AboutTina Expertise I can help on all aspects of the condition, treatment, support. I cannot diagnose but only give my personal expertise, and refer you to others who can help. I am in touch with doctors, therapists, and professionals on a regular basis. I can help with disability issues pertaining to lymphedema or cancer.
Experience 13 year cancer survivor, Lymphland Support group owner, Owner of Lymphland.com website, writer for Butterfly Gazette, forums coordinator for ELymphNotes online lymphedema magazine, patient and advocate for 10 years, Yahoo answers advanced level answerer.
Organizations Lymphland Support Group Owner, Lymphland.com website owner, National Lymphedema Network member, American Society of Lymphology member, ELymphNotes forums coordinator and writer, member of many online support groups. Rainbow Bridge Pet Loss Grief Counselor, former bank loan rep, pharmacy ass't
Education/Credentials college graduate, volunteer in pet loss grief counselling.
Question Hi,
My daughter had a complete hysterectomy last July and contracted staph in the hospital. Since that time, she has not been infection free. She gets one infection after another....UTI's, bronchitis, pneumonia, huge boils, ear...to name a few. She has been on so many antibiotics that she is resistant to them now. Presently, she is suffering from a massive ear infection that nothing will clear up. She has been to ER 3 times in the past couple of weeks for that as well as breathing issues and seizures (she has a mild seizure disorder). The infection is so bad now and her lungs are full...compromising her breathing. She wheezes constantly, has NO energy, is in constant pain, and almost always has a fever. She just got a STAT referral from her PCP to an infectious disease specialist and, hopefully, will see that doctor very soon. Her blood work is abnormal with a high WBC, which has raised considerably in the past week. Her RDW is high and her Mean Plt Vol is low. She has high Absolute grans, absolute monos, absolute EOS and her Eosinophils are high.
She is getting sicker by the minute and looks horrible. Is going to an infectious disease specialist the right move? Should she see an autoimmune specialist as well? Should she be on IV antibiotics? Her PCP on Friday refused to give her another oral antibiotic because they do no good. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. She is terrified that this will kill her and so am I.
Thanks
Pam
Answer Greetings Pam, the best bet is for her to see the infectious disease specialist. They need to do some cultures of the infections to see what specific type of bacteria is present. Some infections are mixed bags combo of strep, staph, yeast, etc. The doctor will do his own tests as well as blood work. What they will determine is the best antibiotic cocktail by IV that will kill the infection.
She may have some other issues with the lungs, asthma, allergies that keep things aggravated as well. The doctor will refer her to other doctors if need be depending on the results of the tests he orders and the findings.
