Went to the ENT on Tuesday... NOT a good time

[Guest guest]

Well the end result of my trip to the ENT clinic on Tuesday was a 911 paramedic ambulance ride to the ER last night. Have I mentioned how much I HATE, DESPISE, and generally want to rip the nuts off a couple of doctors lately?!

After my doctor's appointment on Monday, I went to my Mom's house and ended up staying there until Wednesday afternoon.

Okay, I went to see the partner of the ENT doctor that I have seen in the past and who did my daughter's surgery last July, on Tuesday morning. Showed him my allergy list, told him where he could see the xray that showed that I have a bilateral sinus infection, and could read the radiologist's report. He went out and did all that, yep I need antibiotics. At first he was going to just have me take oral antibiotics and if they didn't work after 3-4 weeks then he would culture the sinuses... well that didn't fly, since I did that whole route last time (10 weeks of oral super expensive antibiotics), and it ended up being MRSA which Levaquin doesn't work on. So (to get me off his back probably) he ended up doing the cultures on both sides of my face, I should get the full results tomorrow. {the prelimary results say it isn't MRSA, but it is some type of staph.}

But so this other doctor... Dr. Manlove decided to put me on a drug related to Levaquin (the only oral antibiotic that I still tolerate), the new drug he put me on was Avelox. Went home to my Mom's and took my 1st dose.. within an hour or so I was itching really badly everywhere. But at the same time I took the Avelox, I also took Dilaudid for the pain. So I didn't know if the itching was from the antibiotic or the pain med (a side effect of narcotics is itching). Because I am such a brave person about taking meds anyway, I always take them with Benadryl. So I kept taking my benadryl every 4-6 hours around the clock until I couldn't take it anymore about 2300 Tuesday, and the pharmacist suggested trying Epi, so I did that. I was able to get a little bit of sleep after the Epi, thankfully. My Mom and I talked about it, and didn't know which drug did it, so I tried taking the antibiotic again yesterday

morning and didn't take my pain meds until a few hours later. Well the itching EVERYWHERE started again within minutes of the antibiotic so that was the culprit. Unfortunately NOTHING I did would get the horrible itching to go away, no matter how much benadryl I took!

I ended up heading home to Shoreview Wednesday afternoon after we picked up my truck from it's doctor appointment ($902.00 YIKES!)

I had been coughing/seal barking all day the 1st day of antibiotics, and it got worse yesterday until last night when my husband decided I sufficiently looked like shit and called the medics. Something about the shade of gray my skin was taking on. So not only did this drug it kick off my allergies, but the allergic reaction also kicked off my asthma... really bad, they didn't need stethoscopes to hear the wheezing I had going on. And actually when the medics arrived I had both stridor and wheezing, that was audible from the front door.... thought I would cover all my bases and make it worth the paramedic ride I guess. My IV was in my foot, but hey it worked, and the medic got it on the 3rd try so I was very impressed. I used to be a paramedic, so it is kind of fun to quiz the new medics when I can.

Well according to the RN that called from the ENT clinic a couple of hours ago, I don't have MRSA, but it is some kind of staph. The RN said she wants my body to "rest" from the reaction that I had to the Avelox, especially after she found out that it got me a 911 paramedic ride last night. So I have to go see the regular ENT doctor tomorrow to see what he wants to do. I did tell her that I would NOT be taking anymore oral antibiotics for this infection since the Levaquin is related to the Avelox & I am not willing to go back to Levaquin for 2 reasons, I can't afford it because it is a really expensive drug, and I had just bought a Rx for $65 and took only 2 tabs of it.

My insurance will pay for the home IV therapy and the drug (I specifically asked before signing up for the new plan!) Because at this point I just want the infection gone, and I know the Vanc or other IV antibiotic will kill the infection off!!

I know that having a PICC line and using IV antibiotics is drastic but hello, I did try the oral route and it got me really sick... nope not again. Maybe the next time I get an infection that needs antibiotics we can try the Levaquin again, but not now. Not so close to a huge reaction to a drug it is related to. I think my "Bitch Paramedic" persona is coming out & will be used tomorrow at the doctor's office if they give me any grief!!

Now that I have written a book, I'll sign off for now. I have to go get ready to go out with my best friend Winnie because she is going home to England on Saturday... boo hoo! I don't want her to go home, or she can go home but has to come right back with her daughter (my God daughter) and her Mom.

Crossing my fingers that nothing ELSE happens tonight!!

Love Always,

Anne