Antibiotic's advice?

On the 5th of April I came out in lumps/sores, head and neck. Tests showed a Penecillin resistant Staff infection.
My GP has given me 4 courses of anti's from the Penecillin family. None of which have worked. (Go figure)
It's coming up on the end of August, there's no sign of the specialists appointment with the Hep C Doc which I took tests for 3 months back. I'd thought if I could hold it off I'd wait for the dude that know's what he's doing. But no.
I took a break from the anti's so I could put some weight back on and get some sleep.
I'm going to have to ask my GP to prescribe again and I think he's out of his depth.
It's fair driving me nuts, I can pull the rug out under it by slathering myself in Bactroban but it only stalls it's progress. I fight them on my head and they move to legs or hands.
If any of you out there have had to deal with a similar thing. Or have experience with taking the more liver worrying family's of antibiotics, please. I could go some advice on what to avoid and what the next safest options are.
Also what signs and symptoms to look out for once taking the next anti.
Thanks.

[CoWriter]

A MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureous) infection is obviously resistant to Penicillin....so your doctor should have given you something different to get rid of it.  Like Bactrim which is a Sulfa drug.....or intravenous meds.  

[CoWriter]

By the way, MRSA is contagious so be careful not to spread it to the rest of your family.

[Severance]

Thanks, initially the anti's & bug knocked me round and I wasn't thinking straight.
The sensible solution would be to find another Doctor, but I'm rural and so at the mercy of the hospital waiting list. My Doc is asking me what he should perscribe.
I looked up Bactrim, it sounds pretty heavy duty. Is that going to be par for the course in treating this?

[Trinity4]

They will need to do a culture from one of the sores to see what antibotics it is not resistant to.  My daughter just fought off a bout with it and it took about 3 days to find the right antibiotic.  She ended up having to take Doxycycline which is fortunately used for the less dificult strains to treat.  MRSA is becoming pretty common anymore.  She thinks she contracted it from the YMCA - working out and using a community excercise mat.  Who would of thought.  
Trin

[CoWriter]

That's unreal.  I thought all doctors knew how to treat MRSA.

I'm not a doctor but maybe I can tell you a few things that will help you....

Ask to see a copy of the culture your doctor did (a copy you can read yourself).  He must have done one since he knows it's MRSA, otherwise he wouldn't know that.  The results will have two parts.  The first part will say what the bug is.  The second part will tell you what antibiotics the bug is sensitive to.  It will have a list of antibiotics with either an "S" next to it....which means it's SENSITIVE to that antibiotic.....or it will have an "R" which means the bug is RESISTANT to that antibiotic.

(if the sensitivity results say "PENDING", you'll have to tell your doctor to call the lab and get them.....right after you tell him off for not doing it before....LOL)

So the antibiotics the bug is SENSITIVE to will be the ones that can kill it.  Usually the treatment choices are:  Doxycycline (tetracycline med),  Bactrim (sulfa med), Clindamycin and Zyvox.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007261.htm#Treatment


Clindamycin rarely causes liver problems—in less than 0.1% of patients

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clindamycin

Antibiotics are usually prescribed for about 7-10 days but to make sure they don't hurt your liver you can ask your doctor to check your liver enzymes before you start taking it and a few days after.  If the liver enzymes go up by alot, you can always stop taking the antibiotic (with your doctor's permission, of course).

When you get the new antibiotic, make sure you read the info the pharmacy gives you.  Doxycycline and Bactrim can increase the effects of anticoagulants and medications used to treat diabetes.....and Doxycycline can upset your stomach if taken on an empty stomach.

Also, make sure you finish all the antibiotics (unless your doctor tells you to stop) even if you think the infection is better.  Otherwise, the bug may become more resistant.

Wash your hands frequently (also before urinating, you don't want to spread the MRSA to the urinary tract).  Don't share personal items such as towels or razors with another person -- MRSA can be transmitted through contaminated items.  Don't visit anybody who's ill or in the hospital and avoid using swimming pools.  

I looked at your pictures....since some of the sores are draining, you need to cover them up with clean bandages and change them several times a day.  Otherwise, the drainage will get on your pillow and sheets and spread the MRSA to other areas of your body.  Any time you touch one of the sores, wash your hands with soap and water.  Dispose of soiled dressings in a plastic bag, tie it and put the trash outside your house.  Make sure your pets don't get into your trash.  Pets can colonize MRSA in their nose and throat and later give it back to you.  

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Trinity4]

I looked at your pics and you poor thing.  That must be terribly bothersome.  My daughter said her lesion was painful and she only had one.  I'd like to drop kick your doctor for giving you 4 rounds of penicillin based antibiotics knowing the infection was resistant to it.  MRSA is nothing to fool around with and if it can get into your blood stream and cause serious problems.  
CoWriter was spot on about how you should get this resolved (she's pretty smart about the medical stuff)  and I hope very soon for your sake.  Good Luck and feel better soon.
Trinity

[jmjm530]

I don't think it possible to get the answers you need here as none of us are doctor nor have looked at your cultures.

I would not beat a dead horse with your current GP but rather seek out an infection specialist at the nearest teaching hospital. I had numerous infections during treatment and none of the antibiotics I took were contraindicated by my hepatologist because of potential liver toxicity issues. You can always have the infection specialist contact your treatment doctor (doctors can always get through to other doctors) if necessary in this regard.

-- Jim

[Severance]

Thank you both.
Trinity, painful, yes like multiple corkscrews to the head. Drop kick away!
CoWriter, excellent to have some sound pratical advise. So grateful to you for taking the time to reply.
When the first cysts arrived  I started using an Alcohol gel wash for hands and upped my Hep C safe practises accordingly. Seperating my washing etc. I wear a hat 24/7 and wash my hair daily with a dandruff shampoo. I have 3 children and am determined not to share this with any of them. I've been loving them verbally for some time now.
My Doc didn't use the term MRSA or inform me of the infectious part, thank goodness for the internet. Someone said to me recently that N.Z doctors tend towards passive treatment and that Americans are more pro-active/ aggresive (aggressive). I'm begining to see that translated as..We'll make you think we did something...They'll do something.
I'll read these link's and make that Doc's appointment. Thanks again ladies.

[CoWriter]

"My Doc didn't use the term MRSA"

MRSA is the same thing as a "Penecillin resistant Staff infection" ....which you said tests showed.

If you get a fever, make sure you notify your doctor or go to the emergency room.  As Trinity mentioned, an infection can get in your blood stream.

[Severance]

Shame faced I find myself a year later still in the same state. Not for lack of trying.
I'm on script no .26 since I was tested with Persistent Staff.
I've had RNA inhibitors to stop the cells growing protein, combined with massive doses of all kinds of antibiotics. My last liver function results were terrible. I'm sick from the infection and now sick from the meds. Treatments leave me jaundiced, light sensitive and food intolerant, 5 kilo's down in the past 2 months. I sleep at best 4 hours a night.
I saw the Hepatitis specialist after a month wait...he was interested in getting me on Interferon. Less interested in treating my head. When I turned down the Interferon on the basis that I needed to first address the infection and regain some condition both mentally and physically, the clinic wished me luck and it was back to the G.P.
I've tried all the alternative therapy's. At the moment I'm force feeding myself Manuka honey and slathering on the UMF15+ Manuka cream. If I stop the antibiotics the infection turns my lymph nodes to rocks and is back with a vengeance within days.
I go for more liver functions this week to see if it has got better or worse.
Stuck between a narly rock and a real hard place. It's been 15 months since I've been able to hug or touch my kids. I clean my nails and alcohol prep before I touch anything and I worry constantly about infecting my family and friends. Either with the Staff or the Hep C. The Doc's still telling me it's not an MRSA.
The latest idea is to feed me Triazolam 125 mcg. Which makes no sense as I have no trouble falling asleep, it's the cold and pain that wake me up. I'm all ready taking Ativan 1mg 3x daily and DHC 60 3x daily, I also have codeine phos 30mg tablets for when the treatments prevent the DHC from sticking.
Experience has taught me to look up the med's and possible side effects before taking the prescriptions. (Our med's come in chemist bottles with no additional information other than to take with or without food). When I looked up Triazolam it said no more than 7-10 days prescribed at once and for not more than 2-3 weeks consecutively yet I just got 30 days worth. Should I be taking this? It does feel like I am being palmed off with La La drugs to keep me docile and compliant.
Please, help. I'm badly in need of some direction. I feel like I've fallen through the looking glass and my bed is really a giant teapot. Once my house sells I can go in for private care and pay a specialist or 3. Until then I'm at the mercy of our public health system. I haven't been given any intravenous antibiotics yet.
My G.P has said that if the liver functions show the antibiotics are damaging he won't be able to prescribe me anything else. And then what....?

[Severance]

Addition after re reading CoWriters posts-
None of the antibiotics listed as sensitive to the culture have been effective. Each retest has given the same results and listed the same antibiotics as being sensitive or not.
I've asked often to have lumps/sores drained and dressed and been told that it's not possible. I've usually got a fever or temperature, it's very difficult to differentiate between Hep C symptoms, what I'm dealing with at the moment and what might be a sign of an infection in the bloodstream.

[Severance]

Addition after re reading CoWriters posts-
None of the antibiotics listed as sensitive to the culture have been effective. Each retest has given the same results and listed the same antibiotics as being sensitive or not.
I've asked often to have lumps/sores drained and dressed and been told that it's not possible. I've usually got a fever or temperature, it's very difficult to differentiate between Hep C symptoms, what I'm dealing with at the moment and what might be a sign of an infection in the bloodstream.

[Severance]

Addition after re reading CoWriters posts-
None of the antibiotics listed as sensitive to the culture have been effective. Each retest has given the same results and listed the same antibiotics as being sensitive or not.
I've asked often to have lumps/sores drained and dressed and been told that it's not possible. I've usually got a fever or temperature, it's very difficult to differentiate between Hep C symptoms, what I'm dealing with at the moment and what might be a sign of an infection in the bloodstream.

[Severance]

Addition after re reading CoWriters posts-
None of the antibiotics listed as sensitive to the culture have been effective. Each retest has given the same results and listed the same antibiotics as being sensitive or not.
I've asked often to have lumps/sores drained and dressed and been told that it's not possible. I've usually got a fever or temperature, it's very difficult to differentiate between Hep C symptoms, what I'm dealing with at the moment and what might be a sign of an infection in the bloodstream.

[Severance]

Addition after re reading CoWriters posts-
None of the antibiotics listed as sensitive to the culture have been effective. Each retest has given the same results and listed the same antibiotics as being sensitive or not.
I've asked often to have lumps/sores drained and dressed and been told that it's not possible. I've usually got a fever or temperature, it's very difficult to differentiate between Hep C symptoms, what I'm dealing with at the moment and what might be a sign of an infection in the bloodstream.

[Severance]

Addition after re reading CoWriters posts-
None of the antibiotics listed as sensitive to the culture have been effective. Each retest has given the same results and listed the same antibiotics as being sensitive or not.
I've asked often to have lumps/sores drained and dressed and been told that it's not possible. I've usually got a fever or temperature, it's very difficult to differentiate between Hep C symptoms, what I'm dealing with at the moment and what might be a sign of an infection in the bloodstream.

[Severance]

Can someone delete those extra posts? I'm sure I reloaded the page and posted once more. Sorry about that.