On Thursday, I was happy with my lab results but hurting a lot. I figured my body was following the contrarian attitude reflected in my investment strategies.
So yesterday, the nurse/pharmacist at the infusion center gave me a call. She's really nice and has a good grasp of my tenuous nature. I also remember that she was staring at me when her partner in crime was twisting my arm on Wednesday... and while I don't know the exact expression I was wearing, I can imagine. We had discussed the possibility of having to stop the daptomycin should my CK values rise -- I started out high. The possibility was supposedly "remote." It had happened, in her experience, only once out of hundreds of patients getting the antibiotic.
Guess what?
Rhabdomyolysis. (I have spared you the numerous misspellings!) Myopathy. A tiny bit of liver enzyme schtuff -- in addition to a sky high CK .
At least my pain had an explanation -- and that is a relief that I don't think folks who don't experience much pain can understand. Normally, there is nothing I can do, there is nothing to understand, there is certainly no promise of relief. But this should actually ease up as that junky antibiotic gets out of my system -- as it should, because my kidney function is *stellar*. "Normally," I have "renal insufficiency" -- something I don't really understand -- but, at the moment, my kidneys are **stellar**, bay-bee!
She offered two options regarding therapy. I could just quit and have the PICC pulled, or I could switch to vancomycin for two more weeks of infusion. I conferred with The Fredster and La Bonne et Belle Bianca Castafiore. (I have really missed her. She's been touring, belting out that L'Air des Bijoux of Boudon, but now she's home and constantly reminding us that "ah... je ris de me voir si belle dans ce miroir... ha... ha... ha!"). They put their pointy heads together and came up with a plan pleasing to all -- that is, to me, who just wants to be done with it all, and to the ID Doc, who wants me to have another 2 weeks of i.v. antibiotics.
So this is the plan: They want to see me Monday to retest. So I will make my decision based on the results! If my bloodwork continues to show improvement, in terms of infection markers, then I quit! It it is worse, okay, okay, I'll keep taking the stuff. If it's unclear... well, we didn't discuss that. I figure a coin toss?
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