On the road to recovery. Looking for advice.

[Mikey Serrano]

A month and a half ago I contracted a pretty bad staph infection in my groin and anal area from the gym. I thought it was jock itch at first and for the first week tried a few over the counter creams and sprays with no relief. It got so bad it was draining through my pants and at that point I went to the ER and found out it was staph.

I was given a steroid topical cream (lotrisone) and an oral antibiotic (duricef) and antifungal (diflucon). After 3 days on the meds I was feeling worse, fever, aches, chills, nausea, loss of appetite, nervousness, anxiety. I ended up seeing my primary doctor and he told me it appears the staph was resistant to the meds the ER gave me and instructed me to stop the duricef and lotrisone but he prescribed Bactrim DS and wanted me to take 2 every 12 hours.

After 2 days on this I started feeling very sick and my hands began sweating profusely. I could feel the pores opening on my fingers when I squeezed my fingers together. After 2 days that went away but I was still dealing with all the other symptoms I described before. Finally after 7 days on Bactrim I couldn't take it any more and I stopped taking them and contacted my doctor. He agreed that I should stop them.

Later that night I broke out in a rash all over my body. The following morning my face was red as a tomato had fever and still had the rash so I went back to ER. The doctors there found my blood pressure was high (158/90. I'm usually at about 120/80) and I was having a reaction (delayed) to the Bactrim. They gave me an IV drip, IV type of Motrin and 60mg of prednisone. I was then prescribed prednisone for 17 more days as I now had to taper off the dose (going down 10mg every 3 days until I took my last 10mg dose) and the gave me non steriodal antibacterial cream Gentimicin for 14 days. 

Well I just took my last dose of Prednisone and gentamicin two weeks ago Wednesday. That weekend I was feeling some what better and decided to finally do some much needed yard work and that Monday I noticed some back pain. Thought it was soreness from the yard work. But pain wouldn't get better and just got worse and worse.

Yesterday went to a chiropractor and learned I now have a spinal subluxation (pinched nerve in my lower back and neck) its pretty bad when I sit. I'm not taking any meds. Sometimes Advil when it's really bad. 

I've gone from Staph to allergic reaction to a back problem all in less than 2 months. I'm trying to get my health back and need some guidance on what steps I should be taking. I want my health back. I want my body back. I don't want to be taking medication and drugs. I'm sorry for such a long winded post. I figured the more details the better a response I may be able to get from this community. 

I just joined today after enjoying a lot of the helpful info I've seen on the Facebook page. 

Any advice is greatly appreciate. 

Mikey

[Pat Robinson]

Is the staph wound completely resolved? Do you have other fungal symptoms after the steroids? What are you doing for pain relief? Ice on for 20 minutes and off for an hour can help acutely, ime.

Do you consume whole food probiotics? That would be my goto after antibiotics and steroids. Magnesium and Espom salt baths can help pain. Homeopathic Hypericum can help nerve pain, ime. So, can holy basil.

Pat

[Mikey Serrano]

Thanks Pat for the prompt reply. 

I'm visiting my primary car physician tomorrow for a follow up on the staph, but I does look all cleared up. I dont have any redness, swelling or irritation. The skin in the affected area is still a darker shade but I hopeful it will normalize over time. 

I'm not exactly sure what other symptoms to look for from the steroids. I lost 12 lbs while being sick but gained back close to 5lbs from the appetite the steroids gave me. For the last 3 weeks I've been eating more yogurt to help my digestive system. I've been looking at some whole food pro-biotics but don't have a clue which to get. 
I bought an acidophilus probiotic capsules with 2-3 billion active bacteria from trader joes but haven't taken them yet as I wasn't sure if that's what I really needed. 

For back pain I've soaked in Epsom salt and warm/ hot water for about 15-20min and I have a heating pad. I haven't tried cold or ice yet. I also just take Advil when the pain is really bad.  I'm mostly dealing with some nerve issues possibly from the pinch nerves in my neck and back. My hands tremble and I feel nervous and anxious all the time. I've also been experiencing this weird allergic reaction to cold? Where the tops of my hands begin to  itch and I get small red itchy bumps (hives?) on my hands. I've noticed it while at work in the AC all day and when I get really stressed at work. It's weird. 

Again, I just really want to get control of my body again and regain my strength and health so I can move on and get back to exercising and wellness. 

Thanks for all your advice and help. 

Mikey

Pat Robinson said:

Is the staph wound completely resolved? Do you have other fungal symptoms after the steroids? What are you doing for pain relief? Ice on for 20 minutes and off for an hour can help acutely, ime.

Do you consume whole food probiotics? That would be my goto after antibiotics and steroids. Magnesium and Espom salt baths can help pain. Homeopathic Hypericum can help nerve pain, ime. So, can holy basil.

Pat