My ongoing battle with cellulitis has seemingly taken a turn for the worst!

Readers of my last blog will have seen me try to do an attempted funny take on me then suffering with a nasty health condition called cellulitis. I was mindful how me just listing my health issues and worries can’t be the most entertaining of reads. That said, forgive me if I do just this in the following blog. I’m not in the mood to try and be very funny at the moment, developments have taken place and I’m really worried about them.

Since my last ‘funny’ blog about the cellulitis, things didn’t go as well as I thought they would. The Clindamycin had shifted most of this nasty, painful, burning hot red rash on my lower legs so imagined it was just a matter of time before it went completely. I started feeling positive about the future again, imagined me soon re-starting physio for my back and pelvis. Problem was however, every time I neared the end of my course of Clindamycin antibiotics, the rash would just slightly flare up again, this happened on two separate occasions. I saw a GP who I previously didn’t like but now do(I shouldn’t be so quick to judge people, one of my flaws) about ten days ago and he said he would give me one last try on the Clindamycin. He added, if this didn’t fully shift it then he was afraid that he’d have to send me into to hospital to get some antibiotics via a intravenous drip.

Fast forward a week and instead of getting better, alarmingly my legs were going worse. The red rash was all over my left shin, up my left calf, my right shin was getting worse and the stinging was increasingly going worse. I was trying to hold on going to seeing the GP I really liked in a booked appointment that I had with her in six days time. It was no good however, I woke up last Friday morning with my legs and feet red all over, burning like mad and terribly swollen. Something definitely wasn’t right and as much as I didn’t want to have ring up the doctors for an emergency appointment, I knew I had to act before the weekend came round. I was really worried because I had convinced myself once I got to see the doc, he would say you need to go into hospital straight away and I really didn’t fancy that. From a silly point of view perhaps, I also knew this would mean missing the climax of transfer deadline day(football). Up to this point, I had visions of me sitting in front of the box 24/7 praying United will sign some more good players ha.eg Vidal etc.

What a day last Friday was, I got back home absolutely shattered(both mentally and physically). Like I just said, I was dreading ringing up my GPs for numerous reasons, one I forgot to mention was also my OCD. With my vomit phobia, a hospital visit is one of the worse places where I could be stepping into. However, if needs must then needs must I guess, I knew I had no choice but to just try and cope somehow if I was indeed sent there. By great luck I managed to get an 11.10am appointment that morning with this male GP who I was now starting to warm too, and who more importantly had seen me last time regarding the cellulitis. After him looking at my legs and me jokingly asking him to NOT send me into hospital until after Monday when the transfer deadline had finished, he confirmed that I really did need some IV antibiotics via a trip or stay in hospital. He was convinced the oral Clindamycin antibiotics that I’d had the initial success with were now not penetrating the cellulitis enough. He rang up the hospital and I was told the Medical Assessment Unit would be expecting me sometime in the early afternoon.

I got into the right hospital department at 2.45pm ish and didn’t get home til 9pm. Yes, I fully expected them to keep me in, especially after what was said at one point but to my relief and somewhat surprise, I was allowed to go home….for now anyway. After two hours of waiting and several OCD mini alarms that I coped with, I finally saw a doctor. Her looked at my feet and legs and I noticed then he seemed more bothered about how swollen they were, rather than the redness. He did say something about my lymph glands but I didn’t properly catch it. He said he’d have a word with the Senior Doc and then they’d get back to me, probably with some new antibiotics for the cellulitis…..at his stage I was quite calm(although very sore). About another two hours afterwards I then go into a Consulting Room with this youngish first doctor and the senior one. After me showing my feet and legs to this senior doc, to my great surprise he said he didn’t think I still had cellulitis anymore. He thought the redness and all the leg and feet swelling were due a water/fluid build up. The redness is there because the water can’t get out anywhere. I asked if so, then why did the antibiotics help the nasty rash for a time then? He answered that I probably did have cellulitis for a time but with the blood tests showing no signs of an infection, it’s now gone. I was gobsmacked at this, pleased that my swollen legs were finally being addressed, but worried what lie ahead. I looked at this piece of paper I am to give my GP and it said, “suspected LYMPTHOEDEMA”….I’d never heard of it. I assume they thought this is what is causing me the fluid build up, something being wrong with my leg lymph glands. He said he also wanted me to come in on Monday for a full length doppler leg scan. This apart from the lympthoedema was to rule out that I didn’t have any blood clots or DVT. I’ve never had a heart Echo Scan so this is being organised too, but not on Monday. They also wantied me to self inject a blood thinning medication for 3 days, just in case my blood was too thick.

I got home shattered, relieved they hadn’t kept me in, was worrying about an OCD contamination issue, and was furious nobody who I’d seen up to that point had mentioned lymphoedema to me. I have seen four GP’s about my swollen legs and feet, worrying about them, and not once did this come up………FUCKING USELESS! I’ve had a million blood tests and when nothing came back they just came up witth, ‘oh it must just be because you have pelvic issues’. I’ve been deluding myself thinking all I needed was the right antibiotics for this  cellulitis and once I start having physio on my pelvis, the swelling will thus duly go in my legs and feet………feel like such an idiot now(although how was I supposed to know)? At home the following day I did the worst thing I could have done….guess? Yep, I googled lymphoedema and gave myself the rights shits. Things like it’s INCURABLE spring out to me….it was just all too overwhelming and upsetting, still is a bit. I’ve got enough on my plate with the OCD and try to get my back and pelvis better, which re the latter won’t be an easy quick task. It does make perfect sense though if I do indeed have lympthoedema. I’ve been feeling overly acidic throughout my body for the last 4-5 yrs at least. I’ve had hardly any energy at times, even went to the docs years ago convinced myself I had M.E due worrying this could be the reason. Since I had my gallbladder taken out a year and a half ago, my urine is v dark, it stings when I go and I hardly feel the urge to go during the day. Only at night when my feet are raised do I have the sudden urges to pee about five gallons. Since having my gallbladder out my libido has been greatly reduced, been worrying why and not getting anywhere. I bet you all this is because with the water not escaping or not being removed properly, my body is being poisoned and thus is over acidic. I’ve read that massaging the affected areas and wearing tight fitting socks are two ways to help manage it……only time will tell I guess. I just need it to be manageable because got so many things I want to do yet with my life….dream of doing even. Like meeting that special somebody, maybe having kids, good job that I’ve dreamed of(Careers Counselling), travelling etc etc.

So tomorrow I’m to report at the hospital at 2.30pm to go for this doppler full length leg scan to check for this lympthoedema I assume(I’ll be in a right state). I remember them saying they want to check I’ve no blood clots in my legs for a fear my blood could be too thick. Funnily enough I did say to Mum that this tightness in my lower legs and calves made me think I could have DVT, but I’d be very shocked and surprised if I have that. I’ll therefore blog next about what happened tomorrow and in the proceeding week, I also have a GP appointment booked Wednesday. Hopefully nothing awful or drastic is found tomorrow and I’m less FED UP, FED UP, FED UP AND FED UP, next time I blog. Bye for now, Andy x.