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Cellulitis!!! Really scary!!! How long to heal?

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Posted 9/15/2014 11:11 PM (GMT 0)

Just got home from the hospital after 4 days of IV antibiotics for cellulitis. 

It is really scary how fast it spread - from what looked like a bug bite at 5:30 pm, to about 1/4 of calf by 10:00 pm to almost whole calf by next morning.  It got bright red and hot and leg got very swollen. The pain is very very bad. 

Doc said it was from being on immunosuppressants - 6mp and remicade, and the edema I was experiencing from the 6mp and remicade.  At home now on antibiotics, but leg is still very very swollen and red.  Told to watch out for more than normal bms and d as this could be c diff.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so how long does it take to heal up?

Posted 9/15/2014 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
I had cellulitis couple years ago, after being on 6mp (not sure if I was still on it or not at the time).
Mine came from gardening (darn roses) and my index finger swelled up. No hospital, I was heading out on vacation and couldn't see my regular doc so I went to a walk-in clinic and got antibiotics, 7 day course.

Finger took about 2 weeks to get back to normal. Yes it was painful but never hot and never spread to my hand.

I recently had a similar garden injury and it looked like cellulitis starting but it didn't get bad enough for Rx (in my opinion not a doctors). No 6mp for years so maybe that's why. Remicade would of course be a magnitude greater of immunosuppression.

Hope you heal quickly.
Posted 9/16/2014 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Well it also scares the hell out of me.
Had a bad case in my foot around 1974 prior to UC,was totally healthy.
Had a 3rd degree chemical burn,they cut out the dead/black tissue and stitched it up. The day the stiches came out,foot swelled up and got all red,went on antibiotic pills,topical, and hot towels for 24 hours,then the mess burst, thank god. Took a good month to heal up,toes all black and blue from the pressure.
Had at least 2 cases since then in finger, takes a few days for antibiotics to work,when they work,bactrum seems to work best on me. My last case hot water and lots of vitamin D,topical antibiotics, stopped it in its tracks for some reason. It really hurts when all your cells get somehow infected.
The swelling is quite painfull,of which you are aware.
Bottom line,once the swelling and redness goes down,you are on the way to recovery,then it depends
on how much damage was done.
I will say it again.
Scares the hell out of me.
Sorry to here this,hope for your swift recovery.
Old Mike
Posted 9/16/2014 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi,
I had cellulitis last summer on my wrist bone . It started out as a little swelling , and since I had trouble moving it properly I went to see my doctor . She prescribed antibiotics and so I took them
.Just 2 days later the swelling and redness were getting much worse and started spreading to my hand . I was in a lot of pain and really scared . I went to the hospital where they gave me iv antibiotics and a new oral antibiotic . I had to come back the next morning because it got so infected to have it lanced and packed . What an ordeal. I then had to see a surgeon to make sure the infection hadn't damaged the bone . I have a scar that reminds me of what happened but boy was that scary . I was on prednisone at the time .

UC pancolitis 21 years
Current meds: 3 mg prednisone, asacol,
Posted 9/16/2014 2:19 AM (GMT 0)
I got cellulitis in February on my foot and it was the antibiotics for that course that actually gave me UC. So hurray for that...

It was the most excruciating pain in my life. I woke up with a small looking bug bite (yet it felt pretty bad even at that point) and eventually progressed to being a huge swollen bulge covering half my foot by the evening.

It took two weeks of antibiotics for mine to clear up, but then it was gone. If they want to give you clindamycin, see if something else will be better, that antibiotic is the worst for c diff.
Posted 9/16/2014 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks all for sharing your stories. 

At least now I don't feel as if I exaggerated the pain or overreacted. 

I will try some more vitamin D and really keep an eye on it for any evidence it spreads to the bone. 

I now wonder if this has been coming and is part of the reason for some of muscle and joint pain and weakness I have been having in my legs.  Some edema, redness and some swelling has been there for months and I just attributed it to a remicade side effect.   

Posted 9/16/2014 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hi...cellulitis is a scary thing and has to be taken quite seriously! It's good you went to the hospital when you did.

How long will you be on antibiotics?

Take care of yourself and do lots of research on it to gain more awareness. I hope it clears up completely.

Edema, swelling and redness isn't normal....ever.

q
Posted 9/16/2014 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
Quincy 

Thanks for your reply. 

They gave me a script for ten days of antibiotics when I left the hospital.  There are patches that are still quite red, blotchy and painful.  And my foot and ankle are very very swollen and the pitting edema in my calf is very very deep.  I suspect I will be in need of more antibiotics before this all clears up.

I am going to see my new PCP tomorrow. 

The previous PCP was aware of the edema and redness for over a year.  He refused to give me anything other than the lose dose diuretic in the blood pressure medicine he had to prescribe after my BP skyrocketed after a remicade infusion. 

I have read quite a bit on cellulitis since this happened and will watch it very closely until it is totally healed.

 

Posted 9/17/2014 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Good to hear....knowledge, while scary sometimes, can be a lifesaver.

Focus to get well....and since you're on antibiotics, take probiotics as well.

q
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