infection

mutz
mutz Member Posts: 12
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I recently had my nipples made and am suffering through one heck of an infection. Not only is my previously radiated breast infected but my whole body has been zapped by the infection. I've missed 4 days of work so far. My plastic surgeon put me on strong antibiotics last week, as soon as the infection surfaced, but I am frustrated with only slowly starting to feel better. Has anyone out there experienced such a thing?

Comments

  • jhope
    jhope Member Posts: 58
    I'm a therapist in a hospital and we get a lot of education on staff and strep infections. People get them in the hospital all the time, I would ask your doctor what KIND of infection it is. I had a friend experience something similar and she let it go. God bless, and hang tough, Julis
  • ksfc
    ksfc Member Posts: 251
    Radiated breast tissue is particularly susceptible to infection and hard to heal. I had a staph infection in my lymph node incision shortly after surgery. A year later, I had a mammogram on that side and that resulted in another infection. Both infections made me very sick. The second time, it was really resistant to the strong antibiotics, but it did finally heal and I also took steroids for the swelling and such it caused. I haven't had anymore trouble since then. Like Julis said, I would find out what kind of infection it is and stay on top of it. Good luck! Diane
  • DeeNY711
    DeeNY711 Member Posts: 476 Member
    I'm so sorry that something you had done as a positive change turned into a dance with infection. I can tell you !00% for sure that with infections, it frequently takes until the last few capsules before you feel like it is actually working, except for bladder infections. With those, you can tell faster that the medication is working. Hope this helps.
    Love,
    Denise
  • dhirschon
    dhirschon Member Posts: 3
    ksfc said:

    Radiated breast tissue is particularly susceptible to infection and hard to heal. I had a staph infection in my lymph node incision shortly after surgery. A year later, I had a mammogram on that side and that resulted in another infection. Both infections made me very sick. The second time, it was really resistant to the strong antibiotics, but it did finally heal and I also took steroids for the swelling and such it caused. I haven't had anymore trouble since then. Like Julis said, I would find out what kind of infection it is and stay on top of it. Good luck! Diane

    Hi Diane:

    I'm a new cancer patient (survivor, I hope). Following a "simple" lumpectomy, I had a week of High dose radiation twice a day, which included having 16 catheters implanted clear through my breast. A week after they removed the catheters, I developed a bad staph infection and had to be hospitalized for 5 days, then two weeks in a rehab having IV antibiotics. I'm STILL fighting the infection, and it's been almost two months since my surgery. What kinds of antibiotics were you on? I've had vancomycin, and am still on Sepra and rifampin (not sure of spelling of any of these). Please answer. You may use my email if you wish: dhirschon@dslextreme.com or grammadlh on aol instant messenger. Thanks!

    Donna