Bloody abscess - please help

[fibromommyx3]

I just had an abscess open and it is draining red blood primarily.  Is this normal?  Should I put a call into my breast surgeon to be on the safe side?  My regular abscesses are the regular pus with blood mixed in at times, but never just blood.

Can anyone help?

[Kiki1121]

Hello Jennifer

Thank you so much for the information you provided. Now I understand these topics on here better. Thanks again!

Kiki

[eluriajen]

Hi Oness,

Thanks for sharing your story.
A little explanation that I think might help: IGM is not a bacterial infection...so it makes sense that your first culture didn't show anything, and it is likely that the second one will not either.

The joint pain and overall chronic pain that you are feeling are "normal" for IGM. Are you still taking the prednisone/steroids? Or are you only taking the antibiotics? (The other two medications that you listed are antibiotics). Antibiotics can help if you have a secondary infection, but they are not likely to help very much with the IGM symptoms. I did take several rounds of antibiotics early on in my treatment, but I do not believe that they were helpful; in fact, they were very damaging to my immune system and made me feel much worse over all. As far as yeast infections, you can offset them some by taking a probiotic while you are on them. Eventually after I had been through all of those antibiotics I had several types of yeast infections - not just vaginal - I had them in my armpits and my mouth as well, in addition to just feeling very sick in general. The probiotics helped some with this.

It is also pretty normal that your biopsy site reopened...all of my abscesses started with my first biopsy site. My doctor was not familiar with this at all either....it's pretty normal for us here, though. : )

Let us know if you have more questions and we'll try to help : )

Jennifer

[eluriajen]

Kiki,

Abscesses will usually open up on their own eventually if you don't have them drained. Not every lump will necessarily become an abscess. Abscesses are usually very inflamed and red, they fill with fluid, and then slowly push through to the surface. The skin thins, and then they burst open - kind of like a HUGE blister. Some of the women here have had success wtih having their abscesses drained. I have never had them drained...I just let them run their course...that seemed to work well for me. From what I have read from some of the other women, having the abscesses drained really helps with the pain...I can imagine that would be true, since the most painful part is that your skin is being stretched by all of the accumulation of fluid...draining that releases the pressure. Anyway, the first time an abscess bursts open, it can be very scary...it's not the kind of thing that "normally" happens, and it's just scary to have something like that happen to your body. After that, though, you can kind of get used to it. It's still very upsetting, but you learn how to manage it. Just remember to keep it clean. I normally use a heating pad on mine several times a day, and use a clay paste (you can read about the clay in other places in this forum) to treat mine. I had a series of abscesses over a time period of several months, but I haven't had any since January.

If you have more questions, please post them here, and we'll try to help : )

Jennifer

[ONESS]

Hello. I too have IGM or GM. I wanted to share my experience.  Seven weeks after my biopsy, the healed incision became red, then blistered and broken open and oozed fluid... yellowish color 1-7 days, then turned green pus like 10 days later.  The first culture was not infected 1-5 day from first bursting. The second visit to my doctor 7-14 days later, drainage was more pus like fluid, the doctor milked the sac and was very painful.
I am now awaiting to see what the 2nd culture results are.  My inital treatment was Prednisone for one week, then switched to steroids for following 3 months  and my joints ache now.  After drainage of pus and no positive changes to steroids, my doctor prescribe
Ciprofloxacin 500mg & Doxycycline 100mg twice daily for 14 days.  Doctor caution me that both medicines could cause a yeast infection.  Anyone ever had these meds with GM?
My doctor was not familar with incision breaking open on it's own after 7 weeks of biopsy healing.  I have been dealing with chronic pain from IGM/GM since Mid March 2011 and still seeking relief as of 6/14/11.

[Kiki1121]

Hello everyone! I know this might sound dumb but does an abscess open up on its own? I don't know much about GM and have read some topics on here and it just sounds rather scary. I am new around here and I can definitely say I lack knowledge of this disease.

[eluriajen]

Just a thought, but maybe the amount of blood is more or less, based on the location and depth of the abscess? Maybe some are closer to a blood source, where blood comes into the breast? Some of my more superficial abscesses were more of the puss-like fluid, while the deepest one, which affected the tissue about an inch deep into my breast, had more blood that drained from it.

[JoJo45]

Hi Mommy:

I have never had discharge that was mainly bloody - have you had this looked at by now - any explanation?  Anything to ease your mind about this - it would be worrying.

I don't think I have come across this in my research anywhere...a similar experience, except possibly from posts of one other member I believe, who had quite serious inflammation.

I won't go on the Prednisone again either, except if absolutely necessary - due to mental side effects I experienced when weaning.  Very serious stuff.  If your brain and mood are not working properly, you have no resources to mentally and emotionally battle this disease.

I think those that haven't experienced a 'bad trip' on Prednisone don't understand this, my family didn't, but lots of the women here do, so don't beat yourself about that.  Some don't get these side effects from steroids, and that is lucky, because Prednisone does seem to settle the GM for most, at least temporarily.

Wish, Wish for some relief for you - you deserve it.

Thinking of you, Jo

[eluriajen]

I have had a couple of abscesses that had mostly bloody drainage. That usually really died down after the initial bursting and draining - the following day, and from then on there wasn't much blood. It IS kind of scary to see so much blood coming out initially, though.

Jennifer

[fibromommyx3]

Thanks Pandora1962,

I am going to rebel and refuse to go on a higher dose of prednisone.  I didn't do good mentally when I was on 20 mg before and for my own safety I will not go back on it (and that was even on antidepressants).  I am fine on the high dosage for the 6 days or so, but that's it.  

Thanks for the support.

[Pandora1962]

Wish I could help sweetie. Sterile wound wash, or a shower to clean with soap & water. bandage her up. See how you feel in the morning. At this point the thing popped. You may want to go back on an anti-biotic though. You are taking so much medication already. I have no idea how the steroids work with your fibro meds....but I would consider the higher dosages. 5mg is clearly not doing a thing. Talk about it with her.