Oh, No! Not Cellulitis Again!

I did my usual round of armbike on Thursday afternoon. Thursday night, I started feeling cold. We have had a spot of cold weather here, so I didn't think at first it was anything to worry about. Sure enough, during the night I got chills, then fever, and then the fever broke and I felt fine Friday morning. Well, I've had those symptoms before, and ignored them for weeks at a time until one day, I became extremely sick, developed huge weeping wounds on my thighs, and ended up on IV antibiotics for three months. This time, I called the doctor right away and told her what it felt like, and that I thought I had a red area on my right thigh (it's hard to tell because the skin was damaged from last time). I'm on oral antibiotics (clindamycin and cipro) for ten days, and I pray that I don't have to go on IV therapy or end up in the hospital, as I have four more presurgery classes to finish. If I don't finish, I have to wait for the next round, which postpones my surgery. Not only that, the IV drugs cost a fortune on Medicare and I haven't spent enough out of pocket yet to get the catastrophic coverage. I'm trying not to make a mountain out of a molehill, but cellulitis sucks. Why do I keep getting this? I shower thouroughly every day and am meticulous about skin care. I'm hoping that being 75 lbs lighter this time will be in my favor in terms of the oral antibiotics taking care of everything. Sigh. Every time I make progress, something comes along to knock me down. Feeling very sorry for myself today, Kix

Oh Kix, that sucks! The doctors are always telling us that our extra weight causes problems, so hopefully being 75 lbs lighter WILL help. Take care of yourself! Lisa L. 380/345/170

I'm sorry you are feeling bad. I'm not sure what cellulitis is, but is sure does not sound pleasant. Sending hugs and your way. On the brighter side....congratulations on losing 75 pounds!! That is awesome. Keep up the good work Heather

Kix, The open wound on your thigh was a major red flag to me and the cellulitis, this are both classic signs of Lymphedema. Have you looked into this? Do your legs swell, is your stomach very large or hanging? If you don't get the proper treatments for Lymphedema if that's the cause then the cellulitis will keep occuring. Check out my site for details. www.amylhwilliams.com and drop down to my lymphedema story. Amy

Hi, Amy: Thanks for the heads-up. My legs don't swell. I have always carried a lot of weight in my thighs, and occassionally I get pressure sores from them pressing together if I sit too long. In the past, I wasn't always good about moisurizing my skin and when the skin would pull, it would tear. I would get little red patches on my skin that I thought were skin allergies until my big bout in November. Since then, I have been hypervigilant about skin care, and if I get a pressure sore, I take care of it properly and it heals right up. I figured out what caused this latest bout. I use a wheelchair for long distances, and when I was walking around my wheelchair at surgery class last Wed night, I felt something jab me behind my right knee. I didn't think any more about it, and didn't even bother to check to see if I cut my knee. I'll be sure to check next time! I'll be very glad when I get my weight down to a level where these skin issues aren't such a problem. Kix 530/455 pre-op

Kix, I used to have lymphadema very bad...it is gone now....I hope it goes away for you!!!! Lori 384/242/168