Extreme case of deja vu

[middleman]

On Monday, two weeks shy of my one year anniversary of my AVR; I got dizzy and ended up in the hospital for a day and half. It started a few days earlier when I noticed that I had a sore throat. By Monday I finally got in to see my GP to get some medicine. By then my throat looked like a war zone. They did a normal work up and a rapid strep test. The test was negative for strep. When I was done, I got my prescription and started to leave and that’s when thing got weird. As I stood up, I got dizzy and I went to the floor. The clinic called for an ambulance and I was transported to the local emergency room. The ER started me on 2 rounds of IV antibiotics and called my cardiologist. He wanted me transported to his hospital 75 miles away and the place I had my surgery. So late Monday I was moved to the new hospital and was admitted. In the morning they did an echo on my and did more blood tests. When all was said and done it turns out that I was dehydrated and I was sent home.

This was a weird experience because it was really similar to last year when I found out I needed an AVR and went into surgery. I had the same paramedic and ER nurses that worked on me last year. It also happened at a doctor’s office like last year. When they told me about the transfer, my BP went from 120/78 to 146/92 and was thinking worse case scenarios that I was going under the knife again. It was like repeating a bad dream.

I am home now and doing better. My infection is going away and my throat is almost back to normal. But it was an interesting week for me.

I do have a question for the group. I have a prescription for antibiotics for when I go to the dentist. Does anybody keep on hand antibiotics for infection like strep on hand till they can see their doctor?

Thanks
Jim

 

[Jkm7]

If you were to start an antibiotic prior to having a strep test, you could jeopardize the quality of the test.
Best is to get into a doctor ASAP rather than self-medicate.

I also take pre-med antibiotic for all dental work so always have amoxicillan on hand but I would hesitate to take it prior to consulting my doctor for any use other than for what it was prescribed.

Sorry you had such a bad experience but happy to hear you are on the mend. Don't rush the recovery. Make sure you finish all your meds and take it slowly.

 

[DanielB]

Bummer experience, good to hear it all worked out for you. I would agree with Jkm7 in that I would check with my doctor before taking an antibiotic. My experiences with antibiotics since my surgery have been the antibiotic effects were almost as bad as what they were treating, especially on impacting my INR.

Take it easy and get better!

 

[karla]

Agree with all of the above. In addition, you don't want to treat what could very well be a viral infection with potent antibiotics. That's one reason we have all of these "superbugs" that are resistant to antibiotics.
The vast majority of sore throats are viral in origin but we need to be vigilant when we do get a sore throat and get tested for strep. Play it safe, get tested, and don't use antibiotics unless you have your doc's OK to do so.

 

[karla]

Oh, one other thing....ALWAYS follow the instructions for antibiotics and finish them as instructed. That is SO important to help prevent emergence of new antibiotic resistant bugs.
OK - off my soapbox!

 

[Julian]

Man that's some sucky deja vu! As you told your story I tried to re live it in my head. I for sure would of been worried for the worst. I'm glad everything checked out okay and your getting better. Sheesh!