Monday, March 29, 2010

Would you believe it was only an allergy???

So, just to update you all from my last post, where my primary doctor left me with Scarlet Fever and two ENT doctors to follow up with...well, here's how the story ended:

I went to an ENT on Friday, full itch and now feeling awful joint pain.  The doctor looked at my throat and my rash and told me that I did not have Scarlet Fever, but he did want to run bloodwork to ensure there was no strep in my bloodstream.  Apparently, there are a lot of false positive instant strep tests (did you know that?) but this doctor couldn't conclude that I didn't have strep anymore...he just thought I probably did not.

So, full of rash, I call my reconstruction surgeon's office to tell them I still have a rash and it is spreading to my reconstructed boobs and newly reconstructed nipples.  Thank goodness my mom was with me because they sent me immediately to their office...two more doctors looked at me and determined my surgery was not compromised from the rash, but they wanted me to see a dermatologist in the hospital on the spot. 


This cancer dermatologist who kindly agreed to fit me in, looked at me for 30 seconds (after hearing all of my symptoms) and said I was allergic to Penicillin and if I stopped taking the medicine, he was sure I didn't have strep and would feel all better in two to three weeks.

So, I got the results from my long strep test, and wouldn't ya know it?  Negative!!!  So, I have been having a bad allergic reaction and am finally starting to feel better after 3 days without antibiotics!  Yay!

However, my 4 1/2 year old daughter just got strep again tonight.  I do have someone help me clean the house, but I just spent the last hour disinfecting every doorknob and commonly touched items in the house (light switches, toilet flushers, etc) to make sure it isn't something that easy to fix...I guess I won't be hosting my Passover Seder tomorrow night that I've been preparing for the past few days...who wants to be with a kid recently diagnosed with strep?  I left the decision up to the other families, but who would want to risk getting strep? 

Oh, and my mother-in-law shared a spoon with this child yesterday.  No good...no good!

On the positive side, I am THRILLED with the level of care and attention I receive from my cancer center, Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center in NYC.  Everyone from the people who greet you at the doors to the nurses to the doctors to the fact that it is a one-stop shop makes it so wonderful.  If you ever know anyone who wants to talk to a patient about Sloane Kettering vs. other hospitals, I'd love to share my story!

2 comments:

  1. So glad to hear that it was only an antibiotic-induced rash! Make sure you remember to tell all your doctors in the future that you are allergic to penicillin, or PCN, as it will most likely be noted on your charts from now on!

    Take care, and hope your daughter gets well soon!

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  2. What a relief! I'm glad youre feeling better and hoping and praying you're still avoiding strep in spite of your daughter having it. Hope she's feeling better asap!!

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