The Friday before last, the back of my leg itched like a bug bite exacerbated by my pants rubbing on it as I walked.
Saturday and Sunday, I bummed around the house in yoga pants, as it was really irritating.
Monday, I went to work, feeling like I was being stabbed in the back of the leg with every step. Halfway through the day, I left to go to the doctor. The doctor drained it, swabbed it, gave me a tetanus shot in the arm, an antibiotic shot in the butt and two oral antibiotics to knock it out. I'd already had an allergy shot in the other arm and my extremities were feeling picked on.
When I took my antibiotics that evening, I got flushed, ran a slight fever and felt nauseated.
Tuesday I was feeling great--the spot on the leg had gone down, I had energy again and life was beautiful, until I took those silly meds. Then I was miserable for about two hours. Knowing they were pretty powerful stuff, I didn't think too much of it.
Wednesday was a beautiful morning until I took the meds. Then I had a horrible pain in my side that would not go away. I ate some yogurt laced with probiotics to no avail. Between classes I called into my doctor, who told me to go to the ER.
A few hours after getting the privilege of being some student nurse's first IV recipient, I call the church for a ride home. Driving on morphine = bad idea it seems. They can't really tell what's wrong without an abdominal sonogram and can't do that because I ate four ounces of yogurt that morning.
I call Dowlan to pick the kids up from Mindy's.
Thursday morning I wake up with a hangover from the morphine, which ended up causing far more pain than it ever took away. We get the kids to school then go in for the sonogram
I have lovely organs.
I get home to a message left on the machine. I call in for the results of the swab and it is the MRSA strain of staph. Lovely. 7 hours later I hear back from the ER doc. The antibiotic duo gave me an ulcer, but I can't just stop because, hey, it's MRSA. But I can stop taking one of them and he gave me a game plan for the other.
I was supposed to be directing a musical program that night, by the way. My principal and assistant principal stepped in. I'm curious to see what they thought of that adventure. My personal theory is that, by the end of my Christmas program, I will be a God to them.
So now I take a Nexxium with lots of fluids and foods. Then, thirty minutes later, I take the bactrim with a little more food on top. Then I'm only mildly miserable for the next hour instead of doubled over in misery.
There's a lot of bactrim left in the bottle. And Dowlan returned to the town where he lives and works. Fun week ahead!
1 comment:
I so hope you get better soon....a word of advice, if you're not and listen to your body you will know go back to the doctor, don't wait. Last year my husband somehow ended up with a tiny red spot on his toe that hurt to the heavens and back. On day two he started oral antibiotics, four days later (he was stubborn for two of those days until he couldn't walk anymore) he was being admitted to the hospital with possible amputation. Fortunately the doctor just took off the top half of his toe and they grew it back, etc, etc, etc, the infection spread rapidly, almost attacked his organs, he was on strong IV antibiotics that were wretched on his veins. This ordeal lasted two whole months, he didn't work, couldn't walk, and it was MRSA. You can spread it to your family, and reinfect yourself, there are certain ways to clean and wash laundry to help with that. We have never dealt with MRSA before and I certainly don't want to again. Our two month adventure definately put us on alert about antibiotics, germs, how to clean and not to clean. And you are not MRSA free until clear from it for one full year and all your physicians have to know you've had it within that year. After being clear for four months my husband had to have a unrelated surgery and we mentioned the MRSA and they went into over drive gowning up, gloving up and getting us a separate room, etc. Good Luck!
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