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Going thru h*ll with cellulitis

Posted , 9 users are following.

volkrt
volkrt

hello all -

I am going thru my first ever cellulitis on my lower left leg and its pure torture, I spent 4 days in the hospital on iv  antibiotic and have spent another week at home doing iv antibiotic on 600mg CLINDAMYCIN 2x  a day. ...the side effects from this antibiotic are huge! especially the overwhelming fatigue, cold sweats stomach upset to name a few. Can someone tell me their is a light at the end of the tunnel here because I surely dont see it and so frustrated and exhausted I can barely type...does anyone maybe have some tips to help me get thru this horror?...anything would be appreciated ..thank you so much

0 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

  • chloe_79776
    chloe_79776 volkrt

    Posted

    Hello ,

    I'm exactly the same I'm going through my first and it's horrible I'm in so much pain and discomfort, however just relax and rest don't walk to much on your leg , as can make the pain worse, as I find. There is a light at the end but it just takes time.

  • brads27
    brads27 volkrt

    Posted

    I had IV but had it done at home, the same thing you had and the redness gradually disappeared, the swelling went down, still got a bruise where it was buy not to bad now.
    • dmoonuk
      dmoonuk brads27

      Posted

      I have had it reoccur in my legs 5 times now the 1st was the worst. Keep leg elevated as much as u can. After the 1st week things seems to ease. Let us know how your getting on.
  • beverly87625
    beverly87625 volkrt

    Posted

    I'm on my 16th day of cellulitis...tried 3 days of orals before being hospitalized for 7... Been home back on orals for 1 week, returning to work tomorrow...had a pretty rowdy case with venous ulcers but pain is not too bad anymore and 2 hours light walking combined with 15 min elevated feet is recommended. Every other day my wound is cleaned and dressed and shows clearing each time....still a lot of skin to be removed and will most likely will have scarring but as long as I can walk I'm ok with that. Good luck and keep in touch

  • pauluk60
    pauluk60 volkrt

    Posted

    dont know if i am upto date with forum volkrt but had all what you have wrote i oviously do not know how bad was bad with you    but i am now off a/bs and stomach as settled down but i have what they call rescue pack if it shows any signs of coming back   it made a bit of a mess of leg but is slowly mending but will never be perfect i am under district nurse leg bandages 2 x week a bit of pain    i think if leg giving you gip lye down and rise it up on pillow or cushion  painkillers   it looks like i am stuck with for life so i have to be on top of it   what annoys me is there should be some kind of follow up from hospital out patients  clinic to help you get to grips with it  doctors just to busy  so its up to ourselves to sort it which can daunting if its a bad case /recurring a lot to keep on top of   well i hope all that helped
    • brads27
      brads27 pauluk60

      Posted

      I went back to go and he prescribed rib socks, they are very tight and difficult to put on but they feel great once on and my leg feels much better, you would have to wear trousers because they come up to your knee and I am 6'2"

    • pauluk60
      pauluk60 brads27

      Posted

      hi brad are rib socks compression socks they say district nurses that is i should not wear them till cellulitus gone but they do a good job when allowed
  • tallmattuk
    tallmattuk volkrt

    Posted

    my best friend is a GP and his wife a nurse.

    Their advice to me was to walk an hour a day at least, in the morning is good, and then when in the house to elevate my leg.  He says the walking is very important as it will help to reduce the swelling.

    In addition, they told me to put E45 lotion all over my leg at least twice a day - i put it on with the cortisone cream too - and this keeps my skin greasy, moist and supple.  I'm also expected the masage it at the same time.  This stops the damaged skin going scaly and cracked and leading to further complications.

    I wear compression stockings if im out, but i only used them once the blisters had gone down, and always moisturised before putting the stocking on.

    So far things are going in the right direction

    • beverly87625
      beverly87625 tallmattuk

      Posted

      Great to hear that my care instructions mirror yours almost...I am now in an Unna Boot (stiff but flexible compression wrapping soaked in Zinc with cellulose patches) so no more dressing changes save weekly Unna boots. Doc said he wants me active, active active...putting my foot up for 30 min every 3 hours or so but to walk walk walk
    • Light
      Light tallmattuk

      Posted

      Hi Tallmattuk.  I had a serious attack of cellulitis while in hospital for pneumonia. The lesions and open sores have all been gone for almost two months, but the calf and ankle are still a bit swollen and purple.

      I was told to wear compression stockings all the time and keep my legs up as much as possible but no one will tell me how long I can expect it to take for the leg to lose its purple colour and the swelling to go down.

      It's een two months since I left hospital and little seems to have changed.

      Any input from anyone as to what to expect?

      How long will I be wearing these very hot compression stockings (on both legs, even the good one!)

      Be grateful for all help...

    • beverly87625
      beverly87625 Light

      Posted

      Hey...I know you posted to someone else but I thought I'd offer my experience. In sept I was admitted to ER for cellulitis, stayed for 7 days and left thinking that the huge weeping sore from the blister was from cellulitis. At the internist's office, I reviewed papers from hospital which noted "venous stasis ulcer"...so I started researching and Venous Insufficuency seemed like the culprit (though the cellulitis exacerbated it) Finally the wound doc said "yeah, you have the classic signs of CVI" anyway, I'll be in heavy duty (30-40) compression stockings for life otherwise I can expect to be back in the same boat again (70% of people with healed ulcers will relapse so take it seriously) I have been looking st medical papers/journals for information. I found several articles that said that poor circulation is often misdiagnosed as cellulitis and only treated as such. Anyway, maybe your symptoms were/are different from mine (puffy ankle in the evenings, spider veins, rashy brown/red spots on legs etc) but I thought I'd share (because none of the 6 doctors I'm paying off said a word about CVI which is widespread 4/7 people have it) good luck 😊

    • beverly87625
      beverly87625

      Posted

      Oh and the purple discolorations will fade (that is from the pooling of blood) but maybe not go away entirely...we're your sores more on the interior side of your calf, above the ankle ? If so it sounds like you might have CVI. If so, standing and sitting promote sluggish circulation resulting in the back flow of blood, leading to swelling and ulcers. Once the wound has healed, my doc said it takes up to 2 years for the skin to regain 80% thickness again.

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