anywhere. This isn't a little cold that can be ignored .

 

[phorsenuf]

I read though the whole thread and I have to say I'm shocked you're not taking this more seriously. I'm even more shocked that your employer isn't taking this more seriously.

I just have to wonder when you'll take this more seriously, before or after you end up in the ICU.

Based on her last post apparently after.

 

[solferino]

I don't understand why folks here think that I am not taking this seriously. I am! I have never experienced anything quite like this before. I have been through 4 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics and took the prescribed 2 week course of oral antibiotics. I have had 3 follow up visits with my doctor and have followed their instructions as best I can. I have missed almost 3 complete weeks of work. I have run out of paid time off this year and am going to be "borrowing" a week's time from next year. I will not have any pay during the vacation that we have planned, because I have run through it all.

The leg is still painful.....not as bad as it was. I am controlling the pain, for the most part, with Advil. The Toradol that I got from the stay at the hospital doesn't work for me, because it causes me to have issues with my breathing, I have asthma, and it messes with my sleep producing really disturbing dreams and leaves me feeling hungover. The leg still has redness....not as much area as it once was and not as bright red as it once was and certainly not as swollen as it once was, but it does "flame up" when I am up on it much. My energy level is not what I would like for it to be, but then again, I have just been through a major battle with infection, so I expect it's going to take a little more time before I am 100%.

I have been calling this an MRSA cellulitis because it was ASSUMED by the hospital doctor that it was MRSA because it responded to the Vancomycin. There never has been any sort of culture done directly on the infected area, because it has never produced any sort of abcess or drainage. My nasal culture and blood cultures were both negative, so there was nothing there to confirm that it was MRSA either. I left the hospital when I did on the Doxycyline with the hospital doctor's blessing. My doctor's office keeps telling me that it is improving. Certainly they have seen more of these infections than I have, so I have to trust that they know what they are doing.

Am I freaked out, yes. Am I concerned that after finishing the antibiotics that the leg still looks like it does, yes. Am I taking this serious, yes.

I am going to work tomorrow. I was cleared by my doctor to return tomorrow and depending on how it looks, I have an excuse to only return for half days if I felt like I needed to cut down on the strain of it all, which given my energy level, I might have to do. I am going to get the opinion of my bosses in the morning about how they think that it looks. I have listened to everything that folks here have to say, and I do think that seeing ID is probably the best answer at this point, but I don't want to over react either. I second guess myself a lot in case you could not tell. Maggie

Are you not contacting an ID specialist out of apathy or ignorance? If things have gone on for this long and it's still bothering you then you're not getting better. What have you got to lose by going? If you're going to talk about your trip stuff being paid for I'm certain you can cut back on some things and seek a refund to defray the costs.

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over