Slow progress

Let there be no doubt that the Prednisone is an effective drug but it is going to take some real time, months in fact, to get my leg healed up. Its hard to actually tell but many spots on the top are actually healed but scared. My dermatologist explained to me that they may be 'scaring to significant scaring'. Oh, well there goes my calf/shin modeling career. I didn't care how bad the scars are gonna turn out. I just want this thing out of my life.

My dermatologist has bumped my dosage back up 20mg/day. So, I'm taking 120mg/day again. 100mg wasn't enough. I was developing new sores and old ones were coming back. Screw that!
It seems my dosage is so high that my immune system is being damped out so I am to also take an powerful antibiotic, Bactrim. People with HIV take this drug to prevent sores, opportunistic infections and death. great..

So my immune system is so fucked up that it is attacking healthy tissue so it needed to be toned down to a level that opens me up to opportunistic bugs that I may come into contact with hence forcing me to take yet another drug that is to do the task my immune system seems not willing or able to undertake.

ugh..!

As I have had my intake of Prednisone reduced the Pyoderma's flareup has slowly crept back onto my leg. Last week the entire wound was smooth around the edges. This morning it looks like a pizza crust around the outside portion. These flared up areas are a source of pain. I find myself taking Tylenol throughout most of the day. I hate taking pills but the discomfort at times is simply unbearable.

The edema is still mostly gone which has afforded me the opportunity to walk around my neighborhood. I went to the park this afternoon (Carl Schurz) and just walked around the UES with a cup of coffee in my hand. Simple but something I wouldn't have been comfortable enough to undertake a few weeks ago due to the pain and the edema.

Backtracking

Since I have been on the Prednisone my Pyoderma has cleared up a lot. However my doc has me reducing the dosage over the last week by about 40mg to 100mg a day. Although this seems high, it may not be a high enough dosage. I have noticed, since the dosage reduction, that some of the edges have flared up again. These flareups are a source of stinging pain.

The arrow is pointing to a totally new flareup. It stings and casually bleeds.

Clean up

This picture taken October 13th illustrates by what degree the edges have smoothed out and healed up. I have been using the Telfa bandages along with Mupirocin ointment. It really stings for about fifteen minutes or so after its application but it is effective.

The top part of my Pyoderma looks a bit rough and a sporting a darker red color. This is actually an effect of my bandages sliding off and exposing the higher leg, resulting in some scabbing.

Although it still looks awful the amount of pain and discomfort I had been experiencing has been greatly reduced. At times I feel a single sharpish stinging but its brief and often muted by a few Tylenol.

Slow going

If you think this looks bad, trust me, it fuggin hurts too! At times it feels like a pan of hot grease was poured on my leg, resulting in a shallow but highly stinging pain.

This picture is actually of my lower leg after a good deal of 'cleaning up' and a reduction of swelling and edema after almost two weeks on Prednisone.

The Prednisone has been good for me and my situation, experience of only slight side effects, like insomnia.

A step forward a big step back

I have been on Prednisone for eight days and the results are stunning. The Edema and swelling has almost completely disappeared. The Ulcer is slowly healing and its production of 'yellow fluid' has been very much reduced.

It seems that I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer. So, as my leg heals and I gain full use of it again, I am discussing treatments for my newly diagnosed cancer.

Prednisone has a lot of side effects but I haven't experienced much except sleeplessness.

After two days of treatment

When I awake in the morning I usually find that my foot is at it largest for the day. I have no idea why. This morning and even last night I noticed that the swelling or edema had subsided. Although the Pyoderma hurts like a bitch, the edema was always a source of annoyance. I've had a whole closet of shoes that were unwearable because my left foot couldn't fit or it was too much of a squeeze. I've experienced a tight pair of pants after a weekend of heavy drinking and 'feeding' but a tight shoe?

Treatment II

Its amazing these Prednisone pills. I've only taken it for two days and changes are already apparent. The puffiness or inflammation has toned down a notch or two. And the amount of wetness, that annoying yellowish fluid that my Pyoderma weeps out, has gone down. The other day I had to change my bandages every three or four hours tops because of all this damn fluid. Today I changed a set of bandages after six hours of use and they could have been worn a while longer.

I can hardly wait to see the progress after a few weeks on Prednisone.

Pyoderma growth

Pyoderma can expand at a furious pace which is detailed here. The only thing I can be thankful for is that I have only one Pyoderma ulcer although large and its located in an area I can care for myself. If this was on my back I'd need to get a nurse or if it was on my face I'd be in the hospital.

And yes it fucking hurts as bad as it looks..