Persistant Infection in Leg

[mcco5543]

You said people on the DIS had valid life exprerience, here's mine. ....

I became septic, I let it go and let it go, then I had doctors that misdiagnosed me and diagnosed me incorrectly. I am now an amputee....

You do NOT always know you and your health best and You really need to deal with this and I reccomend you see an infectious disease Dr. immediately. They'll know better than anyone.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! trust me and get this checked by the right type of Dr. and don't lose your leg like me.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

First of all . I hope you feel better soon.
Second, you described what my Dsis went through about 3 years ago. I got a phone call from my DM to go and check on DSis. Apparently her DH was out of town and she wasn't feeling well, had a fever, etc. So since DM lives 1800 miles away and I live 20, off I go with DD. I fed her Tylenol for the 103 fever and left her alone to relax. She was vomiting so we put it down to the flu. After numerous hours of continued Tylenol, her fever was 105. By then we had roped DH home. Won't bore you with all the details but she was in the hospital for 12 days. They had a hard time coming up with a antibiotic to work. Infectious disease doc ended up making a cocktail of 3 antibiotics, one of which was Cipro. She ended up being allergic to one of them and had to take Benadryl every 6 hours for the hives that she broke out in. The surgeon kept coming by to check on her (he had operated on other issues in the past). She kept yelling at him to leave her leg alone because she was going home with all of limbs.
To this day if she overdoes it the leg gets red and swollen. For at least the first 18 months she was off/on massive doses of antibiotics. If she overdid it her body would have a hard time recovering on its own with just rest. There were times that the only thing keeping her out of the hospital was daily visits to the doctor's office in return.

Please do not over do it. Please keep on top of it. Its very scary and you are still very young. And besides, you have WDW to visit on your birthday.

Sorry but I had flashbacks to my DSis. As you can probably tell she was in really bad shape.

 

[mickeysaver]

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[mickeysaver]

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[mickeysaver]

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[MELSMICE]

I don't have any real advice except that I also agree you should listen to your Dr. & not return to work until August 13.

You may not be putting others are risk, but it sounds like you're putting your own health at risk. JMO.

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

By any chance are you diabetic?

just curious

 

[mickeysaver]

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[mickeysaver]

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[ilovejack02]

Went to see Deb this morning. She was about to tear me a new one for going back to work the last couple of days, until I told her that it was not my idea, but that my boss had called me into work. Now, she's ticked off at my bosses.

She thinks that the leg does look better than it has, but that the inflammation from not having it propped up as directed is making it look worse. So, I have strict orders to stay off the leg, prop it up, apply warm compresses, and finish the Doxycyline. If not looking a lot better by Friday, when the meds are complete, I am to call her.

I brought up the points that my fellow DIS'ers raised about what else this might be, she said she would talk it over with Dr. O and email me. So, I did what I was supposed to do and I am still being told to give it time. Maggie

Glad you are gonna stay home! If you go back to work to early again, we may have to make you write lines and sit in the corner ( with leg propped up of course lol)

Hope it heals very soon!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Thanks for the well wishes. Don't even get me started on the insurance companies. I do medication prior authorizations for our practice. You wouldn't believe the stuff that I have gone through battling for our patient's healthcare needs. I totally agree that covering the Zyvox would be cheaper than even one more day in the hospital.....they just don't want to cover it without someone jumping through some hoops.
Maggie.....professional hoop jumper

Buy the drug that you need and fight with the insurance company after.

 

[mcco5543]

Good for you for finally taking care of yourself! You Deserve to be taken care of!

 

[mickeysaver]

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[mickeysaver]

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[shy little mouse]

You said people on the DIS had valid life exprerience, here's mine. ....

I became septic, I let it go and let it go, then I had doctors that misdiagnosed me and diagnosed me incorrectly. I am now an amputee....

You do NOT always know you and your health best and You really need to deal with this and I reccomend you see an infectious disease Dr. immediately. They'll know better than anyone.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! trust me and get this checked by the right type of Dr. and don't lose your leg like me.

Coming out of lurkdom to post....

I wish to re-emphasize this post, as a nurse who works on a floor where I frequently have patients who present with MRSA cellulitis. If you want to be an amputee, you will continue to have such a flippant attitude. Maybe spending $1600 to go to WDW later this year is more important to you than your leg, but most amputees cry and cry when they find out they are going to lose their leg to this infection. If it were me, I would pony up the $, see an ID (which I am surprised you did not have one assigned as an inpatient), and do as your doctors (NOT your employers, who may be "brilliant pediatricians", but do not specialize in dealing with MRSA cellulitis infections) are telling you.

Your leg, your choice. If I seem to be coming across harshly, I am!!! I am trying to make a very important point here for YOUR wellbeing. MRSA is not something to be trifled with, and you will always carry that with you. You will have to be very cautious with any future infections as well.

JMHO as an experienced nurse.

 

[mcco5543]

I feel a need to clarify. (I am the amputee from celulitus).

I actually didn't do anything about my leg right away becuase I had no symptoms in the leg. I just got what I thought was flu and then realized that it was more than flu and found out I was septic.

My celuitis ate through to my skin down from the bone and appeared like a bed sore (pressure ulcer). This is not uncommon for me because I was born paralyzed from the waist down and was already a wheelchair user full time. We tried to fix the "pressure sore" that kept coming back for a year.

so my being an amputee is a combo of me being stupid (not realizing i did not have the flu and wanting to get through college finals before dealing with it)

an infection that masquraded as something else
and too much time gone by!

Still I shared, not to scare the OP but to let her know what can happen if it goes on too long. Sounds like she's taking care of it now. but please If by friday you aren't better DEMAND TO SEE AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST these are the guys that can treat you the best. Not a family physician or anyone else.

 

[mickeyfan2]

That is so not how it works. I will spare you the details of how it has to work. I don't have $1600 just laying around. I don't do credit cards. So, this is not even a real option. Maggie

But you have a vacation planned.

I put my health above vacations. BTW I spend $600 out of my pocket every month for my Rxs and $650 every 6 months for blood work. That would surely pay for a long deluxe WDW vacation every year, but I want to be healthy and catch a possible problem when it starts not before it gets really bad. I won't go into what the medical problems are.

 

[mickeysaver]

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[mickeyboat]

I don't feel that I am neglecting my health. I went to the ER. I was in the hospital. I have done darn near everything that has been asked of me along the way. My doctor's office knows that I am trying to behave. Gabby would kill me if I didn't behave. lol Right now, I am just trying to force myself into having a positive focus on healing. I want this to get better! I need this to get better! Maggie

I watched something on TLC last night where a woman who had surgery contracted flesh-eating bacteria. She was a good patient, and let her brilliant surgeon brush off all her concerns. Finally she went to a different doctor who told her she needed massive debriedment surgery, and her hip looked like a shark had bitten her. She has faced years of physical and emotional recovery.

You are your best, and for all intents and purposes, your only advocate.

Hope you are feeling better, soon.

Denae

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Keep doing what you are doing. And if you need a nap, well then just nap.

Also, you may want to contemplate renting an ECV to get around at Disney. I know the trip is still quite a bit away but seriously think about it. There are many offsite places that are reasonable and you would be surprised at how much easier it is. Just something to keep in the back of your mind.