Persistant Infection in Leg

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[mcco5543]

GOOD! now keep calling your Dr's office till it's done, do not leave them alone. It concerns me that when you went to the office earlier your Dr. said she didnt have time to get back to you. She clearly doesn't view this as the emergency that it is. (We'll get into finding you a decent family physician later...) but clearly this wont' be your Dr's office's priority. So you have to MAKE it there priority by bugging the whoo ha out of them like we Diser's have done to you (as you can see, cleraly it works!)

Keep us posted and call that Dr. several times if you have to..per day!

 

[froglady]

GOOD! now keep calling your Dr's office till it's done, do not leave them alone. It concerns me that when you went to the office earlier your Dr. said she didnt have time to get back to you. She clearly doesn't view this as the emergency that it is. (We'll get into finding you a decent family physician later...) but clearly this wont' be your Dr's office's priority. So you have to MAKE it there priority by bugging the whoo ha out of them like we Diser's have done to you (as you can see, cleraly it works!)

Keep us posted and call that Dr. several times if you have to..per day!

Two days in a row her doctor told the OP to go to the ER!
First time: "I know more about my health than anyone else, so I went home."

Second time : "I felt no real need to go to the ER."

Then, she did not follow the doctor's directions. But now, when the you know what is hitting the fan, it's all the doctor's fault? The DOCTOR is the one who is not taking this seriously?

SHE didn't make it HER priority when told by that same doctor that it was an EMERGENCY, hence, go to an emergency room. Now that it's been proven that she DOESN'T know more about her health than anyone else, it's someone else's fault?

If someone doesn't have a couple of thousand dollars in the bank to cover an emergency, then they really shouldn't be taking trips to WDW. We aren't talking 5 figures out of pocket here, which could throw anyone, but less than $2,000 that might have had this cleared up a week ago, IF the OP had gone to the ER when she was told to, and IF she had done what was needed, even if it meant skipping a vacation.

I'm sorry if I sound mean, but I sure as hell wouldn't choose a WDW trip over the possible loss of my leg, or even my life.

 

[Missy Mouse]

I am studying to be a physician and I can tell you, it is so easy to give out care to everyone else, but your own health always seems to take a backseat. I was just hospitalized for three days for gastritis/gallbladder issues and the residents I talked to all had something serious they didn't take care of. During med school one resident was sick to her stomach for over a week and ended up hospitalized for a week with H. Pylori. She was just too busy and thought it would go away. Another ended up having her gallbladder out after clean tests and months of pain. I ignored my own medical issue for over a year. There's just not enough time, too expensive, etc...let's not mention the fact that it's very scary to have something wrong with you that you're not familiar with. You want to think it's not really happening and if you ignore it eventually it will go away. No one wants to think they may have a life altering illness. The key is develop a rapport with providers you trust. It is so much easier to go through illness when you can count on your medical team. You need to feel safe in their hands. If your gut is telling you that your doctor's office is steering you in the wrong direction then it's time to find a new physician. There are plenty out there who will take the time to listen and work WITH you to find the answers. Good luck, I hope you get this resolved soon.

 

[mcco5543]

Two days in a row her doctor told the OP to go to the ER!
First time: "I know more about my health than anyone else, so I went home."

Second time : "I felt no real need to go to the ER."

Then, she did not follow the doctor's directions. But now, when the you know what is hitting the fan, it's all the doctor's fault? The DOCTOR is the one who is not taking this seriously?

SHE didn't make it HER priority when told by that same doctor that it was an EMERGENCY, hence, go to an emergency room. Now that it's been proven that she DOESN'T know more about her health than anyone else, it's someone else's fault?

If someone doesn't have a couple of thousand dollars in the bank to cover an emergency, then they really shouldn't be taking trips to WDW. We aren't talking 5 figures out of pocket here, which could throw anyone, but less than $2,000 that might have had this cleared up a week ago, IF the OP had gone to the ER when she was told to, and IF she had done what was needed, even if it meant skipping a vacation.

I'm sorry if I sound mean, but I sure as hell wouldn't choose a WDW trip over the possible loss of my leg, or even my life.

Is laying blame at this point really important. Her Dr has to call the ID Dr. She needs it done immediately, she needs to stay on him. I wasn't trying to lay blame. I'm trying to help her get help as soon as possible I have a major disability and luckily (or unluckily) lots of experience with this. He/she could be the greatest Dr's in the world. But Dr's are busy. You only get what you need if you push for it. That's all I was suggesting she do. It doenst' matter what the OP Has or hasn't done, what the Dr. did or didn't do...what matters is what she needs RIGHT NOW.

 

[froglady]

If your gut is telling you that your doctor's office is steering you in the wrong direction then it's time to find a new physician. There are plenty out there who will take the time to listen and work WITH you to find the answers. Good luck, I hope you get this resolved soon.

But the patient also has to be willing to work with THEM. I agree, that if she doesn't feel that rapport, she SHOULD find someone else. She obviously did not value her physician's opinion enough to take her advice initially, even though it was 100% correct, which indicates a breakdown in the relationship. It's just too bad that she didn't realize this sooner, before it became so crucial. But to start demanding that her physician should now dance to her tune, after ignoring that physician's professional advice to her (the patient's) detriment, is not going to repair the relationship. Trust is a two way street.

"I refused to follow your medical advice, but now that things are going badly, and I realize that I was wrong(but I'll never admit it) , I want YOU to do everything possible, as quickly as possible, to clean up this mess that I made by ignoring you. I don't care if you have to do more work, and fit me into your already full schedule...just give me what I want...right now, before it gets even worse. And you must treat me in such a way that I have to pay as little as possible, yet still receive the best care available. How dare YOU ignore ME or refuse to do what I ask! "

I remember my mother saying things like "Dr x would be so upset if he saw me eating this, but I don't care, it's too good to pass up." When I pointed out that yes, he would not be happy, but at the end of the day she was the one who was going to suffer, not him, she would get angry with me. It was the truth. Physicians want what's best for their patients, but they cannot be with you 24 hours a day to make sure you follow their advice. In the final analysis, you're only harming yourself. Your doctor can tell you what to do a hundred times over, but only you can actually do it.

And yes, I understand that we all have a certain degree of denial. But when we ignore medical advice, or suspicious symptoms, it's unfair to put all of the blame on our doctor when things go wrong. Why should someone else be expected to care more about your health than you do yourself?

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[froglady]

Is laying blame at this point really important. Her Dr has to call the ID Dr. She needs it done immediately, she needs to stay on him. I wasn't trying to lay blame. I'm trying to help her get help as soon as possible I have a major disability and luckily (or unluckily) lots of experience with this. He/she could be the greatest Dr's in the world. But Dr's are busy. You only get what you need if you push for it. That's all I was suggesting she do. It doenst' matter what the OP Has or hasn't done, what the Dr. did or didn't do...what matters is what she needs RIGHT NOW.

I also agree that she needs help RIGHT NOW. But the only way she's going to get it is to risk having to foot the bill herself, rather than continuing to wait around. Her efforts to save money two weeks ago brought her to this point today.

She can go to an ER RIGHT NOW, and if the leg really is as bad as she has presented it here, she will be admitted for another course of IV treatment.

But this time, she should stay until her doctors tell her it's time to leave, not when SHE wants to go home. She should take the best antibiotic for optimal outcome, EVEN if she has to pay out of pocket and fight her insurance company for reimbursal later. She should stay home for as long as she is told, even if she feels guilty for letting her employer down. Unless there are other performance problems, an employer would be crazy to fire someone for a couple of weeks of medical leave. There is no point in pushing for the best treatment possible if you're not willing to follow through, even if it might cost you time or money.

She tried dealing with things her way, and got no better, if not worse. It's time for a different approach.

And I've spent far too much time trying to convince her that she's been going about things in a nonproductive manner. As I said, it's her health, and I refuse to care more about it than she does.

 

[froglady]

I have already addressed the fact that the trip is a gift to me....the money has already been spent. The trip has been paid in full. There really isn't a vacation fund to rob from to pay for the meds. But, that's not really any of your business. Maggie

That is the one thing I absolutely agree with you about. It is really none of my business, but YOU put your personal business out there for the whole world to see, and ASKED for opinions.

Sorry if you don't like mine.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Four years ago DH had a small "pimple" like thing on the top of his foot. Went to Dr. because it itched and was red and hot. He was sent home after being told it was a spider bite. He was told to take Benydryl and put hot compresses on it. Three days later his whole foot was swollen, red and hot and he could not put on a shoe. DH went back to our Dr who sent him to ER. They gave him a perscription for antibiotics and sent him home. Two days later back to ER where they gave him stronger antibiotics and told him to go home. Next day the redness up his leg, high fever, skin on his foot split open back to ER this time the Dr was great. He opened up the wound and took a swab (It was MRSA it took 5-7 days to come back) but he put DH on IV antibiotics and kept him in the hospital for 7 days.....While he was there they gave him antibiotics and cleaned and packed the wound every day. DH was on a pic line and IV antibiotics for 30 days.....30 days when he got home!!! They hooked him up and he took the IV bag with him and put it in at lunch and then one at night......they also gave him bactroban for his nose. He was told to put some in his nose everynight for 30 days. A nurse came out to check him every 4 days. He had to wean himself off the antibiotics after the 30 days. I would say it was a total of of 45 days of antibiotics.
Two years later...absess on his buttock....Dr said it was just a boil. I insisted it be cultured ( I am such a pain) It was MRSA again...This time it was caught quick but had to be cleaned out, packed and DH was given oral antibiotics for 30 days. DS (Special needs child) woke up a few days later with a pimple on his lip. It got worse....cultured..yup MRSA He had oral antibiotics and bactroban for 30 days. They think they contracted it from when we were in the hospital with DD. Both DD and I were swabbed (nose, and under arm pits) we were both positive but never showed signs. We were put on antibiotics anyway. It is a no win situation. It (MRSA) is from antibiotic overuse (antibiotic resistant Staph) so some Drs don't want to give you antibiotics if you dont show symptoms. After weighing the fact that DH and DS had symptoms they gave us the antibiotics also.
We will all will carry this in our bodies for life and have to be careful to watch for any infections. We put neosporin on all cuts and scrapes as soon as we can.
It is very hard to get to see a Infectious Disease Dr. I begged after the second time DH had MRSA but no one would see us. We tried to make an appt but they would not see us. Our Dr. spoke to someone on the phone but no one ever saw actually came and saw DH even though we asked repeatly. The only time we even recieved a phone call back was when I questioned if anyone else had contracted MRSA the same time we were in the hospital with DD....funny the ID Dr was from the same hospital we were in with DD. I had so many questions .Where did it come from, what do I need to do to keep the rest of the family safe? What should I be cleaning etc??? No one seemed to answer.I cleaned the house from top to bottom with bleach and even took apart the drains in the tub etc...We were told it could not live on surfaces...yup it can.....we were told not to worry if there were no open sore....yup, worry it can still be passed on and it can linger in soft tissue as well as bone. It is a terrible thing MRSA. There was an article about it in Sports Illustrated and how athletes are giving it to each other on sprots equipment etc.... DD is an athlete and we have told her a million times not to share towels, goggles, etc. I know we sound like germ freaks...we are not but this was very scary. I am petrified that it will re-occur and will get worse now that we have already been on the strong antibiotics. I am scared that our bodies have built up a resistance.
To the OP. I know it is hard to get in to see an ID Dr. Try if you can. Ask them to swab your nose again just to make sure. Ask for the Bactroban cream for your nose. It makes your eyes water but is really simple to do. Rest, rest, rest. It seems when you are tired and run down it strikes your body. Ask about IV antibiotics. You can do them at work. If they dont feel you need them ask about oral antibiotics for at least 30 days. I dont think Drs see this as a common thing but unfortunatly it is getting more and more common. I know it is horrible to try to get someone to listen. Keep trying until you are heard.
Next time Gabby gets stuck in Rochester tell her to give us a call..we are in Spencerport....5 min from downtown Rochester...... Good luck and take care of yourself...

 

[mcco5543]

Yes the ER is a definite option. If she can't get in by Thursday then yes I will absolutly do my hardest to convince her to get to an ID through the ER. But sometimes Dr.s can work quick. Mine's gotten things done within 24 hours.

 

[yeartolate]

I honestly am happy that you will be seeing an ID physician. Let me recommend that you make the appointment and go. Fight with your insurance company later. Secondly, next time the nurse offers to get the doc for you, say absolutely, right here and now!

ITA and this is potentially lifeor limb aving advice.

 

[Creativebeth]

Bump

 

[D L and K's Mom]

P.P how are you doing today. Worried about you and your leg..

 

[mcco5543]

I agree with the above poster! Maggie come back to us! Are you ok? Your condition is too series to not hear from you all day! Please show yourself. We hope you're feeling better!

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over

 

[disneymom3]

So, if you do not hear from the ID dr, what are you intending to do? I hvae to tell you that a possible bone infection would scare the beegeebers out of me. How/why are you so calm. I am scared for you!!

 

[disneynutt1225]

I just checked my email and found that my doctor's office emailed me around 5:20pm and asked me why I had not made an appointment with the ID doc.

Why didn't your Dr.'s office CALL you with this news? Is email your preferred method of communication? I mean, email is great, but I would think in this case I'd like to receive a phone call from someone telling me what the story is. In fact, I think I'd be pretty ticked off if my Dr. left me an email instead of calling me over something this important!

I really hope you get the treatment you need soon.

 

[mickeysaver]

Deleted.....drama's over