More Thumb Drama... Boo!!

WARNING -This post is full of pretty boring, angst-inducing medical crap.

So this week has been pretty stressful. As I mentioned earlier, I was bit by a cat and got a nasty infection in my hand. Now it's been about six weeks and I've already taken three full courses of antibiotics (a different one each time). Still can't bend my thumb so on Tuesday I go to my GP Dr.F at Lakeside Family Physicians for the umpteenth time.

Dr.F is really young and I don't think he's firing on all cylinders. First Clue: He told me initially dogs' mouths are dirtier than cats' .. I've never heard this and it may or may not be true but it's pretty irrelevant since stats show you are 10x more likely to develop an infection from a cat bite than a dog bite. (Sad that I know this...)

Another Clue: The second antibiotic he prescribed was Doxycyline, which is a broad spectrum antibiotic not generally used for the treatment of the cat bites... not to mention the fact that I've taken Doxy several times before (which I told him) so it's unlikely to be very effective. My body probably says, "Oh, that again." Stupid, if you ask me. And as I expected, it didn't work.

Anywayyy... so I go to the doc Tuesday and he pretty much says everything is fine, despite the fact that I still can't bend my thumb much and it still hurts like a MOTHER when I bump it on anything. Later in the day I call and request they fax my records to an infection specialist who I'll be seeing from hereon. Lo and behold, Dr. F calls - presumably to cover his ass - and says, "On second thought, we better get an MRI since you're still having pain." Good idea.

So Wednesday I go get an MRI. Let me tell you, NOT. FUN. I've had these before but this was by far the worst, as I had to lay on my stomach for 90 minutes with my arm above my head. Oh, and about half way through they had to inject me with contrast... it only took three stabs for the nurse to find a vein. Fun stuff.

Wednesday afternoon I get a call from Dr.F and he sounds very concerned. He tells me my MRI doesn't look so good (he actually used the word "SCARY") - the infection is in my bone, joints and tendons. Figures. He refers me to a hand surgery specialist and tells me they will want to operate. WHAAATT???

Yesterday, I go see the surgeon. He is surprised at how good my thumb looks clinically, considering how bad my MRI looks. He schedules me for surgery that same day. He explains this is necessary because if the joint is infected, each day that goes by you are losing cartillage. Apparently, in this surgery they open up the thumb, irrigate the joints, try to get as much bacteria out as possible, and do a bone biopsy to culture the bacteria that is causing the problem. This allows them to determine which antibiotic will be most effective.

The surgeon also refers me to an infection specialist (the one I originally made an appointment with) to review my post surgery antibiotic treatment options. I meet the specialist just before I'm supposed to check in for surgery. I ask him if there is anything I haven't tried that might let me avoid surgery. He reviews my history and tells me I can try CIPRO. It has a "pretty good" chance of solving the problem. I obviously prefer this to surgery. He consults with the surgeon and we come up with a plan:

I am going to take CIPRO and Bactrum (two heavy-duty anitbiotics that can get into the joints and bones) for 7 days and reevaluate. If my thumb improves I will continue for the full course. If not, I have to go off of the antibiotics and let them get out of my system (this takes a few days) so the surgical biopsy culture can be accurate.

Long Story Short - My thumb has ~7 days to disinfect itself (please work, new antibiotics!) or its off to the operating table for me.

Dogs Rule Cats Drool... with Lots of Bacteria

I promise I won't only blog about dogs and cats. But I have a somewhat ridiculous story I want to share. Here goes...

Several Weeks Ago, 10:00 PM: I'm having a glass of wine with a neighbor of mine in the courtyard of my apartment. She has a feline friend (let's call him "PsychoCat") that roams the courtyard and I have my dog Bondi with me. Everything's peachy until her cat takes off running with Bondi in hot pursuit.

PsychoCat, in trying to get away, somehow lodges himself in between two wooden rails of deck fencing with his head through and his big behind stuck. Bondi, being the highly intelligent canine that he is, runs around to the other side of the fencing and heads straight for PsychoCat.

Now I trust Bondi with cats - my parents have two that he pretty much ignores - but I sure as hell am not going to be responsible for him eating my neighbor's cat. (In hindsight, I should have let Bondi have at it!)

I step in and try to save PsychoCat by grabbing his behind and pulling him out of his precarious position. He kindly thanks me by biting my right hand very hard a good six or so times. It hurts like hell, but I wash my hand, wrap it in a paper towel, and get back to good conversation and Cabernet.

4:00 AM: I wake up in a ridiculous amount of intense throbbing pain and decide that my thumb MUST be broken. I take four Advil and try to sleep.

7:00 AM: Still can't sleep. Call mom. Cry. (You know how if you're in pain or upset, talking to your mom always puts you in tears? Is that just me?) Mom tells me of course my thumb is not broken, it is infected. Cats have DIRTY mouths.

9:00 AM: See doctor. Get antibiotics, pain medication, and a shot in the behind. Hand looks like this:
3 Days Later: Still in ridiculous amount of pain. Can't move thumb at all. Can't believe PsychoCat's bacteria-infested mouth has caused me to have an Oompa Loompa Hand. At least I have Bondi and sweet boyfriend Joe to tend to my every need!

5 Days Later: So gross. See below.

Today: STILL on antibiotics! My hand looks somewhat normal but it still hurts and I still can't bend my thumb. Apparently this is because the infection is in the tendons/joints. Good times.

Take Home Message: Cats have very dirty mouths with lots of bacteria in them. Apparently (according to the doc) if you're bit by a cat you have about a 50-50 chance of developing a serious infection. Further evidence that, indeed, dogs rule and cats drool.

PsychoCat: 1 - Jenny: 0
So Say I.