Antibiotics & Cellulitis questions

Hi Deja--

The system just ate my post!

In any event, I believe the appropriate thing is to have your prescription filled and have the pills with you at all times, especially when you travel, since it could be difficult to have an out-of-state, out-of-country prescription filled while travelling.

Any of the physicians on your team can write the prescription--PCP, Onc or breast surgeon.  I usually have my breast surgeon give me a new prescription, with several refills, every year at out appointment.  She is very LE savvy.

Also, I believe the type of anti-biotic is different depending on the patient, any allergies, prior bad reactions or side effects with certain anti-biotics, etc.  I have an allergy to pennicillin, so I get a prescription for Cipro. 

Please others jump in with the anti-biotic you are prescribed.

Also if you are fortunate not to have used it in the past year, keep an eye on the "do not use after" date on the bottle, so you can get a fresh prescription when necessary.

And, please don't check any medication in your luggage!!  Keep them all with you, in their original bottles, in your carry on.

I found this but can't even remember if this is the post I was trying to find.  Sheesh. 

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/64/topic/789306?page=8#post_3240454

Gosh the NYT article on Levaquin was pretty scary, but all of the others upset my stomach.

I carry a bottle of Keflex with me when I travel, prescribed by my primary care doc. I had to press pretty hard to convince her to write the script, explaining that I travel about every other week and wanted the flexibility to have the antibiotics on hand in case I suspected I had an infection--but that I would call in to talk with her or an on-call colleague promptly, to discuss what was going on.  I had to walk her through all kinds of working-remote scenarios before she gave in.  She acknowledges that she knows nothing about LE, was perfectly accommodating to write a script for my night garment to get insurance coverage, but for some reason, the keflex request was problematic for her.

Well, dejaboo, that is pretty peachy!  Don't you just love it when our docs treat us like grownups?

My ONC gave me keflex without batting an eye. I have the bottle all filled in my med chest.

If there is any chance at all that you would have to travel suddenly on an emergency basis, keep the antib's themselves, not just a written prescription, on hand.

I live in Israel and my family is in the U.S. When my mother passed away recently I flew to the U.S. with less than 1 day's notice so I had everything with me. Even though I didn't need it, it was one less thing to worry about at a difficult and stressful time.

Leah

My doctor prescribed augmentin and I keep it in my purse.  Unfortunately, I have been hospitalized 3 times in past year with cellulitis and septicemia.  I go bad extremely fast and go from feeling great to having severe nausea, vomiting, malaise, chills,and an arm that is entirely red and the redness goes over half of my chest in a space of an hour or two. 

Anne

I am on penicillin for next several months to prevent reoccurences.  They have taken this very seriously and I am doing my compression bandaging and using Flexitouch pump.  Do have any resources for exercises for lymphadema?

Anne

Hello, Anne!  Exercise helps move lymph, because the action of muscles pushing against the lymphatic vessels is a key part of the pumping mechanism for the lymphatic system.  But-wouldn't you know- too much exercise, or too intense exercise, can signal the lymphatic system to send in some extra lymph because the body senses stress and overheat as the core body temperature rises. So the trick is to build strength and tolerance for exercise slowly, paying special attention to adding weight in very small increments if you're lifting weights, or adding spring tension in small increments for Pilates. Some exercises will be dicey for most of us until we've built considerable strength the slow-but-sure way, and by that I mean we need to avoid exercises like planks and pushups, and yoga postures like downward dog, that put bodyweight on the arms and torso, until we're sure that we've developed adequate strength to do so.  

There are so many benefits to exercise--I think NatsFan once posted a great reminder that many studies show that exercise can help lower the risk of a BC recurrence, for example. So do exercise!  But do it intelligently, so you can get its benefits (including its LE benefits) while minimizing the chance of triggering any LE risks.

I bumped a thread that explains and has links to some documents you may find helpful.  Here's the thread: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/64/topic/801430?page=1#post_3505764

The Lebed exercises Binney suggested are a wonderful way to get started, if you are not yet exercising, as they are very, very gentle and designed specifically to move lymph.  Another gentle exercise that builds cardio capacity is walking. Lots of us in this forum walk: a lot!  It's a great way to ease into more challenging exercise, and the precautions for LE are few and mostly common sense: Wear your sleeve and hand protection, try to support your LE arm if you can, instead of letting it hang down (hook thumb into belt loop; hand into pocket; or Nordic walking poles, for example). Periodically make a fist and pump it 20 times with arm up in the air (passers by will think you're celebrating!).  And the common sense: stay hydrated and use bug and sun protection.

And do join us in the kick-butt thread.  See you there, I hope!

Carol