Leg wound now feeling unwell.

Posted , 8 users are following.

Nine days ago I gashed my left lower calf on the corner of the open dishwasher door -even though I had slacks on . I went quickly to the Urgent Care Center where the doc cleaned, dressed the wound with a bandage to stay on for 3 days. I was also prescribed 7 days of clindamycin. This is the 3rd deep wound on that leg and every time the skin becomes necrotic. This requires debridement with either medihoney or SANTYL . Both preparations burn but they also prevent further infections.

Yesterday I was examined by a wound doctor who saw no evidence of infection.

My concern is that this is so painful that it stresses me. I am taking low dose acetamenophen which helps. I feel unwell. No PMR pain whatsoever. Should I UP MY PRED a little? My current slow taper is to 8.5. I'M taking probiotics for upset stomach from antibiotics.

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    I suspect some doctors at least would suggest upping your pred dose to cope with the stress.

    What sort of "unwell" do you mean?

    • Posted

      I feel slightly nauseated and I feel sick and a little chilly from the WOUND pain. No PMR type symptoms at all. NO ENERGY.

      I was supposed to go to my annual class reunion but cancelled; it was an hour drive. I decided to rest the day and that helps. This evening I will do a little gentle TAIchi to keep from getting too sedentery.

    • Posted

      I have had nasty wounds on my leg caused by thin skin, in fact I have had three of them. Two of them did become infected. One so badly I needed an op for debridement. I do find at night it is particularly nasty. The GP said that the fatigue was due to the wounds. As part of the dressing I have silver and medihoney. I also have a high protein diet.

    • Posted

      I decided this evening to up my pred by 1mgm for 2 DAYS THEN GO BACK TO MY CURRENT DECREASING SCHEDULE.

    • Posted

      Hope it goes well. I have had my lesions for nearly a year and have been having them dressed at least weekly. It really is a pain and so limiting.

    • Posted

      I can so relate. This time I was put on preventive antibiotics immediately because of its depth and size. Smaller lesions I avoided infections with medihoney. I have the advantage of a medical background so dress mine and visit the wound doc for observation.

    • Posted

      The wound is a major insult to your body and is requiring a lot of your body to heal - think of it a bit as if you had had an accident or surgery. You don't recover overnight from either. In either case a lot of doctors would tell you to increase your pred to cover your adrenal function - because that COULD be the cause of your unwellness, they are typical of poor adrenal function but could be something else.

    • Posted

      I agree, Eileen. i feel much better having gone up a mgm yesterday and today. When I was administering anesthetics it was routine to give a person, who was taking steroids or had been on them, IV steroids to help them tolerate the stress of surgery.

      I'll see how I feel going forward.

      Thank you for your excellent ideas.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.