strep and complications, Please i really need help

[aftermath8p]

I am 21 years old and have been having various problems after strep. It all started on sept. 28th i had gotten a swollen node under my jaw and green stool. I also had pain in my abdomen. I went to the er three days later and got a rapid test done and it was positive for strep throat. I was put on z pack for 6 days. The initial symptoms of chills and mild fever and green stool went away within two days. But I still continued to feel ill like fatigued. And my swollen node was still swollen. I went back to the er after finishing the zpack and they put me on 600 mg a day of clyndamycin. I felt really good the first day on it like i was better. And on the second day on my third dose of it my tongue started burning and bleeding for no reason with a redish/pink line down the middle. I went back to the er and the dr didn't know what to make of it so he told me to stop taking the clindamycin. The next day after stopping i developed two circular rashes on my face that became red in the middle almost like ring worms. Two days after that i started having blood in my stool and a lot of  undigested food in my stool which was softish. Within four days my burning tongue returned back to normal. But my bleeding would come back on and off always with undigested food in my stool. And my anus being irritaded like itchy. I finally went back to the er six days after having received the new symptoms. They took blood and gave me a rectal exam. The blood work came back normal. The rectal exam showed blood. The final diagnoses was they thought the antibiotics caused lower gi bleeding and a yiest rash on my face. They prescribed me a cream to put on my rash. After two weeks on the cream the rash started going down and one totally has gone away but the other is still slightly there. I stopped having bleeding although my anus is still irritated. As well as my swollen node has gone down a lot it's still there but it was huge before its a lot smaller. The thing thats scaring me is today i had pure green stool which i could maybe attribute to drinking a liter of blueberry juice. But i've discovered a new rash under my chin. Today is nov 3rd, So i've been dealing with this for a long time. I feel fine but this whole thing is really scary with no solid answers. i dont have a primary and the er doctors seem to not know anything. Please somebody can you give me an idea of what i might be dealing with.

[opinmin]

Seems like you been dealing with this for a long time.  Are you seeing an Infectious Disease physician?  Perhaps he/she could do a skin and a lymph node biopsy to futher investigate the situation.

[aftermath8p]

The original nodes were at one point going down but have gotten bigger. I am able to do active sports as normal now though. I keep getting ring like rashes on my face though. These rashes are causing the nodes next to them to become large rapidly and when they go away the node goes down. Every time one rash goes away another on the opposite side of my face pops up and enlarges a node next to it. I'm not even going to begin to guess what this is. And the doctors are baffled.

[opinmin]

Hopefully the nodes will continue to get smaller and back to normal size.  Do what you can when you feel ok and rest when you can't.  Take care and keep us posted.  If the nodes don't return to normal size after 1-2 months I would request a biopsy of the node or nodes that have not returned to normal size.

[aftermath8p]

Update- All blood came back normal. Mono test, hiv test, white blood cell count is normal everything the doctor says doesn't show any type of virus or infection. Stool sample also normal. But yet i still have 5 swollen nodes on my neck and under my chin. With a new one on the right side of my jaw. High blood pressure 150/90 which i didn't have before the strep throat and undigested food in stool (but it's getting better) So they said I pretty much  have to wait it out and see what happens because it seems as tho im getting better with the original nodes going down and the three under my chin getting smaller. And they have no clue really what it is their guess is some random virus. So i unno and I get fatigued easily now where as two days before getting sick i could run 4 miles straight and now I can't run 2 blocks without being winded.

[opinmin]

Sounds great!  Good luck!

[aftermath8p]

UPDATE- in case anyone was interested. The doctors think I have a fungal infection from the antibiotics. They also gave me a hiv 1/2 test which came up negative and a laboratory test to be sure and I'll know by tomorrow the results. (Hoping the 1/2 test is accurate) They also took two stool samples. I got an appointment for infectious diseases and a dermatologist so hopefully everything turns out good for me thanks again for responses.

[aftermath8p]

Sorry to keep this thing going and I appreciate your comments. I can't see my primary doctor because he's backed up till may and my HMO only lets a person see one primary doctor or i'd have to switch to another and in order to do that I would have to wait for them to issue me a new card with that new doctors name on it before I could see him and who knows how long that would take. Also sorry i'm in a slight panic state do you think it's just side effects from the antibiotics or should I be worried about something more serious. Also I will be going into the walk in clinic tomorrow morning.

[opinmin]

You can't be seen by your PCP for four months?  That is very extreme.  And you said that is related to your HMO?  That does not make any sense.  You sure it is not related to the physician's office scheduling?  If it is related to your physician's office scheduling, I would definitely find another physician who has more availability.  HMOs can be goofy though.  

Go to the walk-in clinic at this point.  Perhaps you can talk with the physician at the walk-in clinic about referring you to an Infectious Disease physician.  I don't know how that would play out with your HMO though; check you HMO handbook about specialties and coverage.  

[aftermath8p]

Thanks again for your response. I can't be seen by my primary till march my hmo *****. Guess I have to go to the walk in clinic. I now have diahrea this is ridiculous. I hope its not more then strep looking on the internet for symptoms makes everything worse scared the **** out of me. Hope all this stuff is just caused by yeast or something i don't know anymore though I'm starting to be beyond freaked.

[opinmin]

I agree with daniellika, mono should be ruled out if it has not already been.  The rash sounds like it is related to the clindamycin medication. Are you still using that cream prescribed for the rash? (it is probably some type of steroid cream).  Perhaps you can obtain a copy of your ER report to see if you were checked for mono.  

Second suggestion is to establish with a physician to follow up with all you have going on then that physician will be more in tune with your history, etc. and the care will be more tailored to you versus the ER.  The ER in more geared for emergent problems not to maintain your chronic conditions or problems.  

[aftermath8p]

Hi thanks for replying. No I don't have any chills or fever, the chills and fever went away within the first four days on the z pack. I've been off clindamycin for about 3 weeks. I'm not sure if they tested me for mono they just took blood and said it looks fine. And they didn't check my stool because i wasn't having diarrhea. Also there is a new rash on top of the small swollen node i have under my chin and the original neck swollen nodes have stopped getting smaller and are just remaining the same size although greatly reduced from what they were.

[daniellika]

Did they test you for mono? And did they test your stool for c.dff?

[opinmin]

Any fever, chills?  What are you eating?  How long have you been off the clindamycin?

[aftermath8p]

I now have a small swollen node under my chin im freaking out someone please help