MEDICAL MATTERS

[Wendyf]

It has been taking between 4 and 7 days for sample results to come back, which hasn't helped. In the meantime he is given a more broad spectrum antibiotics which seem to work, but the problem flares up again immediately he finishes the course. One of the targeted antibiotics has caused him to develop a fever 24 hours in to the course on 3 separate occasions. The local doctors don't believe that a known reaction to that antibiotic could happen so quickly and keep insisting he needs to take it! Luckily he was due a follow up visit to the consultant urologist last week who put him straight onto the right ones and gave him a long term, one a day, follow up course.
Poor Col has only had 3 months out of the last 12 free of infection, his immune system must be weakened by being diabetic and the constant battle has left him with few defences!

[Marilyn]

Poor man must be beside himself.
Has he had any luck with Cranberry Juice/ effervescent Cranberry tablets?

[Moh]

Moh, how did you get on with your doctors at Preston? Any good news?

I was just a guinea pig for doctors taking a mock exam to be Plastic Consultants. There were about fifteen other people there. I got a nice letter thanking me and my travel expenses (24p per mile!). I am still waiting to hear when I will have the skin graft operation. Things have progressed a long way since I had the leg skin grafted in 1949, then they put squares of skin on the wound and it grew together. Now it is taking a flap from somewhere and attaching the blood vessels together. He said it will be a 6 to 8 hour op. but with my COPD it will have to be an epidural (which I had when I had the hip replacement) so he said he may do it in two stages.

[Wendyf]

Poor man must be beside himself.
Has he had any luck with Cranberry Juice/ effervescent Cranberry tablets?

He is getting quite low Maz, both physically & mentally. For someone used to being constantly on the go with one project or another it's hard for him to cope with being tired & weak. He drinks as much low sugar cranberry juice as his diabetes management will allow and has cut his caffeine consumption down to just one coffee & one tea a day. The operations he had on his bladder last year must have left scar tissue, which doesn't help, and according to the consultant, the infection hides away in the prostate.

[Stanley]

Wendy, reading the saga of Colin's infection makes me realise how lucky I was when the Bacup lady doctor, (Dr Duggleby) hit the infection on the head with the right antibiotic. The infection had been recurring at intervals for over ten years....
I feel so sorry for Colin, one stray infection introduced during a routine examination as I understand it. Classic case of iatrogenic infection. All I can hope is that the doctors hit the right medication and its effective. It's like a vicious circle.....

[Tizer]

I guess Colin might now be harbouring an antibiotic-resistant strain (or strains), especially if he is taking antibiotics long term. This is a problem we are going to face more often now, thanks to the improper use of the drugs by doctors in the past (and by some even now).

[Sue]

Especially as he has had a number of broad spectrum types. Hope he picks up soon.

[PanBiker]

When I was hospitalised with Quincy they whacked me with IV fed broad spectrum AB's with a follow on tablet course for when I was discharged. I seem to remember not getting properly right for quite while with a few follow on infections.

[Stanley]

The first time an antibiotic was used on me was about fifty years ago when Arthur Morrison dressed a wound on my shin where I had injured an already healing wound and it wasn't healing properly. It was simply a piece of gauze impregnated with what looked like Vaseline loaded with Penicillin. It was a miracle! The wound started healing immediately and only one dressing was needed. I was very grateful but when I asked Arthur what the AB did to other bugs he said that was the problem, they weren't sure. Over the years I developed my own theory that while ABs were a miracle they needed treating with respect and wherever possible I avoided them. Today I see my kids being bombarded with them for every infection and apart from the danger of creating Frankenstein bugs that are resistant it must be damaging our immune systems. Of course it has turned out that this is the case but what do you do when you get trapped into the vicious (but benign) circle? Looking back, when Dr Duggleby zapped my long term Cystitis in Bacup I was lucky, thirty years on I could have been in the same bind as Colin. Give him my regards......

[Tizer]

I wonder if doctors know that not all antibiotics work the same way and that the mechanism of action has a bearing on how they should be used? They can be bactericidal or bacteriostatic. Bactericidal antibiotics kill the bacteria, whereas bacteriostatic ones prevent them growing and multiplying but don't actually kill those already present. All doctors know (or should know) that a course of antibiotics must be completed otherwise the bacterial infection might not be stopped. But with bacteriostatics it's even more important because they are needed to suppress any further growth or multiplication until the cells already present have been killed of by the body's immune defence. In a military analogy, bacteriostatics are more like stopping any reinforcements reaching your enemy and allowing attrition to take place whereas bactericides are like rushing in and shooting them all.

[Sue]

I am pretty sure they do know. I used to teach that in A level Biology/ human Biology, the trouble is bacteriostatic antibiotics take longer to work so in severe infections the bactericidal ones tend to be used. Unfortunately these are often the broad spectrum ones and the ones that encourage the spread of resistance in the bodies own natural bacterial populations. These can then spread it to infective bacteria as I explained earlier in this thread. Unfortunately people expect to get antibiotics, they are not prepared to wait for the bodies immune system . Also so many people think viruses can be killed by antibiotics. Viruses do not have the same structures or metabolic processes as bacteria. It is these structures and processes that the antibiotics attack or block from working. The one exception is tetracycline and its derivatives. These work on the genetic material RNA in a cell and stop the cell producing proteins. Without the proteins which are mainly enzymes in the case of bacteria the cells cannot function . This is the only process that viruses have vaguely in common with bacteria. Unfortunately so do our cells so it is not an antibiotic to be used for any period of time .

[Stanley]

I can remember in the 1970s when Tetracyclin was found to be a miracle cure and prophylactic for scouring in freshly weaned calves. Prior to this, the scouring was the main cause of loss in the calf trade. All fresh calves bought were dosed with it. I don't know where they were getting it from but I can remember the dairy floor running pink with the powder that had been spilt. And then we find that the bugs are developing resistance.....

[Thomo]

Having more or less got through this last infection, I have been left with an after effect that is now causing concern, my hearing has been reduced by about 70%. I have tried warm medicinal olive oil without success. The only good side to this is not being kept awake at night by the constant flow of HGVs past here.

[PanBiker]

You may have a residual ear infection Peter. It's what I have to watch out for with my compromised throat after the Quincy. I have had them start in any of the ENT areas and bounce around cross infecting. One bad bout affected my optic nerves with a very bad sinus infection, I couldn't stand up without falling over backwards. Any I have experienced have only been at one side, usually my left, is it in both ears?

[Thomo]

Mainly the left Ian.

[PanBiker]

I think under the circumstances you would be well advised to ask the doc if you need a course of antibiotics to get on top of the residual bugs. Particularly with your multiple infections over the last couple of months. Sounds like you need something to finally put this one to bed.

[Stanley]

As I said earlier, the vicious circle.....

[Thomo]

I spoke with my Doctor yesterday and was booked in for today. I am now back on antibiotics to clear any residual infection plus UTI which I now have. I do not have any ear wax but an amount of catarrh around the inner ears, steam inhalation should remove this.

[Stanley]

I am beginning to think Thomo is right about the gastric virus. Classic symptoms now, I am treating it with great care......

[Stanley]

All the signs are that I am slowly climbing out of the hole I fell into on Friday. Yesterday I realised I fancied smoked salmon poached in milk for tea, first interest in food. I've been monitoring BP and HR at the same time each morning after a short walk and this morning it's 120/76 and 75 beats/minute. Completely normal for me. All bodily functions normal. Mind you, I still feel delicate and rejected the urge to do my full morning walk an hour ago, I am going to take it easy and stick to my modified diet because I'm doing something right somewhere. Another improvement is that I felt cold so I turned the CH up to 20C, I have gone back to just below 18C because I feel too warm now.
All in all I think I'm doing all right so you can all stop worrying about me! Mind you it's nice.... I haven't had this much attention for years! Thanks for all the PMs and emails.....

[Cathy]

That's all well and good Stanley but have you seen the Doctor? ??

[Stanley]

Not yet Cathy..... I know........!!

[David Whipp]

Well Stanley, you are still kicking...

[Stanley]

I certainly am David. In fact I think I am back to normal but you know how it is, you can never be sure and you latch on to all the negative things. I'm pretty certain I've shaken it off my back but will take care for a while just to make sure. I think I might be ready for my full morning walk.....
As for the surgery.... who wants to sit there with all those poorly people coughing on you.....

[David Whipp]

Yes, surgeries and hospitals are no place to be if you are poorly...

Maybe an idea to make an appointment for sometime when it's quiet; I've gone sometimes when there's virtually no one there.