Hopefully, I’m back.
Where have I been? It’s kind of an epic. A lot of people, when they get sick, hang out online. When I get sick, I go low-tech. I read lots of books. The only time I fire up the computer is to lose myself in a computer game. So that’s where I’ve been.
I wasn’t “sick” sick. No fever, runny nose, or chills. I had an infected sebaceous cyst. It had been growing larger and larger for a number of years, and it started feeling funny just after Easter, so I went to see my PA about getting it removed. She gave me a referral to a dermatologist to get it drained. But I never had a chance to get it drained, because it started swelling and turning red. Heh. I guess that’s why it felt funny.
I left her a message, but the doctor called me back instead. This was on a Tuesday. He put me on an antibiotic with a steroid, and warned me that I may need to get it lanced. Ouch. That just sounded so painful. I took the antibiotics, but by Friday, it was clear that it was only getting worse. I went in and as we walked in the door, he said, “Miss Patricia (my real name), are we going to have to do surgery?”
I said, I think so. I showed it to him, and it had already started to rupture.
With the help of an assistant, he cut two small incisions into the cyst, and then proceeded to squeeze the hell out of it. The damned thing was about ten years old, and it took significant effort to squeeze all that crap out. It hurt way worse than the incisions. He handed me a script for a truly wicked antibiotic called clindamycin, told me to draw a circle around the red area, and to change to this new antibiotic if the redness spread outside the circle.
My sweet husband went to fill that prescription at 10:00 that night.
The clindamycin kicked that infection right in the ass. The wound would heal at a miraculous rate, and then would break open to drain, only to heal over again. This went on for a week. It finally healed for the last time, but remains an ugly purple scar.
A week and a day after I took that last pill, the fun began. I won’t in all the gory details, but ever since I took those antibiotics, I have had every type of infection you can have, except for parasites. This includes a case of shingles that turned out to be mercifully mild. I now have a toothache, and I think the timing is suspicious. I can’t find any kind of lesion or broken skin around that tooth, but it looks like I’ll have to let the dentist see for himself. You can bet I’ll be telling him about the clindamycin.
So what have I been reading? I finished Karen Azinger’s Silk & Steel Saga, which is a seven book series. I reviewed the first three books here. I read the second book in Blake Charlton’s series (here’s a review of the first book). I read a debut called The Sherlockian, by Graham Moore. He doesn’t have a website, which I find baffling, but he has a Wikipedia page.
What computer games have I been playing? I discovered that my old PC copy of Skyrim plays quite nicely on my PC, so I started a new game. I never seem to finish these games, so this time, I did something different–I jumped right into the main quest. I finished the Civil War, and now I’m about two-thirds of the way through the main quest. My character is a paladin/spellsword who specializes in one-handed, block, heavy armor, restoration, speechcraft, smithing, and enchanting. She has been single-minded in her focus, and has pursued very few quests outside of her main residences. It’s so much funner this way.
What have you been up to?
Goodness gracious, what a time you’ve had! I once had to lance a cyst on a goat. You really need nerves of steel and quick reflexes in case the goat kicks. Hopefully you didn’t kick too hard. I’m so sorry you’ve had so many ailments. I’d be suspicious too with so many of them coming in succession.
I hope the worst is behind you. Now you have stories to scare kid and adult alike.
Hugs, sweetie. Hope it’s over now.
Thanks, Maria! The toothache is noticeably better, so it must have been some kind of sore that is already getting better. I’ll gargle with saltwater again tonight to be sure.
Well, I “liked” this, but obviously “don’t like” would be a better option. I can’t take antibiotics at all. They do their job well, but oh, the side effects. And the lancing doesn’t sound like fun. OW. Hugs. And I hope you feel better soon. If no one has told you yet, you need to take serious probiotics when you’ve been on antibiotics, since they don’t just kill the bad bugs, but also the good ones. (That’s probably what caused some of your other issues.) Eating yogurt isn’t going to be nearly enough. Go to a health food store and find a good one.
I started taking the probiotics a bit late, but they certainly have helped over the last week or so. I don’t envy you having to do without the antibiotics. I had an infection site that was three inches in diameter and rapidly increasing, so I am still OK with the tradeoff. Yay for modern medicine! I told my husband that I thought it would take at least a month to fully recover, and I am proven right.
Deb’s right; a good probiotic really helps. Actually, lancing helps in the long run, but that’s hard to remember when it’s been lanced and cleaned out too recently. {small smile} You really do have my fullest sympathy; I’ve found that boils are far meaner than they sounds like they ought to be. {small but Sympathetic smile}
Enjoy the computer game. {Smile}
The reading does sound fun, too. Do you realize that Blake’s third book in that series (a trilogy) just came out recently? So you shouldn’t have to wait as long to finish. {wink, SMILE}
I’ve finally worked out a cover that’s simultaneously soft enough to not need a hinge, and durable enough to last a while for the Asian style of bookbinding I’ve tried. I’m now trying to finish some books to test it, mostly for friends who’ve offered to help with the testing. {wink, Smile}
My reading… should get back to regular reading-and-browsing any time now. I’ve been concentrating on research for a cover I’m making, with browsing in a binding-and-conservation catalog that came recently, but the cover is nearly done now, so I should get back to some of the other books real soon. {wink, Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Your bookbinding hobby is fascinating. I love the pictures you post on Facebook. As for Blake Shelton’s new novel–I think Tor sent it to me. I’ll have to look in the stack. They sent this one as well–they never really stopped sending me review copies.
Ow, it sounds like you’ve been through quite an ordeal. I’m glad you’re doing better, and I hope you’ll be all the way better soon. <3 It is completely not fair that antibiotics and other medicines make a person susceptible to more miserable sicknesses. I hope you’re taking care of yourself -by which I mean pampering yourself a bit. 😉 Catching up on good books is definitely the right idea. I’ve been catching up on Lisa Shearin’s S.P.I. series. I wasn’t sure, at first, how I would feel about the switch to Urban Fantasy, but I’m enjoying them a whole heaping lot.
You just reminded me that I have an unread book of hers! I guess I know what book is next to read in my stack! Thanks for the well-wishes; I think I am finally recovered (including the toothache)!