DVT No, Cellulitis Yes?

[betheny]

Finally. In DC, one day my lower leg swelled up horrendously, right where my dog had scratched me. The next day, kidney stone, so I thought the two were related. My urologist said on Wednesday the stones are gone, I said "What about this leg?" He said go to another doc for that, not kidney related, kidneys are fine (yay!).

Friday a.m., leg is horribly painful. Red, shiny, twice its size. I got scared went to the ER. Doc there thought the same as me, blood clot. But my dimer-d was inconclusive, doppler negative (yay!). He decided it's cellulitis. Gave me Levaquin, swelling is down some now but it's still painful and my anklebone looks deformed. (My son was pleased with the progress-"Look, Mom, we can almost see the outline of your ankle!" He's been calling it my kankle LOL.)

I have appointment with pc doc Monday. Should I be okay to fly by Friday? My other leg is kind of swollen, it hurts. Can you have cellulitis on 2 legs at once? Is there anything I should be doing? Do you think I finally have the right diagnosis?

Man, I never go to the doctor and I've been to PC guy twice, uro twice, ER twice, in exactly one month!

[carbar]

Sorry to hear that Betheny.
In the course of my rehab, I had a DVT, an infected haematoma and cellulitis - not all at the same time I might add, and not all in the same leg. The cellulitis (or what the doctors called cellulitis) had me on antibiotics for months and months and it never fully went away. I had a leg full of metal and it turned out that around the rod was where the infection had settled. 18 months later the rod came out, infection left but the end result was the spasticity caused by the infection over all those months had pulled my hip out of its socket!!

There, have I cheered you up?!! The moral of the story though is keep going back to the doctor if you are not happy that it has been diagnosed correctly. Don't let the infection get a good grip on you. Don't know about the flying question - maybe depends on how long the flight is.

Hope your leg gets back to its normal self very soon.

[bob clark]

Originally Posted by betheny

My son was pleased with the progress-"Look, Mom, we can almost see the outline of your ankle!" He's been calling it my kankle LOL

After my father died my brother, sister and I lived with my Aunt and Uncle and our 10 cousins. Very crowded house 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom house! But I remember my little cousin Jimmy couldn't say the words "vacuum cleaner" so he pronounced it "atchuum cheaner". I thought it was hilarious.

But remembering back when I was his age I couldn't pronounce the word "vanilla" so had to ask the ice cream man for "white" ice cream. The stupid things we remember.

I can't remember what I had for dinner yesterday but I can remember those things as though they happened yesterday. Must be dementia setting in.... or the gabapentin.

[betheny]

But Bob, this one's 17 and real articulate! He came up w/ kankle because my ankle was the same size as my knee!

[SCI-Nurse]

Unexplained cellulitis is fairly common in SCI. It can happen as a result of a relatively minor wound, but also without any apparent reason.

As long as you are on antibiotics, have no fever, and the redness and swelling are improving, you should be OK to fly. Antibiotics should usually be 7-10 days for a course of cellulitis. If you see any worsening, or get a fever, go to the ER.

(KLD)

[Jadis]

cankle is an old term, i've heard it growing up since the elderly women in my fam are notorious for having cankels. Cankle is when ur ankle is the same size as your calf. there's no curve, just a straight thick stump for a lower leg. gotta love em!

[carbar]

Originally Posted by Jadis

cankle is an old term, i've heard it growing up since the elderly women in my fam are notorious for having cankels. Cankle is when ur ankle is the same size as your calf. there's no curve, just a straight thick stump for a lower leg. gotta love em!

So Betheny, start worrying when it becomes a 'wankle'!! (waist-sized ankle, in case you were wondering)

[Buck503]

Beth, I had cellulitis about 3 months ago. It started from an ingrown
toenail. First my foot got red and warm, then my leg got red and
warm up to my knee. My leg got swollen too. I had to have an
antibiotic drip for 2 days fallowed by 14 days of levaquin. It went
away, but since my toe hadn't healed, I got another infection called
MRSA. They treated it the same way that they treated the cellulitis.
My primary care Dr. told me to keep any wound on my body, super clean
because of this MRSA. I guess it's a bacteria you get on your skin
from being in a hospital for a long time.

[Sue Pendleton]

Follow KLD's instructions exactly for the cellulitis. That stuff can kill if not dealt with quickly. You might want to really push the plain water, watch the salt, and try mid-day naps with legs up to reduce swelling. Besides your kidneys recovering it's what? 110 degrees in OK about now?

So, what are you wearing to the Rally? Oh yea, fly with shoes on that have swelling room. My feet rarely swell except when flying or driving long distance. My last flight was 8 hours and I had to loosen my loosest tennis shoes laces anyway. I also drop my last dose of valium before and during the flight so I get some tone going to keep the DVTs away. Don't think that would help those on Baclofen or Dantrium.

[Tim C.]

those little, less fortunate folk chillin' in Club Med are doing?

When does this friggin sci shit end?
I'm too disgusted to even share here half the shit I encounter, its depressing