You'll recall I mentioned the other day having developed a big blood-filled abscess on my leg. I've been on some hyper-dosage of Bactrim to deal with the infection, and I don't mind telling you, it's whupped my butt! There are two sizes of Bactrim pill, one 400/80mg and the other 800/160mg. They've got me on four of the latter, double strength size every day, two morning and two evening. My gut flora really, really don't like that! I may ask today whether there's an alternative medication; or, alternatively, ask for something to ease the impact on my body of the first medication. *Sigh*
I go into the clinic this afternoon to get the abscess opened, drained and packed. They're not wasting any time about it; apparently large abscesses like this need fairly urgent treatment. Unfortunately, it's also close to the major blood vessels in the inner thigh, so a big part of today's treatment will be for them to make very sure that they're not poking too close to the femoral artery or vein. That would not be good. If it looks too tricky, they'll run me over to the local hospital and finish the job under general anesthetic, with a vascular surgeon on hand. However, they don't expect it to be that complicated. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Blog posts may be later than usual tomorrow morning, depending on how easy it is for me to move and work at the computer. Please forgive any delay.
Peter
EDITED TO ADD: My physician was horrified to learn I'd been put on so high a dose of Bactrim, and immediately told me to halve it. She's also put me on probiotics, and prescribed something called Zofran that apparently makes heavy doses of antibiotics easier on the stomach. She cut open the abscess and drained it, but says that its size and location make it unwise to pack it. Instead, I have to wash it under the shower, very carefully, twice a day, and make sure the area stays as dry as possible. (Let's hear it for cornstarch powder! However, I must use it around, rather than on, the incision area, to prevent further granulation of the wound.) I'll see her again late next week to follow up.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and suggestions.
I have spent 14 years in the most rural parts of Central and South America imaginable, sometimes for months at a time. I was never without either a sulfa or an antibiotic, usually Bactrim, Cipro or Flagyl. I have settled on Bactrim---and yes it kicks your guts this way and that way! I have two bottles in my cabinet, both with those 800/160 tablets. They are going with me next month when I head back to Central America for a few months. It seems I have not yet had dysentery enough times!
ReplyDeleteHolding breath and crossing fingers.
ReplyDeleteI'll be praying for you Peter. I hope the clinic can handle the operation. It doesn't sound too bad and having the procedure done sooner rather than later is wise. Good luck buddy.
ReplyDeleteI got something like that in my groin years ago. I went to see my primary MD, he referred me to a specialist the next day, and after the specialist looked at it, I was in surgery later that same day. Apparently I was right on the cusp of having it go so bad that I would have been cut *way* open, and flat on my back for a few months rather than having a little excise and then repacking the wound twice a day for around two weeks. Those can get really ugly, really fast.
ReplyDeletePrayers for a quick and successful treatment! And hello probiotics/yogurt!
ReplyDeleteTake an anti diarrhea pill called Loperamide. Probably 2 or three in the am and the same amount in the pm. You can buy it off the shelf in walmart, walgreens, and other grocery stores. It is cheap stuff and works well for your problem.
ReplyDelete"You're a better man than I am..."
ReplyDeleteI'd have already dug into my trove of packaged (sterilized & sealed) one-piece scapels (used to order them by the gross, heh!), taken out the betadine, and asked the wife to order a 6' pine box (just in case).
Yes! already had plenty of lidocaine carpules (well out-of-date) on-hand.
And, even though it's only good for gram+, I'd've already begun 4 gms PenV K.
Then again, as I said the first time: "You're a smarter man..."
Saccharomyces boulardii can be helpful when trying to normalize the flora. I take it along when traveling overseas.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brutus. I was given Saccharomyces boulardii by a pharmacist at the hospital after I had a big shot of Amoxicillin. It really helped. Plus, I had a buddy with IBS so bad he had no social life; he had to stay home all the time. I mentioned Saccharomyces boulardii to him and, three weeks later, he starts showing up at social events and raving about how the stuff has changed his life.
ReplyDeletePrayers sent, Peter!
ReplyDeleteBest of Luck Sir!
ReplyDeleteJust seeing this, Peter. Hope everything went well.
ReplyDeleteActive Culture Yogurt both settles the gut and helps restore proper flora.
ReplyDeleteLive Culture Kimchee is also one of my Gotos for gut flora issues.
Don't want to get C-diff running your bowels after the anti-biotics.
Praying for a simple case and fast recovery
Get well soon!
ReplyDeleteI believe in the power of 3% hydrogen peroxide. It can be used in conjunction with traditional medical procedures. Plus it's painless.
ReplyDeleteHow about this article on honey topically from 2011 from National Library of Medicine? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/ My time as US Army internal medicine Dr let me know there are other worthwhile treatment out there. I have seen MRSA in Iraq and we would have studied honey treatment had we known of it. MRSA is nasty stuff with other nasty stuff friends.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, I was rather worried.
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's tomorrow, hope you have a good sleep-in and are on the mend.
ReplyDeleteHave they completed a culture and sensitivity to establish the best antibiotic?
ReplyDeletePeter, hope the course of treatment your doctor prescribed works. Sure sounds better than what you were told to do originally.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how two different medical professionals could arrive at so very different courses of treatment. It has happened to me on numerous occasions and has made me take the time to learn as much as I can about what is going on instead of just blindly following the medics advice.
@Ed Campbell: Amen, brother! I've learned exactly the same lesson over the years. I trust my current provider because she's demonstrated her competence over the years, but I check out all others very carefully - especially specialists, many of whom think they're God's gift to us poor unwashed plebs. :-(
ReplyDeleteGood luck Peter.
ReplyDelete1) Zofran is an anti-emetic: it makes you stop puking. Period.
ReplyDelete2) Probiotics are worthless as long as you're taking the Bactrim. That's like buying baby chicks for the hen house while keeping a fox in the nesting box.
The minute you finish the antibiotics, start taking the probiotics, like acidophilus milk, or active-culture yogurt, to recolonize the gut with the slaughtered and missing "good" bacteria.
3) The proper adult dosing for loperamide, AKA Immodium©, which is an OTC anti-diarrheal, is two tablets (4 mg) initially, then another one (2 mg) every time you have a loose stool, until you stop having them, to a maximum dosage of not more than 8 capsules (16mg) in one day.
PERIOD.
NOT "three capsules in the AM, and three capsules in the PM".
When in doubt, read the label, and follow the actual instructions.
Anyone who doesn't need instructions should suture self.
Immodium slows the process of digestion. I.e. by turning what is currently a diarrhea bullet train flying through your innards into rush hour traffic on I-20 through Dallas: a full stop. It'll hold you about a day, which keeps the large intestines doing their job: sucking the water used in digestion out of stool, and leaving behind solid waste, so you don't squirt your circulating volume into the porcelain swirly bowl and dehydrate.
Best wishes.
Ed Campbell:
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, doctors should be viewed the same as auto mechanics. Very few good ones, most are so-so, and some are actively incompetent.
One factor that has become noticeable is the impact that medical groups (HMO's in particular) has on the retention of bad doctors. They seem to be a haven for those of less than stellar abilities.
A complicating factor that most people seem to be unaware of is that HMO's, in the effort to control uncompensated costs, have instituted rules and processes that may hamstring your attempts to address some health concerns. The doctors themselves may not be aware of these.
For instance: A large West Coast HMO uses guidelines from some quack Michigan group when they test for Lyme disease. There is something like 23 genetic variations of it, one of which is found only in northern MI. That is the only one they are looking for when you get tested, even though CA has several versions itself. So, your doctor looks at the lab results, and says you don't have it. The HMO, of course, will not accept any outside lab results. I'm pretty sure this is not the only game they are playing.
Glad that it turned out fairly well for all of the outcomes that could have happened. I pray for your quick recovery with no complications.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found competent medical help.
ReplyDeletePrayers answered.
Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHope things go reasonably well.
ReplyDelete