Medical question

[Rexsname]

Does anyone have any knowledge of allergic reactions? I got a shot of bicillan yesterday. I have had one a month since my heat attack last year. I have never had any reaction except for a sore butt for a day or two. By the time I got home from the health department I had a bad headache and it got worse and worse throughout the night. I woke up sore in all of my joints with a vicious bad headache. I finaly called the health dept. and asked what I should do....... they told me to push fluids, advil, call us tomorrow. Is this normal? Should I just tough it out or should I be concerned?

I dont want to self medicate with beer but, boy oh boy that first one sure did taste good!! :beer:


REX

[DaktariEd]

No, that's definitely NOT normal.
It is a reaction that bears close watching. If it doesn't subside soon, I would seek medical attention...at an emergency room or your family doctor.

Granted I know nothing of your heart attack, but the whole bit about getting monthly Bicillin injections has me stumped. I haven't ordered a Bicillin injection in years and years...probably more than 10 years in fact...and that was for a strep infection.

I'd run that by a cardiologist if I were in your shoes.

Just my dos centavos...

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[Martyn]

Contradictions to Bicillan can be found here http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=5311

A quick scan of the info shows that all of the reactions you have had could be caused by this drug.

[Rexsname]

The original diagnosis was a MI brought on by rhuematic fever. I had it as a little kid and then a bad fever knocked me down last mothers day. The bicillan was/is intended to prevent my getting sick again. The cardioligist that teated me said he had to go down into the basement and blow the dust of off the old OLD books to find out what was wrong with me.

I dont know how I made it from 1988 to 2003 in law enforcment with a weakend heart muscle only to have it bite me while sitting in a recliner but...

I get winded at the easiest things and am kinda wobbely legged on my bad days. I'm only 47 and I want to be able to play with my grandsons for more than a couple of minutes.

REX

[Rexsname]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Strep B

REX

[Rexsname]

I just got back from the health dept. They said the Doctor was too busy to see me and that "If it was an allergic reaction, you'd be dead by now" I guess I'll just tough it out. I dont remember ever hurting for this long......



REX

[MaddBaggins]

I just got back from the health dept. They said the Doctor was too busy to see me and that "If it was an allergic reaction, you'd be dead by now" I guess I'll just tough it out. I dont remember ever hurting for this long......



REX

HMO? That sounds all to familiar to me...

[Rexsname]

No, even worse. When I was medically retired from the Shreiffs office I lost my insurance as well. This was with the county health department. After having a few 'good' days in a row, this pain is hard to take in more than one way.

REX

[MaddBaggins]

No, even worse. When I was medically retired from the Shreiffs office I lost my insurance as well. This was with the county health department. After having a few 'good' days in a row, this pain is hard to take in more than one way.

REX

Sorry you're going thru this Rex. I'm sending good thoughts your way.

[Grim Reaper]

As for the weakness......Took me more then a year to get feeling strong again after a major MI and 3 stents.

A LOT of it is the drugs you are on. Blood thinners like Coumadin , bata blockers and blood pressure regulators are big drain on your system. Chances are you are WAY over medicated. My first cardiologist had me on a ton of crap. I felt so miserable I started halving my doses out of frustration with my lack of energy and the depression that was creating in me. I was to the point of rather die then deal with the drug side effects.


My next Cardiologist actually talks to me and works with me and has been honest with me that some of the medications have minimal aid (and we are talking 1-4%) after a year and often the side effects are not worth the benefits when they are that low.

I'm down to 40mg of Lipitor a day, 5mg of Lisinopril, 81mg aspirin and 500mg of niaspan. My Cholesterol tests have all been below 110 total for the last 2 years. My blood pressure after riding my bike home from work 4.3 miles in 18 minutes with major hills in 93f heat and 70% humidity is 116/70 and 140bpm. After 20 minutes of rest I am 108/64 and 86bpm.

Start working with your doctor and educate yourself on the drugs you are on. Chances are you are probably over-medicated like I was and all thats going to do is make you body weaker and need more. Start working on getting some more cardio exercise after getting cleared by the doc. Demand a "nuclear stress test" to make sure of what you can handle and that you don't have any other issues.

Above all else If your doctor doesn't have time for you then find another doctor. If you are that weak then they should be able to get you on disability and medicaid

If you are still in a lot of pain hit the ER. I'm no doc like Ed but I don't understand that long of a treatment with an antibiotic short of MRSA amd over treatment with Antibiotics is what got staph infections so out of hand in the first place.

Brush up on your Spanish if all else fails and walk into the ER clutching your ailing parts. You deserve the services, get them any way you can.

[Rexsname]

Well the good news is that I'm not on any heart meds at all. My blood pressure was 98 over something good. And the cardioligist that I saw last year didn't see any damage when he looked at whatever cardioligists look at.
They want me to have a nuclear stress test so I just have to wait until whoever approves those types of things decides that I need one. I had a blood test and a EKG yesterday but I don't know what they were looking for and I didn't study at all:D

Last year, business was good and we had a little money. This year Carrie is incarcerated and our business has tanked. Life changes SO fast, ya never know what may happen tomorrow.

I dont have a choice of which doctor sees me. I just get what I get. The doctor reccomended alot of walking, cut back on alcohol and drink plenty of water. I've never even driven past a medical shool campus and I knew that much. They say you get what you pay for.

REX

[AndrewP]

A couple of thoughts.

Frist-Rheumatic fever and it's sequelae do not cause "heart attacks". Valvular disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, yes, but not an infarct. That is caused by coronary artery disease or in very rare cases coronary artery spasm.

Second-Some form of secondary prophylaxis is often prescribed to prevent recurrent Rheumatic Fever. There are different ways to do this and different durations, but one of them IS monthly Bicillin (basically depo PenG) injections. Most would recommend stopping after 10 years from the episode of Acute Rheumatic Fever, but some authorities still believe in life time prophylaxis. It sounds like your physician does, but you might ask him to justify it. There are oral treatments that are equally effective, I don't know why they would persist with the painful Bicillin. That is very old school.

Third--Rheumatic Fever is caused by a particular reaction to Group A Strep, not Group B.

Forth-Your reaction sounds real, but not allergic. With the joint pain, it almost like a serum sickness type reaction. It will be interesting to see if the same thing happens next time you get the Penicillin.

Thinking ahead here, what does your echocardiogram show? No need to share unless you want to.

Good luck with this.

[DaktariEd]

Sorry it took a while to get back online....

Andrew is right on about the serum-sickness like reaction. I've seen a few people with it. It's not the most common reaction but it can happen...

The few people in my practice (Actually I can think of only 2 offhand) still taking antibiotic prophylaxis for rheumatic heart disease are on oral penicillin.

As for taking the Bicillin again and seeing if the same reaction occurred...personally I wouldn't. I don't know the figures for recurrences but the reaction can be quite severe. With oral meds available and the need for ongoing prophylaxis somewhat "controversial" (in medicine that means no one knows for sure but everyone has their opinion), I'd get a second opinion...

Best of luck!

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[Rexsname]

Well....weather or not it was a 'heart attack' or a 'cardiac event' I dont know. It hurt, I didn't like it, and I dont want another one, whatever it was. I have a hard time focusing on details from time to time but I coulda sworn he said strep B. I know he said rheumatic fever.

The pain in my joints and achey-ness is just about gone now. I got the shot at about 3:00pm on Monday and its 9:30 pm now. I'm pretty sure I dont want another shot next month.:exclaim:

The doctor at the hospital last year said I would need a shot a month for the rest of my life. The cardioligist in Phoenix said once a month for a year and then he'd re-evaluate. Well we ran out of money before I got the chance for re-evaluation. Our lives have changed and this little set back is just one part of it. Hopefully the stress test will show that I'm ready to get well.

:peepwall:

REX

[Rexsname]

I had a scarey thing happen today while visiting Carrie. I was seated in the visiting area and felt kinda light-headed. I noticed that I was sweating quite a bit (I rarely sweat much, certainly not enough to be visible) and was short of breath. Carrie became concerned enough that she called a staff member over and they escorted me out of the room. The jail nurse checked my blood sugar (my first guess) my BP, temp, and O2 sat. All normal. On the way home I was so tired I had a hard time staying awake.


It just keeps getting wierder and wierder!!!


REX

[AndrewP]

Rex-You need to be evaluated by your doctor. Ignoring the bit about the recent Penicillin injection, I would be concerned you have an arrhythmia or other potentially serious problem. Rheumatic heart disease is an interesting and now rare illness (one of the benefits of widespread antibiotic use), but it has many manifestations and complications that surface decades after the actual episode of acute illness.

What does your echo show? Do you have a normal ejection fraction? Do you have normal valvular function? Is your baseline electrocardiogram normal? Do you have any evidence of congestive heart failure?

No one can diagnose you over the internet, especially with puzzle pieces missing.

All kidding aside, someone who has had previous heart disease, has possibly had an MI, and now has the symptoms you describe has an arrhythmia until proven otherwise. This can be very serious (can be benign too, but you just don't know). Don't take it lightly and ignore your symptoms. If you get similar feelings of lightheadedness and shortness of breath, go to the ER. It's really too bad the nurse you saw could not do an ECG while you had your symptoms to see what your rhythm was doing.

[Rexsname]

I almost think the wosrt part was how scared Carrie was/is. I will have to wait till her next phone call to let her know that I feel fine. That much IS true, I do feel fine. I dont know if I am or not but as I sit here writing I feel OK.

I don't like being scared. I darned sure dont like for Carrie to be scared. It was upsetting and embarrassing for that to have happened at the place I used to work.

I have no idea about the test results. I have no idea when the stress test might be. I dont know what questions to ask of the doctor. I dont even know how much of this is mental stress and how much is my physical health. I'm sure on some level it's all intertwined.

REX

[mtn-high]

Grim Reaper speaks the truth. Pharmaceutical Drugs wear you down. If you only have ONE doctor you may be AOK but the synergistic effect/unknown effect of the combo of drugs from a bevy of doctors who have no clue what the other one s are doing/prescribing may be a good part of many people's problems all around. Such approaches scare me...that's all I know personally. (I lost over 40 pounds and was addicted for over 4 years via a doctor prescribed pain management program).

I found that a proper diet will go a long way in building you back up *and* it is something you have total control over. If your doctor isn't talking to you about such things and only tosses pills @ you you may need another opinion.

For my own situation...it wasn't until I left the myriad of pills behind and found herbal pain relief (I'm in CO where MMJ is legal) that my body responded and began to heal itself.

Everyone is certainly different but I found that the side effects of all of the pills/shots/cure-alls they offered me ended up being worse than the affliction itself.

No matter how you approach it all...take care and good luck.....

mtn-high

[Rexsname]

I am glad that I'm not on many meds. I only have the one sleep aid and I would rather not have to have that one. I will resist a treatment plan that involves taking pills to fix things that are fixable by other means.

Change my dietary intake? Done. Tell me what to eat and not eat. More exercise? Fine. Teach me how to do it properly so I dont vapor lock. I despise taking pills. I've talked in another thread about chasing side effects and I dont intend to go down that road again.

For now it's a case of 'hurry up and wait', I am waiting for my test results, waiting for any contact from the Mental health folks, waiting for Carries next court date, and praying for face to face human contact. It's been a rough few weeks......................

REX

[mtn-high]

Rexsname...

Diet is tough in America..even with the plethora of goods available..mainly because most of it is processed and well...full of junk ya don't need **in** YOU..but that the manufacturer needs in their product so they can leave that same box on the shelf until you eventually buy it.

My suggestions after watching the wife struggle with many maladies...

It all starts with reading the label. If it's HUGE and has stuff in it you can't pronounce...DON'T BUY IT.

Buy FRESH. Buy 2-3 days worth of food..no more.

Organics. Veggies-Fruits-Nuts- EAT EAT EAT...and raw as much as possible rather than cooked to death.

No canned foods.

Eat 4-6 oz lean beef or fish daily. Avoid Pork/processed meats/etc.

Avoid fast food.

limit alcohol...if not eliminate it altogether.

And probably THE BIGGIE.... (CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH!!!!)

Avoid HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! This crap is in EVERYTHING...almost. Unless you're a diabetic/doctor ordered and are prohibited...find products with REAL SUGAR in them..or better yet..no sugar in them. If you look you will see that ORGANIC items contain no HFCS 99.9% of the time...and contain cane sugars/etc. Sugar isn't good for you...but it is better than chemically altered sugar that looks like cellulite in mass!! (before it hits yer.....yeah..you rhymed it!)

No sermons/etc from here...but I will say that my wife was stressed/tired/disoriented/dizzy (moreso than normal) and was gaining weight like a baby elephant... and fortunately @ the same time there was a nutrition class available through work..and she took it...and all of the above things were what they basically told her....

she followed the above guildelines..and soon her BP dropped...her dizziness went away...her digestive tract righted itself (doc was thinking irritable bowel syn for awhile)....and then....all of the sudden...her mood/tolerance improved
and she started feeling BETTER and found she was dealing with stress rather than letting it run her over....

a few months later the pounds started to drop...and drop...and drop.
45 pounds later...no extra exercise..no TV diets..no pills....just following the above guidelines...she is rockin and rollin all the way around and feel 1000% better.....

Glad to hear about the lack of meds....

As for the mind... "All Things Must Pass" and if you can seperate the events into peices and conquer them one-at-a-time instead of worrying about ALL of them you will see that you can start to work your way through it. I've dealt with personal depression and in the end this thinking is what has kept me afloat. SO MANY things in our lives make no sense and matter very little in the BIG piture...yet those are often the things we dwell upon and the ones that toss up the largest hurdles we face.

And always..always ***share***. Silence breeds doubt...and doubt breeds inaction. I can't guarantee the feedback you will recieve will help (like this message may.may not!) or will 100% of the time be something you need/want to hear...but if you remember that any message sent in GOOD faith is a good message you've at least reached out/got it out and it isn't festering inside you...and maybe..just maybe there could be some bit of info in there that will make sense..if not now...on another day.

Believe in yourself.

mtn-high