One of the really annoying aspects of my life right now is my constant battle with Cellulitis. In the past 18 months I have had at least 7 bouts with it and 2 have put me in the hospital. For those of you who do not know, Cellulitis is a “diffuse infection of connective tissue with severe inflammation of dermal and subcutaneous layers of the skin. Skin on the face or lower legs are most commonly affected by this infection, though Cellulitis can occur on any part of the body. The mainstay of therapy remains treatment with appropriate antibiotics.”

What that definition doesn’t tell you is the flu-like (or should I say malaria-like–well that’s how I felt anyway) symptoms that precede the actual inflammation of my leg that makes it feel like it is on fire from the inside. Nor does it encompass the dehydration that accompanies it.

Both of my legs are in a constant swollen state. I have Lymphoedema. In my left leg, it is the entire leg from waist to ankle. In my right, it is from waist to knee. This state makes it particularly susceptible to infection, thus the Cellulitis.

So let’s look at a day by day accounting at what happened.

Sunday: Sunday morning I woke up feeling fine. I was watching my friend’s kid and went out and got us breakfast. I started feeling the symptoms coming on at that point. It started with the chills. This is significant because it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) outside. I immediately popped my emergency stash of Doxycycline that my doctor has me keep on hand and started my 5 day regimen. I also started taking Advil in 4 hour stints.  I felt okay most of the day, but I knew that it was far from over. By 8pm, the chills and shakes had started. It was full blown. All that night I was adjusting the temperature in my apartment. From 75 to 85 then 95. Then back down to 75, then 60, then back up to 85. I’d go from no blanket to 5 in no time, sweat. I was miserable.

Monday morning had come. I had to get my friend’s kid back to her house before I went to work. I was feeling like gum on the bottom of a shoe. I got to work, popped my Advil, and covered up in a borrowed blanket and waited for the day to be over.

Tuesday was more of the same thing. I felt a little better, but not much. I was afraid to eat because I felt so nauseous. I hadn’t had anything since Sunday night. I even started taking the capsules that my Doxycycline came in and emptied each one into a spoon so that the antibiotic was easier to swallow. My lap band tends to get tight when I’m sick and I could feel the pill sitting on top of my band for a few hours after I swallowed it, causing even more of a nauseous feeling.

Wednesday I started a mini-vacation of sorts that would see me off until Monday. I slept most of the day. By the day’s end I managed a few bites of chicken soup and had slept most of the day.

All this time my leg had turned various shades of red. From light pink to tomato. Getting out of the show it turns purple.

Thursday and Friday, I managed to get out a bit. I even eat a few bites here and there. The leg still hurt but the fever was over. Always a good sign in my recovery.

On Saturday, since my leg still hurt, I started on a second regimen of the antibiotic and will continue to for the next 5 days. I was able to eat a full meal, and I was able to drink a lot more (which has also been hampering my recovery.)

Today was the first day I felt well enough to actually sit at the computer and write. And so, I have. Explaining to you why I have been away and letting you know yet another malady that I have and can affect big people.

I’ll probably write about this again, because I am sure that my battles with it are far from over. But I just wanted to let you all know why I’ve been away.