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So there has been a bit of a setback as it seems that the infection has returned.

The area around the ankle had started to become discoloured again and was becoming increasingly painful after the level of pain had dropped off somewhat. This time I didn't hesitate and got in to see my family doctor who looked at it and said that the infection had returned. But nothing showed up on a blood test that was taken yesterday so he believes that we caught it early and that it is less severe, and more localized, than it was the last time. So he has put me on some strong antibiotics and wants see me again Monday (if needed, I can call him as well). He also said that if it gets worse I should head straight to the emergency room but, in the meantime, he is going to speak to my nurse when she is here tomorrow and, between them, they will monitor it closely until my appointment with the surgeon next Thursday.

That is a shame, Colchar. Hopefully you caught it quickly and the new antibiotics will kick right in.

A few hot nurse vibes for good measure....

Well, dang! Here are some extra punches in the face for those microbes --->
Glad you got right on this. Sounds like you've learned your lesson about putting things off! Your medical team seems first rate.
Love, Ima

Harrumph...I knew it was a bad idea to be off the antibiotics.



That the new round kicks it to the curb, for good.

Has anyone had Shingles??

Sending more anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-septic vibes your way, Colchar!

Hugs and prayers, too!

CathyCA wrote:Sending more anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-septic vibes your way, Colchar!

Hugs and prayers, too!

What she said! And a few extra shin kicks to the microbes for good measure.

I agree with Windsor - bad idea to be off the antibiotics, but glad you were quick to react and see the doc! Hopefully this will get back on the healing track right quick!

Shouldn't have messed around with the hot nurse! Lol. Seriously, vibes. }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Thanks folks.

I didn't think it was a good idea to be off the antibiotics either. The E.R. doctor had told me that I would be on antibiotics for a while after the intravenous ones and my family doctor thought I should be on the I.V. for an extra week. But the surgeon decided the I.V. antibiotics had done their job, and to a large extent they had, so my family doctor deferred to the surgeon. When he saw me yesterday though he put me right back on them and told me that he will give me all the info (blood test results, antibiotics prescribed, etc.) prior to my next appointment with the surgeon so that I can give it to him when I see him. My family doctor did say that he has had a lot of success with other patients when he put them on the one he prescribed so hopefully they work well for me too. Unfortunately they are not covered on my drug plan so I had to pay for them myself (about a hundred bucks) which sucks when I have been unable to work because of the foot. But I guess it is a small price to pay if they help eh?

I might ask the surgeon, or my family doctor, about being put on the oral versions of the antibiotics that I was getting intravenously. They did a good job (granted they were bombing me with a combined 4800mg per day) so maybe being put on the oral version for a little while might be a good idea.

Ima Facultiwyfe wrote: Well, dang! Here are some extra punches in the face for those microbes --->
Glad you got right on this. Sounds like you've learned your lesson about putting things off! Your medical team seems first rate.
Love, Ima

And here I was feeling all confident about things...

But you would know better than most people how persistent these kinds of infections are and how tough they can be to eradicate. I'm still miles away from what your poor daughter has had to endure but I must say that my heart sank when my doctor said yesterday that the infection was back. I can handle continuing to go through all the rest of this, but the pain I endured when the infection was at its worst was terrible (and I have a pretty high pain threshold) so I have been particularly worried about having a setback and having to go through that again. Hopefully we got on top of this quickly enough that we've nipped it in the bud and I am praying that I won't have to go back on the I.V. antibiotics. That is a pain in the arse itself, but I am registered for a couple of courses starting in September and I really wouldn't want to be sitting through a three hour class hooked up to the I.V.

Good thing you caught it early.

Mega vibes!!!!! Go to Chapel Hill, fucking microbes! Go to Hell!

Freakin' Kyle Blech Busch vibes to get rid of those freakin' microbes!!

Just an update for everyone...

I saw the surgeon this morning and he declared the hole in my ankle healed because it is completely scabbed over and is only 1mm deep. I had seen my family doctor yesterday and he had said that the second infection seemed to be going away and the surgeon agreed with that.

However, my family doctor also said that the pain I am still experiencing from the ankle isn’t going away anytime soon and that the closing of the hole is only the first stage in healing this thing. I am constantly worried that the pain, which radiates up into my shin, is a sign that there is some infection in the bone but both my family doctor and the surgeon said that none of the tests they have done indicate that. My family doctor said that the tissue, muscles, ligaments, and tendons will be a complete mess and that it will take several months for them to heal up to whatever degree they are going to heal. He is going to allow them to settle down a bit before doing an ultrasound, and probably another MRI, which will give him an idea of how badly damaged they actually are and how permanent that damage might be. The area surrounding the ankle is also still quite swollen. He mentioned that the loss of range of motion in the foot is likely to be permanent. But, as he said, I got to keep my foot so this is a better outcome than what could have happened! The surgeon seems to be leaving all of this to my family doctor to deal with, as his main concern had been the open wound (since he is a wound care specialist that makes sense).

My family doctor said that he had been really worried about the foot because the infection was so severe. He said that mine was the worst he had seen in his career. He is close to retirement so it must have been bad if it was the worst he had seen in that long a career! Because walking, even with a cane, remains painful he filled out the form for me to get a handicapped parking permit. He signed off on a temporary one that lasts six months and said we could reevaluate then and decide if I need another one of six months duration, if I should get the longer one that lasts five years before it has to be reevaluated, or if the permanent damage is severe enough that he will need to sign off on a permanent disabled parking permit.

When I left the surgeon's clinic at the hospital this morning they didn’t even bandage the ankle before I left, they just put a band-aid on because it was bleeding a bit (he had scraped and dug out a bunch of the scab with tweezers - which really hurt!). So, for the first time in months, I don’t have a bandage on my damned foot!!!!!!!!

Having SHINGLES is very painful, also!!!!

Colchar, I'm glad that you're down to band-aids now. I'm sending vibes, hugs and prayers that any lingering infection in the bone or anywhere else disappears completely and quickly!

This sounds like the best news you've reported in eons! Here's some more vibes and hugs that all is going to finish healing as quickly as possible and some of this pain will go away SOON!

CathyCA wrote:Colchar, I'm glad that you're down to band-aids now. I'm sending vibes, hugs and prayers that any lingering infection in the bone or anywhere else disappears completely and quickly!

Ditto - along with flexible healing vibes to help with range of motion issues.