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has anyone cured and by what treatment?
Hi I am new member and suffering with this disease for last 7 mnths. I am happy to find this forum as someone is there to understand my condition and I am not alone. I have had 7 antibiotic courses, one operation and about 10 drains so far.Condition is persistant. I want to know if steroids work in this condition and it is effective or not??? I want to plan for a baby is it ok to be pregnant.. Hope anyone answers my questions in this condition.
Hi, I've had 3 surgeries. Two for abscess drainage because it was very deep within the breast and an excision biopsy to rule out cancer. I've had IGM in both breast and both of them I had to have packing and had to do wound care, not fun, but necessary.
My doc was very concerned about the infection going septic, hence antibiotics.
I'm on the mend now. So grateful for my docs, they were the best. They gave me the IGM diagnosis and have been very informative and supportive throughout this whole ordeal even though IGM is so rare.
Hope that helps and hope you feel better soon...Laurie
My doc was very concerned about the infection going septic, hence antibiotics.
I'm on the mend now. So grateful for my docs, they were the best. They gave me the IGM diagnosis and have been very informative and supportive throughout this whole ordeal even though IGM is so rare.
Hope that helps and hope you feel better soon...Laurie
Update: After my debate with myself, I decided NOT to get the incision done. AND I took myself OFF of Ciprocycline because I had a hunch that it makes me produce pus. AND guess what? As soon as I was off Cipro within 24 hours...I had less puss. I then did not take it the 2nd day and NO PUSS! My breast surgeon was surprised and wanted to make sure so she looked at ultrasound. She said she sees a pocket of pus so I let her do the needle-draining procedure thinking that I was completely wrong! BUT in the end, she could not find any after much probing! So I was upset afterwards because each time she goes in...it gets worse. So I decided to get a 2nd opinion...went to my trusty general doctor to see if he knew anyone good. I found a 2nd doc who had treated 3 other people. She agrees with me about not probing...her method is called "Expectant"...which means to basically leave it alone and watch since there's no known treatment...and to only do something when it gets worse. She treats patients with IGM with only antibiotics. She told me to stay on the Doxy since that's been helping...and it prevents super-infections. No cipro since I could be right about it making more pus. It's been couple weeks now and seems to be getting better. I still have open abscesses which clear liquid comes out...no pus. She also did say that she believes the abscess/openings are part of IGM and closes when it's done. She does not believe in doing any incisions. The only thing she would do invasively is Core Biopsy...to eliminate other possible causes like Fungal or AFS.
So if anyone out there is taking Cipro and getting pus, you may want to test out if it's making you have more pus. I do not usually go against doctor's recommendations but in this/my case, I had a strong feeling that I should not be taking it. Will update again to share my progress!
Foodwise...I read about making body alkaline...but not positive that it would help. What I AM doing is making turmeric golden tea (root not powder), ginger, garlic, lots of green tea, apples, fruit, kale/veg, more fish. Almost no beef...occasional ground beef. Almost no soy/tofu. No soft drinks, no dairy.
So if anyone out there is taking Cipro and getting pus, you may want to test out if it's making you have more pus. I do not usually go against doctor's recommendations but in this/my case, I had a strong feeling that I should not be taking it. Will update again to share my progress!
Foodwise...I read about making body alkaline...but not positive that it would help. What I AM doing is making turmeric golden tea (root not powder), ginger, garlic, lots of green tea, apples, fruit, kale/veg, more fish. Almost no beef...occasional ground beef. Almost no soy/tofu. No soft drinks, no dairy.
Berriboned,
You and I sound like we have been on almost the same course. Ive done the biopsies, went to ID, 4 weeks on IV antibiotic, needle aspirations (more of attempts), etc., I will tell you that my first breast specialist opened my breast and I have had it packed for almost 3 weeks. Unfortunately it is taking forever for it to heal! My new dr who has had cases of IGM before is choosing not to open the new areas and treat with Celabrex. I went today bc if sraining pus and she said I have to be patient...that it is part of IGM, but she dis not Want to do any incisions and open things up. She also wants to wait I. The methotrexate/steroid combo treatment. Additionally I am on an alkaline diet. I was on it before when I had cervical cancer. No meat, cheese...organic foods that are alkalizing to the body. I have 2 Kris Carr books which help with recipes and good foods.
Looking for any other suggestions myself!!!
You and I sound like we have been on almost the same course. Ive done the biopsies, went to ID, 4 weeks on IV antibiotic, needle aspirations (more of attempts), etc., I will tell you that my first breast specialist opened my breast and I have had it packed for almost 3 weeks. Unfortunately it is taking forever for it to heal! My new dr who has had cases of IGM before is choosing not to open the new areas and treat with Celabrex. I went today bc if sraining pus and she said I have to be patient...that it is part of IGM, but she dis not Want to do any incisions and open things up. She also wants to wait I. The methotrexate/steroid combo treatment. Additionally I am on an alkaline diet. I was on it before when I had cervical cancer. No meat, cheese...organic foods that are alkalizing to the body. I have 2 Kris Carr books which help with recipes and good foods.
Looking for any other suggestions myself!!!
My story: After mammo/ultrasound & biopsy of huge lump in breast and 1 lymph node, conclusion was IGM (July 2014). Am glad it was not aggressive cancer. Am on cipro along with 600mg Motrin every 4 hrs...not working. Developed abscess that erupted and then went to see infectious disease doc since it was getting worse! ID doc said I got Staph from biopsies so she put me on Doxy. Doxy + Cipro+Motin made it much better so guess it was Staph infection. Now I have had several times of ultrasound guided needle drainage of pus. Today she said that she will determine upon next visit if I will need to go to operation room for incision and packing etc. I don't really want this done since it would be left open for some time? do you think I shouLd get this done? Or wait it out and hope pus stops forming by itself? She said pus prevents the antibiotics from working. After reading many of what people wrote on this website, I am also wondering what exactly did you eat that helped the MOST?
I waited til the infection Cleared. I did not Use Steroids. Just Antibiotics and Good food and Aloe vera juice. I went to a surgeon who just used a needle to suck out the infection every week til it was gone. Cutting the breast makes it worse. I started to exercise to get my energy back. And Now I am pregnant and still healthy
Thanks for ur comment. I am also thinking to wait and see theory as steroids don't seem to work as I found in this forum. I have stopped needle aspiration and the symptoms are same but the gap is increasing between next lump development . just trying to change my diet and using more fruits and veg in my diet .
Thnx again.
Thnx again.
Hi Nora:
Yes, GM and IGM can resolve itself with no further complications.
However each woman is different and so is each case.
As for getting pregnant, some theories hold that elevated prolactin levels may be involved in GM..I believe these will elevate if breast feeding..not sure of pregnancy. This is a good question for your doctor. Good luck
Yes modifying diet to control systemic inflammation can be helpful, however in more involved case of IGM it is not enough to cure the disease.
I hold to the theory that this is an inflammatory disease, not necessarily caused by bacteria or fungi, therefore I don't personally understand why most doctors throw antibiotics at it, and I haven't heard much good outcome with this course.
Prednisone was first thought to be the only real course of treatment for IGM, however it is such a nasty drug and many women had recurrences after treatment, so steroid treatment alone is not favoured any longer. Steroids are still used in conjunction with methotrexate, and methotrexate is also now used by itself as treatment. Yes, these are strong drugs with strong side effects, so I would again, caution to be only used in severe IGM cases.
I hope you are able to have guided, not spontaneous drainings. This was the most helpful to me personally, and I believe helped to resolve my acute IGM attacks.
Yes, GM and IGM can resolve itself with no further complications.
However each woman is different and so is each case.
As for getting pregnant, some theories hold that elevated prolactin levels may be involved in GM..I believe these will elevate if breast feeding..not sure of pregnancy. This is a good question for your doctor. Good luck
Yes modifying diet to control systemic inflammation can be helpful, however in more involved case of IGM it is not enough to cure the disease.
I hold to the theory that this is an inflammatory disease, not necessarily caused by bacteria or fungi, therefore I don't personally understand why most doctors throw antibiotics at it, and I haven't heard much good outcome with this course.
Prednisone was first thought to be the only real course of treatment for IGM, however it is such a nasty drug and many women had recurrences after treatment, so steroid treatment alone is not favoured any longer. Steroids are still used in conjunction with methotrexate, and methotrexate is also now used by itself as treatment. Yes, these are strong drugs with strong side effects, so I would again, caution to be only used in severe IGM cases.
I hope you are able to have guided, not spontaneous drainings. This was the most helpful to me personally, and I believe helped to resolve my acute IGM attacks.
Good to hear, you are doing well. I'm sure the anti inflammatory food help, but many recover spontaneously in an average of 14 months...but I think food play a big role..I'd say no night shades and high protein as a first step....
I've actually cured from this disease, after 10 months it began to go away, at first I was on antibiotics, I went through two biopsys, and was about to go on preistone. But after reading of what it does to the body I refused! I did also try natural ways for the inflammation. Juicing and going into an anti-inflammatory diet. I'm not sure how much it had to do with my healing of it but leaving it alone worked. Poking inside the breast also may prolong it to heal. My doctor decided not to do anything else after my second biopsy, just to let it heal and then keep checking up on it. Of course my breast isn't as it used to be but I'm no longer dealing with the GM. I do still have a little lump in there but the DR said if it caused pain or it got bigger I definitely need to go back. I am afraid it can come back as I still get a little pulsing pain every now and then and well my nipple is finally back to being fully out! Don't lose hope ladies, sometimes just as it came it can leave.
Don't have steroids if you want a baby. Go ahead with baby plans. It might even help or get worse ( ask your doc), but don't stop baby plans for this. Babies are more imp than boobs :) I am recovering by homeopathy from my own aunt who is practicing since 1970. She has her own way of curing. Also for 50% rest of cure, I follow an extremely tough but helpful diet. See my posts elsewhere.
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