Cramps Were a Cat Bite
When I last blogged on the 13th, I had finally returned to the gym after a few weeks of on again off again. I wrote about a strange cramp I got in my foot and calf. I dismissed it, thinking it was because I hadn’t been working out, hadn’t stretch, hadn’t drank enough water or maybe I just needed a banana.
In the week that followed, I continued to have a faint, nagging cramp. I was a little fatigued and I continued to avoid the gym. Finally on Sunday night, I noticed my thigh was tingling on the same right leg. I put down what I was doing and began to massage my toe, calf and leg. It didn’t help. I went to sleep. In the morning, while getting out of bed my foot lightly grazed something and I felt the most intense pain at that specific area of my foot. I turned on the lights and tried to position myself to see. And there they were. Three tiny pinholes atop a small swollen mound where my sister’s cat had bitten my foot in my sleep. I moved and it pounced, perhaps hoping I was a mouse or playtoy. Although it hurt I just kicked the cat (sorry animal lovers) and fell back asleep. That was over 10 days ago. The cat bites me all the time in jest and rough play. I never thought about it again. Until now.
I figured I would call the doctor and some simple oral antibiotics would solve my small problem. I did see the doc, got said antibiotics and proceeded to have a most uncomfortable night of high fever, sweats, muscle/bone/skin pain. The fever broke around 2am. Tuesday afternoon I noticed something new. Pain from my inner knee on up my thigh. A golf ball sized painful lump in my groin area (lymph node) that is indicative of cat scratch fever. I limped home and repeated the fever and sweats which broke around 2am.
When I awoke I was limping more. I called the doctor in the morning and she wanted me to come in right away. She took one look at the streaking and swelling on my foot, felt my golf ball and called an infectious disease doctor who agreed to see me immediately. He took one look at my foot / golf ball and said I am just a step away from being shuffled to the hospital and we have to act fast. I was sent down the road to have a painful picc line inserted into my arm and the next morning (today- 12 hours too late in my opinion) I was back at ID doc for an IV infusion.
Today I was just a sterilized razor away from cutting my foot open myself. My friend stopped me. She works in a home infusion office and said WTF are you doing? and told me horror stories from other people doing the same thing. I put away the alcohol, scissors, gauze, and neosporin. I will be asking the doctor about this and other issues with my condition in the morning when I get my next infusion. Tonight my foot is huge.
I have gotten an Oxygen Mag and a M&F Hers and haven’t cracked them open. The condition leaves me with no appetite. I eat clean, but not often enough. I get married in a few months and I am getting skinny and losing shape and strength. My wedding shoes arrived today. I can’t try them on. I choke back emotions.
This whole situation is very scary to me. I have read in many articles that the lymph node in my groin could be a present problem for 2-4 months. It could be the least of my problems.
November 11, 2009 at 1:43 pm
OMG!! I had no idea that could happen from a cat scratch..when I was little our cat used to pounce on my feet in the middle of the night and do that to me all the time while sleeping…even thru covers she’d get me!