Hives again part 2

Yesterday, after stopping my clindamycin and taking the first dose of prednisone 60 mg, I had high hopes the hives would subside. However, the apparent improvement on my chest was short-lived. Last night, despite my Benadryl (both before bedtime and at 330am), I found it hard to sleep. I itched everywhere. That same itch that prevented me from sleeping good. I got up at 530 am to subject my arms to hot water treatment. I had a few hours of relief after that, although my legs kept itching. My skin was sensitive everywhere even to cotton clothes. When I got up this morning, my neck and my face were red again. I took a hot shower to "scratch" my skin without traumatizing. It dawned on me that I could possibly be allergic to prednisone as ell. Good thing I blogged about my first bad case, wherein I was also just treated with cephalexin and prednisone when I developed very itchy rashes. I could rule out it was not cephalexin that caused it because I had no history of allergy to cephalexin, and that a second treatment course of cephalexin without the prednisone actually led to resolution of the swelling I had in my arms that time. The remainder of my skin healing depended on keeping it moist and applying vaseline petroleum jelly for barrier.

So, now I am thinking, after discontinuing my clindamycin yesterday, maybe I should hold off on the prednisone for now and see if I get better without it. I will continue with Benadryl instead. Type here

Hives again

Rarely a year comes without me suffering from some form of skin allergy manifestation. Usually it is something environmental, and would happen anytime from spring to fall. This time it is winter, and the only culprits I can pinpoint were possibly (1) the colossal shrimps I got from WalMart and ate for supper on that night the rashes appeared or (2) the clindamycin which I had been taking since 1/1/11. That was the second time I ate that brand/type of shrimps. The only other things I ate that supper were fruit cocktail (canned, plus fresh apples and kiwis, with the dressing made with condensed milk, cream cheese and mayonnaise -- nothing suspicious and nothing new to me), and a Knorr brand fetuccine alfredo which I cooked with bacon. I doubt that the pasta and the flavoring that came with it caused my hives. No new soaps or shampoos or perfume that would correlate with the appearance of this rash.

1/11/11 first night of rash on torso

So, since 1/11/11 (10 days after my first dose of clundamycin), I have had the hives, which has rapidly spread now all over my skin that you will only see pinpoints of normal skin amidst the red skin. I feel tight and, of course, itchy, although the itch this time is nothing compared to my itch that happened in 2008. It was not that itchy so I could sleep okay. In fact, with Benadryl's help, I can sleep very well.

1/14/11 fourth  day of rash on torso

I am just worried that the hives keep getting worse even after 3 days already, despite taking benadryl and zyrtec. I decided to visit my PCP for a prednisone prescription perhaps, and I did get that prescription. The doctor thinks it is the clindamycin that caused it. Now, if this subsides by Monday, probably I can proceed with my CAT scan on Tuesday, and my follow up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday for a possible FNAB.

1/14/11 rash on my left arm

It's a good thing my allergies manifest only on the skin and not on the airways.

Neck Mass = Lymphadenitis

I have been suffering from body malaise since Christmas, with some lymph nodes enlarged. However, on the day of the blizzard, 12/27/2010, my lymph nodes enlarged suddenly to this size after I slept for about 4 hours from 8am-12nn.

So I went to my PCP and was seen by Dr. Lambke. He did some tests (CBC, sed rate and cat-scratch) and basically found nothing. I was scheduled to see Dr. Shankar for assessment (he's the head of surgery at RFGH) on 1/5/11. However on 1/1/11, after my 12-hr duty, I had fever, and another set of CBC, sed rate, plus chest AP-lat were done. I was started on clindamycin. I had ato see Dr. Forster on 1/3/11 for increase in my clindamycin dose because it was prescribes as OD when it should have been q6h. She increased my dose and even extended the treatment to 10 days.

My lymph nodes are better now, and I was supposed to have the CAT scan done, after Dr. Shankar saw me last 1/5/11. However, because of rashes that started yesterday, it was postponed for 1/18, hopefully by the time I would have no more rashes.
Type here type the rest here