The Bactrim Diet

Not that I recommend this as a fun and painless way to lose weight, but it goes something like this....

1. Acquire some medical condition which requires that you ingest 2 Bactrim tablets every 12 hrs. and take the Bactrim faithfully on schedule.

2. Ponder your options with your slightly queasy tummy. Settle on a food list that consists of Ritz crackers, graham crackers, tea, water, ginger ale, applesauce, 1 oz. portions of mild cheddar cheese, toast, chicken rice soup and yogurt. If you are so inclined, have a small salad now and again. But you probably won't be so inclined very often, just so you know. You may be able to combine up to any two of the solid food items with one of the liquid ones. Your stomach will let you know. Trust me on this.

3. Lounge around, rising periodically to attend to your chosen medical condition. In my case, this has consisted of wound dressing every 3-6 hours. Channel surfing, reading and talking on the phone are all excellent cross-training as you lounge.

4. Wait a week and step on the scale. For me, the above regimen has resulted in a 7 lb. weight loss.

5. Continue this regimen until your medical condition is cured.

Some Relief

Ahhhh......after yesterday's little conniption fit about my abscess, during the night, sometime around 2 a.m., something seemed to give. A sense of relaxation set in as I lay there on the couch half asleep. I could move more comfortably. Although I didn't have a strong physical sensation of anything having burst or popped, somehow, the Thing didn't seem so irritated and angry any more. Was able to stretch out full this morning, and when I looked at my abdomen this morning, it seemed as though the skin and tissue over and around the abscess were less "hot" and red, and it looked like the odd swelling on the right side of my lower abdomen (where the abscess is) had subsided. It was definite progress and perked me up considerably, truth to tell.

Got ready and headed back to the doctor. I made sure I took one of my Vicodin tablets before I left, as I figured the fiddling with the incision and unpacking and repacking the incision would be ouchie. I've taken the Vicodin long enough now to know how it will affect me, and I figured that so long as I didn't lie down and try to nap right at the steering wheel, I was safe enough to drive, which was right. It didn't kick in until I was actually at the urgent care and it pretty much had worn off by the time I left. The doctor I saw gave me a "good girl" for having thought to take something before he got in there prodding and squeezing. Lots more nastiness came out when he squeezed on me today, which is a good thing. He upped my dosage of antibiotics to 2 Bactrim every 12 hrs. He said one might be sufficient to do the job, but he was of the opinion that we want to really knock these bugs down, so I should start taking 2 tablets instead of 1 every 12 hrs. I will, OF COURSE, take them until they are gone, no matter how good I start to feel. I've read enough books about how to build a better bacteria, so I know to take all of my antibiotics. Doctor also put me off work until Monday, with orders to rest, rest, rest. Since that was my intention, that's what I'm gonna do. The most strenuous thing I'll do in the next 5 days is the occasional teeny load of laundry. I can't carry much more than a teeny load of laundry comfortably right now anyhow. But I am at the point where I feel compelled to launder every pair of undies, every towel and every washcloth I own in hot bleach water. I also want to get rid of the trash, which at this point, what with all those used gauze pads, constitutes bio-hazardous waste. Ugh!

Dropped my prescription and my doctor's excuse off at work after my doctor visit. I work with mostly wonderful, caring people, from the store executive level down to the cashiers. Everyone I saw told me I was to get well, for God's sake. They made sure that I didn't feel bad about needing the time off (which I don't, for the record). I made sure, however, that they all understood that I appreciated the difficulty in trying to cover my shifts and the sacrifices and juggling people were making to do that, and that they knew if the shoe were on the other foot, I'd be the one stepping up to the plate to do the same for any of them. I do have to say, though, that it is one of those times where having developed a reputation as a pretty tough old bird that doesn't call off sick at the slightest tummy tickle pays off. People take it very seriously when you get a doctor saying you're not coming back until Monday.

Well, that's the update for now. Now I am going to just rest, rest, rest!

And the Staph Goes On....

and on and on, apparently. Mind you, I am willing to admit that I am one of those people who never seems to catch much of anything, who has a high pain tolerance and who's never spent much time recovering from anything. I am, indeed, the genetic descendant of my farming Swiss-German peasant forbearers on the health front, which means I have generally enjoyed good health most of my life. I am willing to concede that I am probably not a very patient patient when it comes to something that will take a spell for full recovery.

Soooo.....imagine my frustration levels every time I look at my still swollen lower abdomen, which is still oozing disgusting amounts of pus and which also has about 18" of packing in that little incision. It's not that I don't see some progress. I do. It's not that I don't feel better at all. I do. It's just that having been a generally healthy person all my damn life and after four days of antibiotics, I expect to feel like doing friggin' cartwheels and seeing something that is clearly healing and not hovering in a state of "is it getting better or not???" It is a question of expectations, you see. And I am not sure what to expect from an abscess that was softball-sized. And I'm frustrated by it.

I have a dr. appt. tomorrow for some more follow up care, which means prodding the incision to remove and replace the packing in there. Yuck. I do sorta thank God that I have not been plagued by stinky bacteria; the only scent from the wound is actually quite medicinal and probably from the packing. I am going to ask for an excuse from work for the rest of the week, possibly through Monday. I could not possibly have done my job today. If I don't feel significantly better by Weds., I still won't be able to do my job. This is a major source of frustration for me because I've NEVER had anything that kept me from being able to do my job for a week or more. It is uncharted territory for me. However, I also know that pushing my body to do more than it is capable of is a fool's errand. It will serve no one in the long run to try to shortcut my recovery and healing, and the fact is that without a rather dramatic improvement on the healing front, I am not capable of running pretty much at full bore on my feet for 7 1/2-8 hrs. right now, and probably won't be for the rest of the week.

And one more thing. The claim that paper tape doesn't hurt is a lie. It does too hurt when you have to change a dressing 5-6 times a day on the tender skin of your lower abdomen. One shudders to think what the other kinds of tape would feel like. Probably wouldn't have any skin left at all with those.