“The Dog Ate My Homework”

There’s a reason I have not been as active here as I usually am – and that I would like to be.  Unfortunately, it’s medical in origin.

My Atrial Fibrillation (AF) had been acting up recently, so after seeing my regular cardiologist I got to repeat my 6-week long Cardiac Monitor ordeal.

Subsequently he wanted to change a main cardiac med I take because he thought it was the culprit.  But since the new med requires hospitalization for at least three days to be sure I don’t have a fatal cardiac arrest, he referred me to an electrophysiology cardiologist for input.

The electrophysiology cardiologist said I don’t meet the criteria for the new med, so we’re back to square one and living w/ careful monitoring.

Additionally, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned I’ve been battling a “hole” in my left big toe for almost a half-year.  The Wound Clinic doctor (finally) agreed to do an MRI of it.  And sure enough – I have an osteomyelitis in both the distal and proximal phalanges (the only two bones in our big toe).

This usually requires amputation because osteomyelitis is so difficult to treat in any bone, but particularly so in the toes.  That’s because while bones make red blood cells, they themselves have a terrible circulation, making it difficult for antibiotics to reach the infection.

I was referred to an Infectious Disease specialist.  He said because: [1] I am not a diabetic; [2] he assessed & felt I have good circulation;  [3] there are no other ulcers or sores on either foot; [4] my CBC was unremarkable; [5] my C-Reactive Protein (CRP) was normal; & [6] my Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) was only 19 (usually close to 100 in most osteomyelitis) that there is a 75% chance of curing it with long-term IV treatment.

[CRP & EST are both acute phase reactants that give a measure to the amount of inflammation going on.]

So, this past week I had a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line placed.  (It’s inserted in a vein in your right arm and then is threaded into the superior vena cava.)   And now I have to go in every day (weekends included) for my infusion therapy.

It takes about half-hour to get to the Infusion Center, and the infusion itself takes about 45 minutes IF they have the medicine mixed up – which they usually don’t.  And it takes almost an hour to mix it up.

I can’t really blame them too much: Because it’s a very expensive medicine they typically don’t mix it up until they “see the whites of your eyes”.

We now have a setup that I call them an hour before my treatment to tell them I’m coming, so they can start the process.  Hopefully that will cut down on some of the time involved.

Bottom line: It all takes up about a good half-day of time – every day for the next six weeks.

So, I’ll probably be fairly scarce as far as actually posting new things.  I’ll try to keep up participation-wise, but it’s a good-sized chunk of time that I “lose” every day.

I’m hopeful this will save my toe, because the big toe is the most important toe.  It’s the one you push off with when you walk.

Between the cardiac & infectious disease issues, bear with me.