Yesterday was our day to meet with the medical team. Over the weekend, the problem with my left foot had gotten worse, so I called Dr. Paba-Prada on Monday. She said the symptoms sounded like gout, but suggested I see my primary care physician. So I did that on Monday, and the Dr. covering for him said that it looked to her like gout. I was quite relieved that it wasn't related to the MM, but it still hurt. Monday night was no better, so I hobbled painfully into our appointment on Tuesday. Dr. Paba-Prada and Kathy Colson both thought of gout, but were a bit unsure because of some swelling of my whole foot. They wanted to see what Dr. Richardson thought.
When Richardson came in, it took him about a minute to make the following conclusions: it is not gout, but it is cellulitis, a dangerous bacterial infection! If not treated immediately, cellulitis can lead to such complications as blood poisoning, meningitis, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), to name a few. Richardson was particularly concerned about this last one, since I am already subject to the risk of DVT complications from the Revlimid.
The decision was made to interrupt my MM therapy for a week to deal with this issue. I received an IV antibiotic infusion at DFCI and am now on a prescription of Dicloxacillin for the next 10 days. I also have to use iodine, antifungal ointment, and foot powder to heal the original cracked skin between my toes, the source of the infection.
In addition to delaying my MM treatment, I had to put off my planned tooth extraction today until the cellulitis has healed. They gave me a heads up that my Cycle 3 protein results might be affected by this, so I shouldn't expect my M Spike to drop significantly this month. Darn! The results should be available later this week or by Monday, so we'll see.
We are really glad we had our appointment with Richardson yesterday and were able to deal with this issue. Today, the foot is definitely better, so the antibiotic is working. All in all, this is just a small bump in the road.
I am so happy the timing to see Dr.Richardson worked out. Now you can understand why Jeff and I loved having a "second opinion" whenever there was a question. And, most importantly, that his treatment plan is working!
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes,
Anne R.