MRSA- please give advice or suggestions- scared!

Jackie,

Wow, so you have a drain in the area around your new j-pouch? Sheesh that would be uncomfortable to say the least. I had a drain for 2-3 weeks after my ileostomy surgery coming out of my incision (like a tube connected to a clear rubber squeeze-ball that I had to empty like 10 times a day) and it drove me nuts.

I wanted to let you know that I had a MRSA infection about 5 years ago, but it was not related to my surgery--it was on my bottom lip of all places, making my lip swell up and blister and hurt (and look really scary). I went on high doses of antibiotics, and it cleared up in 2 weeks!

I know when you hear "MRSA," it is scary, but the truth is there are still antibiotics that can clear them up just like other infections. I am sure your IV antibiotics will clear up your infection. :)

I hope it works fast so that you can possibly get your drain removed!

-E

It sounds like you have to best antibiotic for MRSA. I had a friend who contacted MRSA in the hospital after having a baby!!! The baby was fine, but my friend had to take massive doses of antibiotics. She finally kicked it after a while. She now looks and feels great!
Good luck and stay positive.
Jennie

Jackie,

To answer your question, I was told yes I was contagious, but none of my friends, family, or my husband caught it, thankfully! I mean, as soon as my lip swelled up and blistered, I obviously stopped kissing and sharing drinks with people as I knew something was wrong...

I just did a search about it, and I did not realize they categorize MRSA into 2 groups: Hospital-Acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) and Community-Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). I had the community-associated one, which is not as serious as the hospital-induced type:

http://www.thebody.com/content/treat/art41276.html


I think I was on strong antibiotics for about a month (only oral ones--no IVs), but it seemed to clear up for me in 2 weeks. But, again, I had the less-serious type.

I hope you feel better soon!

-E