If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

- George Washington

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Not Man-Flu at all ...

... but a case of cellulitis. No connection with cellulite, by the way, except etymologically. Just thought I'd make that clear. Ahem.

It seems as though a small cut I had on my shin, which was taking an age to heal, was the route by which some unfriendly bacteria entered my skin and started doing what bacteria do - multiply like buggery. This was the painful leg on Saturday morning. If the bacteria then get into the blood or lymphatic system, they can spread rapidly through the body, giving
influenza-like symptoms with a high temperature and sweating or feeling very cold with shaking, as the sufferer cannot get warm.
Yep, that was me on Saturday and Sunday. I seem to have shaken that off, but the leg is getting worse and worse. I went to see my doctor on another matter on Monday and mentioned all of this, but I didn't get much of a response. By Tuesday morning, it was pretty painful and reddened, and Anna suggested (OK, insisted) that I call the surgery again. I managed to get an emergency appointment and this time my doctor examined me - at last - and gave me the diagnosis. And a hefty left-and-a-right of Phenoxymethylpenicillin and Flucloxacillin, enough for a week. I was told to call again if it was not improving in 48 hours.

Well, I went into work today, and it's been awful. I can hardly stand on that leg, and getting the bike boots on is almost impossible. I've called my boss, and he has given me two days off.

Rest, and elevation. My left leg looks like a red balloon.

Man Flu, my arse.

13 comments:

  1. Good to know you now know what nackered & knocked you out.

    Make a swift recovery.

    "I've called my boss, and he has given me two days off." Generous bugger. Point him in the direction of your Wiki Link "...... recovery periods last from 48 hours to six months."

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  2. Well I hate to say "I told you so"(Yeah right!) but refusing beer was not a good sign!

    Glad you have a diagnosis, why are doctors so slow off the mark these days?

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  3. ::[sympathy]::

    If you're bad enough to need both antibiotics, then she really needs to put that carpet thing away.

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  4. Glad you got it diagnosed and hopefully are on the mend. It amazes me how doctors can dismiss symptoms so easily.

    I've had more than one emergency surgery and I know first hand that reactionary instead of preventative medicine is not fun.

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    1. Sorry to miss this one. You got spam-trapped. No idea why.

      My doctor is a star and I love her to bits, but sometimes you have to persist!

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  5. Wish you better. Thank goodness Anna insisted on going back to the docs.

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  6. Read that last line badly first time around: I thought it said 'Man Flu of your arse' and wondered if we were back to the cellulite thing...

    Nasty. Hope it gets better soon!

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  7. I hope the drugs kick in and will prevent nastier stuff like NF. Please take care of yourself and be better soon, and take the time you need to heal, that might just be more than two days.

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  8. Good job you went - nasty infection, but it looks like it's been caught in time.

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  9. If the swelling doesn't go down soon, pester the doctor to consider trying different antibiotics. Don't just sit at home and suffer. My husband had this a couple of years ago. It took six different antibiotics before the right one was found. Even now, his foot and ankle still swell up in response to hot weather or slight exertion.

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  10. Thanks to everyone for the good wishes *blushes*.

    Joe - complicated. He's not my boss. He was my boss, but he was demoted at the start of all the shenanigans at work, which have yet to be resolved, so he's not really my boss. But the woman who is now technically my boss has no idea how the department runs, so she lets him make all the day to day decisions. As he always used to. He's one of the good guys, really. I'm saving the 'six months' thing for later. I may need it :)

    Conniesdad - yeah, the beer refusal was a sign. My doctor is a lovely woman, and makes me feel better when I see her no matter what, but sometimes you need to push a bit as she isn't very thorough. I'll give her a pass on this one, as she was full of cold herself on the day and should have been home in bed.

    Patently - no worries - the bloody thing went back to Morrison's first thing Sunday morning. I made damn sure of that.

    WoaR - thank you. Being blokey, I woulkd have probably left it for a week or two to 'see how it goes'. Anna is good for me like that.

    Endo - the antbiotics are having that effect, TYVM.

    SonjaM - are you thinking of necrotising fasciitis? I read that bit in Wikipedia and it got me faintly terrified. I'm hoping I have hit it hard enough and early enough that it won't develop into anything truly horrible. As said above, the two days is just for starters. I may need more, and if I need it I will take it. The days are past that I would drag myself into work out of a sense of duty.

    JuliaM - I hope so.

    Anon - I am currently on a week's course of the two antibiotics that are prescribed most often (according to Wiki, anyway), but if it's not on the way out by the end of the week I will certainly do as you say. I sympathise with your husband; that must be unpleasant.

    Early night last night, and 12 hours total rest of the 'affected limb'. It was a bit better this morning, and a day off work is obviously helping, but as soon as I move about it starts to get painful again. I innocently told a (female) colleague at work that I was 'getting it up as often as I could'. I think she's still laughing at that one.

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  11. Richard:

    take care of yourself and take lots of medication. We have to get you back to normal

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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