Pharmaceuticals

This has been quite a week for me and Big Pharma. 

Last Friday morning I woke up and at some point inspected the disheveled woman staring at me in the mirror and to my dismay I saw little red bumps lining my upper lip.  I rubbed my lip and felt the familiar tingling sensation...

It looked like round 5 or 6 of the cold sore/impetigo mystery was brewing.  There was still hope, though.  I've had little bumps and the cold sore tingles that just *poof* went away.  I was hoping there would be some *poofing* but no such luck.

My regular doctor told me to see the dermatologist because she has no idea what's going on with me.  The dermatologist's office said they couldn't see me until next Wednesday and, after I called back to plead for an appointment they said they don't reserve space for same day appointments.  This is the same office where the last time I was there the Dermatologist said to me (after I asked him about my latest outbreak and if there was anyone he could refer me to and he said, "Well, maybe this is the last time it happens.").  I know - I should have never gone back after that profound medical insight on his part.  Is that what 8 years of medical school gets you?  Maybe it won't happen again?  Really?!

As each minute ticked by in the late morning I could feel my face being transformed.  Staph was colonizing my lips and chin and there was no one who could see me.  I sat on the steps in front of the house on the phone with my mom crying about how I wanted to see someone about this - I just needed to start antibiotics ASAP.  The sky was blue, the sun was shining, it was warm.  The day was too beautiful to be marred by this ugly, ugly thing. 

We had just returned from a mom's group when my doctors office called and the above series of phone calls set me off on my calls of pleading for an appointment.  It was now well past noon on Friday and if no one could see me I would have to go to the Emergency Room. 

As I was making an appointment to see a regular doc at a local clinic I almost shouted to the receptionist, "WAIT!  Do you have any same day appointments available with a dermatologist?!" 

When she said yes but it's at 1:45 with a 15 minute check-in so I would have to be there at 1:30 and could I make it, I probably did shout, "Yes!  I'll be there!" 

Fortunately I never took the boys out of the van - they sat in their car seats with the doors open while I called everyone under the sun that I could think of to make an appointment. 

Unfortunately I never took the boys out of the van while I called everyone under the sun.

They were hungry.

They were tired.

They were cranky.

Normally I am really good about feeding my children.

Normally I am really good about letting them sleep.

This was not a normal situation.

To make a long story a little less long - I saw the doc and she was befuddled.  She didn't give me antibiotics because she didn't know my history of the raging impetigo and as a good responsible doc she didn't prescribe me antibiotics all willy nilly based on some new patients self reporting even though she did see the first start of the infection.  Just the faintest beginning.  She had me take an extra strong dose of something I already take in hopes that would quell the beast.

But the beast was not to be quelled; by Saturday morning my face (read:  lips and chin) was a gross, crusty, drippy, honey colored, swollen mess.  That afternoon I had Ryan drop me off at the ER.  There the doctor who saw me gave me not one but two kinds of antibiotics to take. 

I didn't sleep well that night but the next day - from 10 am to 5 pm - I slept like a log.  The only reason I woke up was because Ryan checked on me to make sure I was still breathing.  After a few hours up and helping put the boys to bed I went back to sleep but not before I noticed a red patch over my left eye.

Frick! 

It had never spread beyond my lips and chin before this.  Why oh why would it decide to leap up my face?

About 3 am when I was up for a trip to the loo I noticed that what started out as a red itchy patch that was a tiny bit puffy was now flaming red, very itchy and my eye was almost swollen shut.

"Ryan, wake up.  I'm going to the emergency room, my eye is almost swollen shut."

"OK.  I'll pray for you...."  zzzzzzzzz

Just kidding.  I'm sure it took him at least two minutes to fall back asleep. 

3:30 in the morning is a great time to be in the ER.  It was a ghost town.  When the receptionist asked why I was there to be seen I pointed to my face and she said, "Oh, the obvious, huh?" 

"Yup."

The 2 nurses aides and nurse who checked me in - no joke - they were bored - had me change into a gown because they were certain I was going to be there a while since it looked like something was obviously going on. 

But no.  The doctor gave me a big dose of prednisone and sent me off with a prescription for more to take throughout the week. 

Whew. 

Geez, this is just getting longer and longer.....

On Monday it was back to the dermatologist who said it was probably an allergic reaction and sent me to the lab with a boat load of things to be tested for.  She kept looking at me and patting my knee and saying, "Oh, you poor thing."  I think she was really shocked to see how quick and virulent this thing on my face was.

I am eagerly waiting to hear what she has to say when the labs come back but in the meantime she's befuddled. 

Since the non-drowsy anithistamines did nothing to keep me from wanting to scratch my face off my only source of comfort on Tuesday was dunking my face in ice water every few minutes.  Ice.  Water.  I set up a big bowl full of ice, poured water on it and dunked my face in.  I told my friend I wanted to shove straws up my nose so I could just keep my head in the water all day.  It felt soooo good to make my face go numb. 

As a result of my facial melting, so to speak, Ryan was super helpful.  He's already helpful, mind you, but when your spouse's face looks like the spawn of Satan, the helpful factor gets ramped up.  So, I slept a lot over the weekend and late into the mornings. 
Sleep, as many of you know, is the great restorer of many things.

Well, two things:  energy and sanity.

Everything after that just falls into place.  When you have energy you can clean the house and yourself. 

The sanity is just gravy.  Sweet, soapy scented gravy on a freshly scrubbed body floating in a fur and dirt free, clutter free house.

Oh, that whole dirt and clutter free thing was compliments of the prednisone. 

So, sleep + prednisone = energized mommy.

And maybe a little crabby mommy by the end of the day.

And by the end of the week a wide awake mommy who is going to crash when I don't have prednisone to boost me up anymore.

Anyone have Barry Bond's trainer's number?

Mama needs some juice.