Not Getting Any Better

So things seem to be getting worse and worse. This past weekend was good though. I decided that even though I was probably in no fit state, I still wanted to go on a coach trip with my Mum to Chester/ Liverpool which meant getting up at 4:30am to drive up north to hers, to catch the coach for 9am, to go all the way back past Leeds again to get to Chester. Joy lol. But we did have a jolly good time despite me not being in my best shape and feeling sorry for myself a bit. It definitely beats staying at home moping around alone anyway!

So yes, Mum came back home with me last night as although I wasn't great I was still better than I had anticipated so we had decided that we would have a shopping trip in Leeds. I also had a follow up dermatology appointment to attend this morning from my time in hospital the other week. However by the time we got home, there had been some road closures in the city centre and I got SO lost (thanks sat nav!) which resulted in me being completely stressed out and a little worse for wear and didn't think it had actually been a great idea to invite my poor mum back with me when I felt so hideously ill. But we persisted all the same.

So this morning: after getting completely lost and driving round and round the infamous ring roads of Leeds, I finally arrived, 40 minutes after my appointment slot. It turns out there was a long wait anyway so it probably worked out in my favour that I had been so late as I didn't need to wait too long to be seen.

The dermatologist was the same man who had seen me at the hospital. He examined me and said I would need a course of oral steroids and topical steroids but obviously I wasn't having any of that! After we'd talked about my extensive and complicated history for a while I could tell he was only really interested in following normal protocol and refused to believe my topical steroid dependency. I told him about how my allergies had diminished when I stopped using them and he said that it was just coincidence. I think not.There was no changing his mind though. He was adamant that this was "just the nature of the eczema beast" and that I would always be fighting it. Eye roll.

I asked about going back onto Ciclosporin even though I'm now afraid of using any immunos because of the high risk associated with me contracting eczema herpeticum. He said he would need to test my bloods but he wanted me to go down the steroid route first. I declined and started to get into a bit of a tizz, in the end it resulted in me bursting into tears. He asked if I'd like to think on it for a while, so I was whisked off to another room to speak it through with my mum and one of the nurses.

I think we must have been sat there for about an hour just going round and round in circles. The nurse had to leave the room at one point and when she came back she said she'd spoken to another of the nurses who suggested it'd be a good idea to admit me to hospital so they could monitor me to ensure a herpeticum attack didn't occur. Although I think it would probably have been the best idea, I don't want to use steroid creams any more, neither do I want to risk putting my job in jeopardy by having any more time off. If I was allowed to be admitted with just the use of moisturisers I would probably have said yes, but as it is... I just can't.

After much deliberation I went back to the dermatologist and we came to a compromise and agreed that I would go back on the Ciclosporin, providing my bloods and chest X-ray came back OK. I would also be taking a maintenance dose of Aciclovir to prevent the herpeticum from returning. This seemed to satisfy him and steroids weren't pushed on me again thankfully. The only thing is I have to wait 3 weeks to be issued with the Ciclosporin so we'll see how I get on in the mean time.

I am in a really bad place again and definitely need some form of intervention right now just to get through this as I need to start getting my life back on track again. Stress is definitely the trigger for my skin and moving to Leeds certainly hasn't helped me in the slightest. I just hope I see some small improvements soon with my dead sea salts. Also I was wondering where people are getting their colloidal silver from? I've heard that sometimes a silver substance can cause the skin to change a bluey/silver colour and is posed under the name of colloidal silver and I'd hate to buy the wrong thing. You never know who is reputable these days!

Any ways, I hope everyone else is well!

Hospitalised with Eczema Herpeticum and Periorbital Cellulitis

Hello lovelies!

You may or may not have seen on my Facebook or Twitter that I got out of hospital on late Friday afternoon so I thought it was about time I told you all on here of my adventures!

Saturday Morning

So you'll know by my other half's posts that I was in a really bad way and from my initial post about it last Saturday where it rapidly spread in a very short space of time. I was given a high dosage of Aciclovir tablets to take in the hope that it would clear up as it usually would but waking up on Sunday morning was just something I never hope to experience again. My right eye had swollen shut completely but the swelling was so incredible that I nearly had a break down when I saw myself in the mirror. The herpeticum had spread all over my face and I looked a right old mess. It was then that I knew I needed a higher level of medical help. I had only taken 4 Aciclovir tablets but the condition showed no means of halting or slowing down.

Sunday Morning

When getting to A&E once again, I was fast-tracked to the outpatient GP who couldn't quite believe what he saw. In fact his report was so, so detailed that he even included diagrams and drawings to refer back to in the future. He also asked if he may take a picture on his phone (!) which after having explained that it was entirely for medical teaching purposes and would not be published in any books or articles I agreed to. He even made up a contract for me to sign to say that it would solely only be used for teaching purposes.

But in all honesty, even if it does get published in a book or article I'm not really bothered. If it helps to show people the severity of a condition then so be it. People need to learn about these often unseen and infrequent, debilitating and sometimes life-threatening conditions as I found out when I eventually got onto a ward. No one really had much of a clue what had happened. They saw the word "eczema" in my notes and figured I'd have an allergic reaction.

Monday Evening

What I actually had however was a bit of a shock. Yes, it was a crazy bout of Eczema Herpeticum that had originated in my eyes, but I also had a secondary infection of Periorbital Cellulitis! I was absolutely terrified. Especially when it seemed to be taking ages to settle the swelling. You can see in Shane's photographs that there was a distinct difference each day that he came to see me, but when you're physically living and breathing the condition it literally feels no different so it became hard for me to gauge if I was getting better.

Tuesday Evening

I was administered Aciclovir and Antibiotics via IV treatment which was horrendous enough. During the 6 days of my stay 6 cannulas were put in different places on my arms. My body really just didn't like them. I know I end up having trouble with blood tests but this was just ridiculous. Each one is supposed to last up to a fortnight, with me it was literally 24 hours, if that. If my veins weren't blowing up due to treatment then the cannula was physically falling out of my arm, even with a bandage holding it in place! They also had trouble even getting it into a vein a lot of the time. I'm now covered in stab wounds and have horribly bruised veins that will take blooming ages to heal. I would make a rubbish junkie, that's for sure!

Wednesday Evening

I finally saw the dermatologist late Friday morning for a review of how I was healing and was told I could stop the IV treatment and swap to tablets which as you can assume I was more than happy to hear. My poor old veins needed a rest! She has given me an incredibly high dosage of Aciclovir to take for 1 month to stop it from reoccurring as this was the 7th time I have have now contracted it since April 2012. Mental. I'm also continuing the antibiotics as cellulitis can take months to properly heal.

When I was first admitted they told me to stop the Ciclosporin in case that was part of the reason that my body was taking so long to heal. I still haven't restarted it just yet as I'm not sure if that could even be part of the reason that this ordeal occurred. I wasn't stressed when it came on and I was really happy as my skin had finally taken a turn for the better so I have no idea where this all came from as I usually get herpeticum when I'm run down, which I certainly wasn't. The derm told me to resume taking it on Saturday but my skin isn't actually too bad, or certainly not greatly unmanageable so I think I'll give it a while longer before making the switch back.

Thursday Evening

I'd love to thank all of the nurses who looked after me whilst I was hospitalised. I was actually kept in the Medical Emergency Assessment Unit for the entire duration of my stay which isn't usual as you're only usually kept there for 24-48 hours. The nurses were really good and understanding of my needs, which from what I've heard isn't typical of Lincoln County Hospital. So I'm pleased I was in good hands!

Just as I was about to be discharged however, I came to a realisation that my eye sight wasn't up to par which frightened me somewhat. The vision in my right eye had deteriorated a little so they didn't want me to leave without having had an assessment just to ensure no damage had occurred. Thankfully she couldn't find anything and it was probably just down to the Aciclovir eye drops I'd had to administer. Luckily my eyes have now returned to normal and it's my left eye that is slightly worse, which it was before. Phew.

Friday Evening

I'm now under strict orders to rest and get better. I'm seeing the derm tomorrow for a review and blood test (noooo!) and hopefully they'll be pleased that I'm getting better.

Also hilariously when I was first getting my cannula put in Shane was holding my hand, the next minute he'd dropped his (thankfully unopened) can of Relentless on the floor and after I looked at him to see why he'd been so stupid I realised he looked as if he was about to faint. Sure enough Shane's roots upended and in slow motion he sank to the ground. Cue both our embarrassed faces... The nurses had a lot to talk about that day anyway. The silly sod!

Eczema Herpeticum & Being Given Wrong Medical Advice

Wow, again sorry for being so quiet. I can't believe it's the middle of April and I still haven't put that month of photos up. I will - it's just finding the time and motivation to sort all the photos out and actually make the post as I know it will be a long winded process. I might try and do it later on today when I'm home from work.

An update on me; last Sunday my eczema herpeticum came with vengeance, despite taking a dosage of 800mg of Aciclovir. The reason it was still raging is because my dermatologist had wrongly advised me to apply steroid cream to my inflamed face when I had recently had some cold sores on my chin. In all fairness both of us did think that had cleared up but obviously it hadn't.

You can see that there is a pimpled surface without the typical crusting characteristics associated with a cold sore. I'm putting this down to the fact that I was taking the Aciclovir but it wasn't a strong enough dosage to do its job.

On the Monday morning I left the hospital a message to say I would be turning up because I have herpeticum again and was seen to immediately. The staff at Lincoln County Hospital are fantastic at squeezing me in in my hours of need. I am so incredibly grateful that they do willingly accept to treat me. A lot of other places would just turn me away without an appointment and tell me to go to A&E or the walk-in centre so it is good to know they are there for me.

My dosage of Aciclovir was upped to 5 400mg tablets a day for 5 days, and appears to have done the trick. However on Thursday evening my urticaria decided to rear its ugly head when I did some cooking, and since has turned into eczema. This morning I have applied steroid cream to the affected areas of my body; my face, neck, chest, arms and backs of knees; in the hope that the herpeticum was truly gone and isn't going to spread like wildfire. 

Only time will tell I suppose.