Dermatologist

Well I am a couple weeks removed from the chemo dosage that I last got on the 28th of August and I still am not back to feeling like nothing happened. I do feel quite a bit sluggish. Although as I stated before I had a rash on the side of my leg. The general doctor I went and saw said it was probably a small yeast infection that can be cleared up in a week with an ointment. Well I used the ointment and it started to get worse and spread. On Friday, I called the doctor to inform him that things have gotten much worse and it is very painful to move at all. He told me that I would have to see a dermatologist to get a better answer and the correct diagnosis. They sent me to a dermatologist in the Uptown area because the University of Minnesota's dermatology clinic was booked all the way out to the middle of October. So I get into Uptown get a bad ass street parking spot which never happens in that part of town. Walking was quite the chore since the pain and itching was so intense. I had an anti bacterial cream and antibiotic on it to help and it really wasn't at all. Then I had to climb stairs and that was extremely painful, but atleast I was smart enough to bring my bottle of oxycodone with. The problem is that the infected area seems to dry out and clamp onto any type of clothing it is next to. I also has cracked and started bleeding. Anyways, I get into the room and I go over my current medical history, family history, medication, and the situation assessment with the doctor and and then he looked at it and took swab tests for a bacterial and viral infections. He believes it is a combination of a yeast infection and a bacterial infection. To no surprise it has gotten infected in one area. Naturally, I was like well write up the prescriptions and tell me which ones to use when and how. Before I go any further I have to tell you that these tiny purple dots have been showing up all over my body. When I was pulling my pants up he saw a patch of them on my leg and he stopped me and asked me a bunch of questions about them such as: How long have they been there? How bad do they itch? and do I see blood in my urine? My response was that I have only noticed them within the last week and they itch pretty good in certain areas of my body and I am not peeing blood at all. The spots appear to be connected to where hair folicles come out of the skin and means that it could be nothing but a need for a soap called Benzoyl Peroxide. It is used in extremely bad cases of acne or infections at the hair folicles entry. Now I did not get the name of the condition because it was goofy and long. The other condition is not a good one and it shares the same name with another one added to the end of it. The only way to really determine which one I have is to have a biopsy done. Oh boy just what I wanted to hear. This other condition is actually the start of something that can possibly push back my surgery date. The spots could be an indication of blood vessels dying out at the ends. That could be an indication of a problem with my kidney. After the doctor told me that I had a moment because the surgeon performing my splenectomy said that the tumor is right next to my kidney on my spleen. Dr.Chipman also said that tissue transfer from the tumor on my spleen to the kidney was a possibility. Now obviously this has me worried. They I mean how many more problem could one guy posibly have. I have lived much healthier and been much happier since everything started up over again. Back to the Dermatologist. He wanted to do a biopsy and he said that it is easier to get skin from the buttocks. My response was please don't tell me I have to bend over to far. They shot my right cheek up with lidocaine and took a smalle portion and put in two stitches. I have to not get the Peroxide soap into the area where they biopsied because I will be screaming at the top of my lungs and it dries the skin out a bit. To get a jump start on the hopeful outcome of the biopsy that is why he set me up with the soap. I was given some pretty large instructions and a good amount of perscriptions. Before I put the ointments on the infection each time I am supposed to clean the area with a 3 parts tap water and 1 part white distilled vinegar mix. I have never heard of doing that before and the dermatologist said vinegar is actually a great way to help clean and kill bacteria out of rashes. I never would have thought in a million years but reguardless I am doing it each time. I am also supposed to mix the Ketoconazole(instead of the originally prescribed stuff that he believes I had an allergic reaction to) for the yeast infection part and the Hydocortisone for the bacterial infection on the infected area and put a towel with the vinegar mix over the top of it so the skin can absorb it better. I am supposed to do that 3 times a day for 30 minutes a crack. After two times already I am seeing a difference. It doesn't hurt as bad as it once did that is for sure. Then I was also given Mupirocin ointment to put on 3 times a day to help cleanout the bacteria. The vinegar hurts quite a bit when using it to clean the area, but I have never felt a burning pain sensation like I do with theMupirocin. All in all I have seen a small change already and that is great. The constant pain from that area has gone away and has subsided.
I also made an appointment with Dr.Maddaus the Thoracic surgeon again just to make sure we are on the same page with all of the doctors involved and to see if there is anything else I need to do. My concern at the moment is that this infection doesn't go away fast enough. I will not be having the surgery because I cannot afford to have any type of infection with the removal of my spleen. If I the results do come back and I do have the bad version of the spots then the surgery could be pushed back until that situation is resolved. That is pretty major and it is another item that can't messed up going into the surgery. I have that appointment next Tuesday right after the PET scan I am taking to determine how large/small the tumors currently are. I feel the one in my chest has shrunk noticibly enough that it should make the surgery easier. Dr. Chipman's nurse also called me and told me that I needed to go into my general doctors office and get 3 immunization shots because of the removal of the spleen. I asked what they were and at the moment the only one I remember was menengitis and I will look up what the other ones up later. It would be nice to have known that I had to get these done right away when I saw Dr.Chipman right? How about having them done right there when I was in his office. Then again, the guy had no idea at that time why I was in his office to begin with.
So everyone out there we have to hope that the tiny dots are nothing and that the infection clears up right away.