6 days on antibiotic feeling better

tonyap

Ok I have made other posts about wondering if this is IBC or just infection. I have now been on antibiotics for 6days and finally feeling some relief. Still some swelling and redness around nipple area stil very tender but sharp pains have seemed to stop. I have an appointment at a breast center on Monday just to be safe. Has anyone of you been diagnosed with mastitis and put on meds get better then find out you have iBC? I still have some thickening of my skin around areola.

Nannyof2

Hi Tonya

I had an infection from hell and it took almost 7 days our of my 10 to get past the infection andget feeling better.

I was swollen and red and dripping with infection - after a visit to see my surgeon (who did nothing except put me on antiboitics - I was in agony and was concerned and worried - for a week or more I was still supressing pus etc from the surgery site (where it began to leak out of) - I am on the mend finally

I have IDC - stage IIb I think (still waiting for my first onocology appt - for details - I have home care - take my last antibotic today (went through two different kinds to get any results) -be sure to check it out

take care

rosie

gracefarm

Hi Tonya and Rosie -- When I first found the symptoms my oncologist (my first battle with "regular" bc was six years ago) thought it might be mastitis and gave me a week of antibiotics. The symptoms did improve a little, but never went away. So on to the surgeon for an MRI and core biopsy and to the diagnosis of IBC. Have you watched the KOMO-TV video about IBC?  http://www.komonews.com/ibc. That's how I learned about it. Don't let your doctor ignore your symptoms! Rosie, I really feel for you ... your symptoms were AWFUL and I'm thankful mine weren't that bad. Hang in there!

Kim

Nannyof2

Thanks Kim - you are right about NOT allowing the Dr to ignore my symptoms - I was so shocked to be honest - he is such a nice guy - but I truly NEED to begin making this more about ME - I have had some amazing home care nurses thank God for them - I am on the mend - have some tenderness (I am assuming this is common?) it has not yet been three weeks since surgery - then add the infection - however my incision scars are looking great - just have a real tenderness in my arm pit (axillary node removal) and a large tumor 3.2 cm so all to be expected I guess - and now I have a new question

not sure how to post a new topic questions so I will throw it out here and see - I am wondering do we still get mammograms on surgery breasts? If people say mammos dont hurt - well they are lying LOL they do hurt - they must hurt a lot more with a partial breast or a surgery breast? I would rather an ultrasound? Any thought on this or feedback from anyone who has had this done?

This is all so new to me and I am dealing with it one day at a time - I had surgery on the 3rd of Dec and have my oncology appt on the 7th of Jan - so much more to learn - this webside has been a Godsend for me honestly!

thanks ladies you all rock - a club I  never signed up for but one that has been so supportive and informative

Rosie from Canada

tonyap

Thanks Kim. The swelling is much better and so is the pain. I still have some bright red to almost purpelish coloring around my nipple and still very painful there. I have some indentations also not big but enought to notice. I am just afraid the surgeon will say well the antibiotics worked so we don't need to do anything else. I am going to insisit on more tests. I have very large breasts anyway and they are very dense. Kim Can you  give me some more info on your symptoms?

gracefarm

I'm fortunate that the doctors here fully understand IBC, but since it's rather unusual (no longer rare, though) some doctors may not have see it yet. I thought I had poison ivy, but nothing helped. Watching that video again and reading about symptoms, I learned that lots of women think they have a spider or insect bite. My large red spot actually moved a little every day around my breast ... creepy but fascinating to watch. There was also warmth, a little swelling, dried skin as though from fever inside, no pain. But the most alarming symptom was the orange-peel texture of parts of my breast, ridgey, bumpy, dimpled, thickened, just like an orange peel (but flesh-colored). It seemed that that symptom is not present in mastitis.

Mammograms don't catch IBC so you should have a core biopsy (honestly, it hurts some) and a breast MRI. Then you'll know for sure. I wish you all the best, Tonya. It is not easy to navigate the world of medicine!

Kim

leisaparis

Rosie....I went from being a DD to a sm. A. I had a mammo just before reconstruction. It hurt, but was clear. So yes, they do still do mammo's on breasts after surgery.

MichelleABCs

Tonya,

I did have a similiar situation. I was prescribed antibiotics and the reddness on my breast did get better but didn't completly resolve. I had a mammogram that was completly clear and then a MRI of the breasts and a CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis that showed metastatic IBC.  I am not sharing this info to alarm you but to make sure you press your doctor for an MRI, CT and biopsy. It is a bunch of testing but worth it to find out for sure what is going on.

Michelle

Tundra

Just adding my voice to this too.

I had redness and swelling. Was on antibiotics for some weeks. I thought the redness had reduced but in the end it was not very much.

It is best to get it looked into.

As Michelle said, I write this not to alarm you, but to say that it's a good idea to take it seriously.

Maybe this will help: http://www.eraseibc.org/videos.html

Ling29

I agree with all the above posts. The antibiotic didn't help me much but my doctor really rushed me into all the tests and the treatments at the beginning. And I stopped antibiotics just after 6 days without improvement.  The only definite answer I receive is from biopsy and MRI scan, so having these done will certainly clear your worry.  I wish it is not IBC for you but it is better to take it seriously at the beginning. 

Ling 

tonyap

This is like day 8 or 9 of antibiotics. I still have a lot of redness around nipple area. Some pain there also. Much of the swelling around the rest of my breast is gone now. I do feel like I have a golf ball inside my aerola area. Still pretty hard. I am so nervous about Monday just not sure what all the doctor will do. I think I have prepared myself for a bad diagnosis but if they just chalk it up to an infection and delay testing I am not sure how I will handel that.

Kaileysmom

Same issue here. On Friday I noticed my symptoms (woke up with red painful breast with a lump). Went to doctor 4 days later. She has made a referral to a breast imaging center. I have been on antibiotics for 3 days (for swellen lymph nodes in my neck). The antibiotics have taken a lot of redness away and the breast is not as painful however lump is still present.

Do i still need to have imaging done?

Kaileysmom

thank you SO much. This has help me make up my mind to proceed with all of the tests. I felt better after antibiots and was debating on returning to go get the tests ordered.

I will go now. I hope you are better now.