Hi folks, Just to let you know that I am fine. It turned out that I was only in ER for 1/2 hour. Seems the doc didn't want to spend too much time bruising tissue and exposing me to bacteria so he worked fast. I had one area on the back of my throat cauterized and biopsied and turned out it was a big warty thing. I also had a larger area on the roof of my mouth cauterized and biopsied and that was also negative. I knew there was some funny tissue there but who knows what happened cause my dentures rub on one of the areas I had cauterized years ago.
The bad thing was that the cultures that he did came up with MRSA(the bad staph infection) again and a big case of oral yeast which may even be in my sinuses and trachea/lungs. I have had the yeast for at least the last 3-4 months. So I am on doxycycline and Diflucan for a month. The first day or two wasn't so bad but as I waited for the cultures to come back I became more ill and had so much mucus drainage that I was almost choking and have had to sleep sitting up.
I have not used my CPAP since the second week in October because of all this darn stuff. I must add that the new product I received at my infusion on last Tuesday seemed to go quite well and I did not even have a headache. My hubby is mosre discouraged than I am as he says I just never get better. I told him not to poo-poo the infusions as my myasthenia is so much better. Also, my balance issues are much, much less of a problem. Makes me wonder what I would be like infection wise without the gamma globulin.
Anyway, I have sat around long enough and am really, really bored. Hope to get back into the land of the living tomorrow. Also, my doc sent me home with a nice big bottle of Hydrocodone that could be refilled again. I asked my hubby why on earth he would order that. Yes, I had a little discomfort but all I needed was to take a tylenol several times. Sometimes I really think I am too dumb to recognize pain---as I told my BIL---it has slowed me down some but I can still eat, dearn it!
Thanks so much for your kind and caring posts. You people continue to be the most supportive members any web site I have ever seen. Hugs to you all. Irish ;D
P.S. Now as far as my computer goes---I had 256K Ram and they added 512 Ram. My computer had been freezing up and just not making any sense. However, I brought it home and turned it on and got weird message. Ended up the tech had left a disc in the hard drive but the computer didn't specify that. I ended up re-installing windows and then I couldn't get hooked up to internet and had NOTHING LEFT at all on my computer. Turns out it was very salvageable and have it all now.Tonight I tried to access internet and it took me 2 hours---simple issue--of course. God Help Me but I am not computer literate! :-[
Ah irish glad you back.
I dont know how you do it woman, but even in a post about your health being bad, you manage to make us all feel inspired by you, glad your PC got fixed, always something simple as far as ppl in the know go, but always seems to take me hours to do what a geek could do in minutes, i now live with a geek, great the lenghts you ll go to to stay online eh ?? lololol
glad your getting symptoms relief and the meds are kicking in, hate sleeping upright so feel for you , your in my thoughts
Love and light
T x
Glad your home irish.I like your attitude,one tough cookie you are.Take good care of youself and don't do to much to soon.
Ruby
Irish,
Don't take offensive of my comparison, but you throat and mouth sound like my bladder and kidneys, hopefully your on the mend now! I got the heebie-jeebies reading your post, I need some tea and and English Muffin to settel my stomach.
We're glad to see ya' back, Irish. Even if it's a little bit. We'll look for yoo more as you're able. Lucy
Irish, it's so good to have you back. As I told you before, you are so missed when you are gone.
I agree with the "family" we have here. Each and everyone here means so much to this web site. Without our great members there wouldn't be a web site. It just proves that there are still caring and concerned people out there in this screwed up world.
Take care dear, stay warm and rest up.
Hugs, Pooh
Hi Irish :)
Great to see you back! I'm glad you weren't in theatre long and that the 'warty things' were negative.
Sorry to hear about the MRSA. Hopefully now they know what it is they can knock it on the head. the yeasts too. Then surely you'd get some relief. Heavens - you're due some!
We missed you. :)
Take care - Scottie :)
Hi Irish
You're amazing! What an experience to endure and yet you dealt with it so bravely. It's good news overall, as you say, but even so there's still a lot you have to cope with. You're an inspiration.
I know you're bored but you have got MRSA and a yeast thing to deal with, plus all the meds to adjust to. Give it time and get a really good rest; build yourself up with good things to eat, lovely music, loving friends and - of course - your Sjoggie family who love you too.
Thinking of you - Chana
Welcome back Irish. Really pleased to hear that things were not as bad as expected, bad enough tho' yuk!!
Take it easy now, and go on.... treat yourself to a new computer!
luv Dolly.
Irish
I'm delighted to see you back. So, the PC came out in sympaty?Glad you are both functioning again.
Kathyx
Welcome back Irish, glad that nothing too revolting was lurking around your throat (other than the staf again and the yeast infection)! What a nuisance, I hope the antibiotics/anti fungals can knock it out this time :)
Cheers Lesley (NZ)
Irish, it's so good to have you back. You have been through so much and I admire your strength. I know you must be glad to have that overwith. Now lets hope the infections clear up well for you. You sure deserve a break.
Welcome back, I missed you. :)
Hugs,
quig
Honey I am soooooooooooooooooooo glad your home,
And found some relief and answers.
I have just got back from being in the dark with Ice storm in our area. Lights on finally. And Irish is finally home. It's a bright world today.
I need you to explain the warty thing to me. Some one else blogged recently with the removal of a warty thing, also.
kimbo
Hi folks, Thanks again for all your nice posts. I really did not learn anything from this surgery. If anything it was good to get those 2 areas biopsied. However, I am still having a lot of the same issues that I had before. My ENT is frustrated beyond belief and my immunologist is puzzled also.
I have continued to have positive MRSA sputums off and on for 10 years. Plus I have had the Klebsiella cultured 3 times and that is another one of those noscomial infections that one picks up being in hospitals, etc. I feel pretty yukky and have not gone anywhere since the 22nd. I have my infusion the 18th of Feb and will also be seeing my pulmonologist at that time. She in in the same building as my immunologist and his infusion clinic. Hubby and I just take the IV pole with IV pump, get on the elevator and go down to the pulmonary department. I am thinking that she may want to do broncoscopy on me to check my lungs for other infectious diseases. I can feel stuff in my lungs but hard to get it up.
Today hubby went to Fleet Farm and I wanted to go also but knew that I would not be able to tolerate the trip out of town. Oh well, at least it has warmed up and the sun is shinning. It is gorgeous out. Have a good weekend and enjoy the football game. Irish ;D
Irish . . . welcome home!! ;D
It's nice to have you back with us . . . . rest up and take it easy.
Sun is shining here in IL too . . . ;D Sunshine helps to make me feel better - hope it helps you too. :D
Take care,
Bucky
Welcome Home, Honey!
I'm glad you're back, Irish, and hope this will finally be the solution. I'm glad you can handle the doxycycline - I was on it recently for a long tern infection and lasted exactly 3 doses before my tummy revolted and said, " no more". Will the doxycycline kill the MRSA? Anyone I've met with MRSA has had a PICC line with vancomycin, but they all had MRSA on they're skin, so maybe this is different? Whatever it is, I'm glad your doctors finally know for sure and can treat it the way it needs to be treated to get rid of it.
We miss you when you're gone!
Tracy
Tracy, I have had some really horrible infections over the past 15 years or so and many of them assoicated with bad root canals etc. I am totally amazed that I have not died as I have had so much infection in my nose, throat and anyplace between my eyeballs and my Adams apple. I slept on my side for 5 years as I knew that I had infection close enough to the brain that I worried about it spreading. Docs never seemed to worry but I knew what I was hacking out.
Anyway, pardon the graphics--no way to make this pleasant, I have had MRSA since heavens knows when but had some really wicked infections since 2001 after my septoplasty. Naturally, my low t-cells affect my bodies ability to fight off infection. All my cultures have come back with sensitivity to septra, doxycycline and vancomycin. My immunologist says that one must take the doxy for minimum of 4 weeks and many of my other docs didn't treat me that long. I think their reasoning years ago was that I was a nurse and probabaly frequently cultured out MRSA.
My immunologist just hasn't made up his mind about treating me with the vancomycin. I think that he worries that I may have an allergic reaction as I had that bad one during one of my infusions that could have been life threatening. Sooo, I don't push it because if I can get rid of my infections with the oral meds I may be better off waiting til I get a really bad infection to use the vanco. I am allergic to septra now so that screws that up.
My ENT says that he doesn't even get excited over MRSA anymore because at least 50% of his patients in the hospital have MRSA cultured but are not always sick. I think that the bad MRSA is the community acquired that one gets at gyms, health clubs, etc. I don't think I would go near a public sauna anymore. I don't care what kind of disinfection they do, there is too much margin for error in disinfection techniques with the large turnover of help in those places.
This seige of infection this year has me quite suspicious of the place that I had my sleep study. I had the study and was sick about 24 hours later and it got to be a really bad infection. This was in July and I had the sweats so bad and of course thought it was from the heat. Ended up sick the rest of the year. I was suspicious about getting an infection when I stayed there as it just didn't look like it was as clean as it could be. Also, really hot with the air conditioner going and that makes for infection issues. Enough said about that! :) Irish ;D
Welcome home Irish!
I'm sorry that I'm so late on this post....Ive been slow on the Boards lately.
Also so sorry that you are still dealing with all of this infection and everything else you have been dealing with over the years.....you need a break and a nice relaxing vacation from all of this for goodness sake!
Hang in there (like you always do), take good care of yourself and rest when you need it! You just keep on going no matter what and that inspires so many here...I know you inspire me!!
Lots of hugs being sent to you.....
hi Irish
Great to see you posting again, sorry you have been through the mill and still battling infections. Take it easy Irish, look afteryourself. Glad that the biospies results are good.
I used to have lovely teeth, but they are just crumbling away now, i have 3 crowns and had an awful infection that spread to the sinus and lord knows else where, and this was at the root of the canal, the dentist drilled through the crown and the smell was like nothing i smelt before, truely grose. I do worry though that this will continue to happen.
TAke care
loulou
loulou, If you can afford it go to an oral surgeon (referred by your dentist) and get all your teeth pulled at the same time. They can give you IV antibiotics and send you home on antibiotics following the extractions. It is not the most fun in life, but it is such a relief to get rid of the infected teeth that break off when you bite into a marshmellow.
If you don't get your teeth pulled you will be fighting infections and paying out a lot of money to your dentist up until the time you do get them pulled. It is so worth it to have your teeth out when they are falling apart. The dentists don't life to pull them cause they want you to spend the money on the caps, etc. Just tell the dentist that having bad teeth like this can slowly kill a person when they have sjogrens. Bad teeth can contribute to lots of health problems from stomach to heart. Good luck. Irish ;D
Welcome home Irish,
good to see you're still kickin with us and raring to go. Lets hope those drugs do their thing for you
pud
Hi Irish
Thank you for your sound advice, i have apt soon with dentist and i will tell him that there is no point in trying to save the back tooth that is just falling apart. We have had 3 different dentist, and i am loosing faith in all of them.
Hope your fight in conquering your infections will happen, and your health will improve some. TAke care sweet.
loulou
Hi Irish:
I've been slowly catching up on things here. It is possible to wander for days in one section of the boards and never get back out again! Glad to hear they may have sorted out this MRSA thing finally. Here's hoping you get stronger as spring arrives.
Genko
Hi Irish-
I was reading through your list of antibiotics that you're sensitive to. I have many of the same sensitivities.
I think the first time I had a MRSA infection affecting the side of my face, nose and left eye in 2007, (when it was REALLY mismanaged by the Residents of the program my doctor was in charge of) they sent me home with oral Zyvox. I'm not absolutely sure that was the name of it, but it was the only oral antibiotic for MRSA that I wasn't allergic to that they could come up with.
Unfortunately, I was already vomiting and had a headache when I left the hospital and the first Zyvox didn't make it all the way down before coming back up, so I was readmitted. They thought I might have meningitis. At the time, they still weren't handling the MRSA very well as they put me in the same room as a woman scheduled for brain surgery. I was scared to death that I would infect her, but I seemed to be the only one concerned.
I ended up changing doctors when the MRSA came back a second time about a month later. I do believe I got it where I took physical therapy. They never wiped the equipment or mats down between patients and when you were on a table, the only thing protecting the pillow cases was a paper towel.
Now when I end up in the hospital, I get my own room just because I have a history of MRSA.
I really hope they get the right combination of antibiotics and keep you on the for a long enough period of time that THIS time, you get free and clear.
You're on my Sjogren's prayer list, Irish, a separate prayer list for my friends who've been given this special gift in life!
Tracy