Cat Scratch Fever, its not just a song.

[BrokenArts]

I wanted to share with you, a little hellish story. A situation I just went through, that basically scared the shit right out of me, and I had my life flash before my eyes.

The Thursday before Labor Weekend, this all started at the end of August. I discovered a lump on my right bicep. O_O WTF is this? Then labor day weekend hit. I started to worry. Tuesday morning, after the holiday, I discovered another lump, my lymph node under my arm pit, same side as the lump on my arm, they were less than 6 inches apart. I freaked at the lymph node swelling.

I went to my regular GP doctor, he ordered a mammogram, he wasn't so concerned about the lump on my arm, as the node swelling. I couldn't get in for two weeks, oh great. Fine.

I also told him, I was fostering two kittens, they were strays, could it be cat scratch fever, or some sort of infection? I asked him. Ohhh noooo, he said. The lump could be a form of sarcoma, cancer. You think the worst, he was thinking the worst. Doom and gloom. My life turned upside down.

While waiting those two weeks, the lump on my arm went from a pea size to slightly smaller than a ping pong ball size. SHIT.
I went back to the doctor. He ordered I see a surgeon, ASAP, and ordered an MRI. I cannot afford an MRI, I don't have insurance, at least not yet. I am about to be hired full time, with a design firm, and will get insurance then, timing was oooh so grand on this. (Yes, I am still doing BA)

During that time, I felt like crap, everything was a struggle, he put me on an antibiotic, it didn't touch it, didn't do a thing. The spot on my arm, looked red at times, my lymph node hurt, off and on. I was miserable.

About a week, and a half ago, a customer called, I was feeling pretty low, she asked how I was doing. I was evasive, and said I could be doing better, I just didn't feel good. She pushed and asked how I was doing again, she knew I had just gone through a divorce. I was doing everything myself.

After that, I swear there is a god. I told her what was going on.
"Do you have any family here?" No I told her. Ohhh girl, you need help!" she said. (I hate to ask for help, I really do.)

She ended up calling her internist doctor, an internal wellness doctor. I was able to get in to see him, "free of charge". I really didn't think much would happen with it. I didn't know what to say.
I was floored she would do that for me. I am just paying it forward she said. I told her thank you, and called and made an appointment.

I dreaded seeing him, but, I was not about to turn down a 2nd opinion on this.

He sat down with me, and we talked about what was going on. Again, I brought up that I was fostering two kittens, could it be some sort of an infection, possibly cat scratch? I am no doctor, I replied. I have been scratched by these kittens. "Aahhh
that is a possibility" he said. It usually effects more than one lymph node though. He listened to what I had to say.

The doctor looked at what was going on, its not a tumor, the way it's sitting, right on top of the muscle, it does not suggest a tumor. THANK GOD.

I've done some reading on my own, Kittens are 40% more likely to be the carriers of cat scratch fever, its more prevalent during the spring and fall, an overall ill feeling, and it effects the lymph nodes. Uhuh. Why the lump on my arm, who knows for sure.
Just a reaction. Blood work came back normal, they don't test for everything though.

He put me on Doxycycline, a member of the tetracycline family.
THAT made a difference, the lump on my arm is shrinking, the lymph node hasn't bothered me anymore. I am feeling better everyday, and more like myself again. This has been a hellish month, I still have to watch it, and I am. Things are definitely improving, and the medicine is doing it's thing for me. THANK GOD. I've had an infection for a month, during that time, I caught a cold, and a stomach virus, yeah, I've been just peachy.

Moral of the story, "Do not under estimate the power of a tiny scratch." I am more cautious now dealing with strays, you never know. Get a 2nd opinion too, can't hurt.

I am relaxing more, and taking a bit of time off, things have been a bitch, not the easiest year. I'm here, worse for wear. I've said a few prayers, and a few thank yous along the way.

Seriously, watch those little scratches from strays.
You never know.

[keg]

:o, i had a friend who had somthing similar to that :erg:, atleast your getting better now :) hope the rest of the year improves for you :)

2nd opinion never hurts either

[-KewlAzMe-]

Soo..........

Hi BA... what's new?!

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

:dd

[-KewlAzMe-]

Nah really I'm glad that you're doing better after the cat scratch.. Sorry to hear about you and SO tho.

[BrokenArts]

TY, it was hell, and I was scared, it came on fast and furious, and was no picnic.

As for the divorce, best thing I ever did, TY.

My main reason for posting, just watch out for those strays, and those cute little kittens, they might just be carriers, you never know.

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

:D u know, somewhere in africa u can die of small moscito or fly.

[Schleicher]

Long time ago me and a girlfriend i had at the time found her cat had brought home a mouse, carrying in her mouth, still alive. She then insisted on "freeing" it, so we cased the cat until it dropped the mouse, which then ran into the staircase and flat out refused to go back outside, despite us waving our hands at it and making "shoo shoo" and stuff. After a while of this stupidity i lost patience, just grabbed it and carried it outside and while i did that it bit me in the hand (and it wasnt some nice cartooney mouse, it was a dirty mouse soaked in cat spit and whatnot, freshly picked from i-dont-even-wanna-know). And not just shortly, it sunk its damn little teeth into my flesh and left em there, when i intended to drop it it dangled from my hand and i literally had to pry open its little jaw with the thumb and index finger of my other hand for it to release. Dropped to the ground and scurried off. Should have bitten the damn cat that hard, stupid thing.
So yeah, careful with strays, they may be rabid and vicious and may give you the wrong sort of lady lumps. Even just stray mouses. http://www.anikaos.com/0008-peas/kaos-peas04.gif

[keg]

despite us waving our hands at it and making "shoo shoo" and stuff.

lol ^^ i can picture you doing that :P

[Convict]

So, uh, you're on the market then BA? ;)

[-KewlAzMe-]

Yes I guess its time for a BCG Auction night!

Lets get the personals ad going:

"Middle-Aged SWF, Texan, looking for quiet, dark stranger
with hood and mechanical eye from the Middle-Ages to spend life with.
Must enjoy art repair and/or art stealing, scouting my orbs,
and stray cats. Also should support rampant banning of KewlAzMe.
Call (214) 332-7606"

[Fuzzy Bunny]

That's the number for Pizza Hut, dude.

Glad to hear you're feeling better, BA :)

[Ghostly apparition]

Yes I guess its time for a BCG Auction night!

Lets get the personals ad going:

"Middle-Aged SWF, Texan, looking for quiet, dark stranger
with hood and mechanical eye from the Middle-Ages to spend life with.
Must enjoy art repair and/or art stealing, scouting my orbs,
and stray cats. Also should support rampant banning of KewlAzMe.
Call (214) 332-7606"

Well, actually if she did hook up with Garrett, he could steal the artwork and then she could repair it and get a better price for it. Just a thought. :)

Glad to hear you're doing better BA. Hang in there.

[Ruffian]

Ruff stares at the 7 evil stray cats on her porch... :wolfe::wildcat::norris::site::faith:

Glad you are feeling better BA. Wait till you experience whats next.

[Convict]

That's the number for Pizza Hut, dude.

Glad to hear you're feeling better, BA :)

At least it wasn't just me that found this out...:sweat:

[FixXxeR]

Wow, never head of that before myself, but no many strays around Manchester (they get eaten)

Glad to hear you pulled through it all, BA.

[BrokenArts]

You guys are funny. :joking: Thanks for making me laugh today, I needed it. :D

Ruff? What do you mean.......:sweat: Careful of those strays.

Schleicher----shoo shoo lady lumps! LOL.

FixXxer? Do you eat them? :P ;--)

Kewl- ahhhhhhh, lol.

GA! Good idea.

Convict - I lurk. ;--)

Again, my only reason for posting this, is watch those strays, you just never know.

TY everyone.

[FixXxeR]

Oh yes sorry I eat them.





Really.



:P

[~CaTBuRgLaR~]

Aww! I love kittens but man those fuzzy critters can be hellish if you aren't careful that's true! Fortunately my cat is a lazy ass that doesn't go outside or get into things...

I'm really glad it wasn't cancer or anything! I hate it when people suffer over such things :( ...unless they're murderers, rapists, and the like... they can burn in... err no no I musn't judge... anyway,

I hope you heal up completely real soon!! I'll pray that whatever you have goes away really quickly for ya!!

[Thebos]

Glad to hear it all worked out. Hope things ease up and the new position works well.

[-KewlAzMe-]

Oh yes sorry I eat them.

Really.
:P

Don't we all (http://youtube.com/watch?v=vECEYajEEDk)

[Nachimir]

Glad you're ok BA :)

[Aggamemnon]

Good to hear you're okay, and not out of pocket for the experience :p

[BrokenArts]

Ohh I've spent enough money looking into this, it's just the big things, oh like MRI's, and surgery. MRI I could have probably coughed up the cash for. Glad I didn't have to, especially for the surgery.

Or out of pocket in more ways than one Aggy. :p

TY all. :)

[-KewlAzMe-]

I got somethin' in my pocket for you BA!

http://userimages-1.lala.com/frontend/servlet/UserImageServlet?userToken=22371@11116

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

Somethings are better left unsaid, thank you very much. No more.

[-KewlAzMe-]

Way to cross that line uruk! Zatkenise!

[Ghostly apparition]

Way to cross that line uruk! Zatkenise!

I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised it wasn't you crossing the line Kam. ;)

[Moses2k]

Wouldn't it have been awesome if the puffy spot burst and a little kitten came out, Alien-style???

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

i just lmaed about that thread :D, ohhhh, littly kitty can make hurt! uhh ohh! its like i would reopen america and say - yeah, i found it, i found it!

[-KewlAzMe-]

I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised it wasn't you crossing the line Kam. ;)

Heh... When i cross the line i do it with class and experience.

[Moses2k]

We should be so lucky.

[-KewlAzMe-]

You should!

[DiP]

Get better'er soon. :P

[Ghostly apparition]

Heh... When i cross the line i do it with class and experience.

Funny, when I read that it says with oafish and inadequacy. Just make sure to keep on those rose colored glasses. :)

[FixXxeR]

Nice to see people are making light of BA's situation and not bikkering like a couple of school kids. <smacks heads together>

[BrokenArts]

I'd rather have this, yes FixXxie. :) I could have gotten very sick, or worse.

[impulse]

I have always questioned advice given to me by any professional whether it be doctors, dentists, lawyers, or even engineers such as myself. And I have always believed in getting a second opinion regardless of the severity of the problem.

Also on the topic of cancer scares, my mum only recently saw a GP regarding pain in her abdomen. The GP's reaction was that it was likely to be cancerous. To cut a long story short, after having consulted a specialist it turns out that the growths were not cancerous at all. Although the effect the initial diagnosis had on her was unbelievable. Her mental health had deteoriated to the point where it had started to affect her physically. Of course after she got the results of the biopsy her state of mind improved and shortly after so did her physical health and appearance.

By the way, I hope you're feeling better now! :D

[BrokenArts]

Impulse, I am sorry what your mum went through too! This did change me, and doctors, they can scare you to death sometimes. I did think I was going to die. The way I felt. I am glad your mum is doing fine now. :) I too am a firm believer in a 2nd opinion. Hell yes.

I did a lot of digging with this CSD. The blood work is tricky and if a blood test says you are negative it's not a 100% accurate test. This bacterium is tricky.

Cases where you cannot drain the node successfully to get a proper diagnosis. It effects the upper body nodes.

It can effect other areas of the body, hence the lump on my arm, and many other areas of the body that can be effected.

Some cases have lasted for months on end. Good god I can't imagine going through that. A lot of misdiagnosed cases.

You don't have to treat the kittens, it only lasts a few weeks of them being a carrier. That was good to read.

Its like the Chicken pox, once you get it, you won't get it again.

Thank god the 2nd opinion doctor just went straight to the cure, and I actually bi-passed a lot of potential BS, and gave me the meds to cure this damn thing. I got lucky compared to some people that have had this.

Here is the beast in question.
Beast (http://modetwo.net/users/brokenarts/KittieFace7a.jpg)
Beast with Amoeba on its face (http://modetwo.net/users/brokenarts/KittieFace2.JPG)

[-KewlAzMe-]

Beast with Amoeba on its face (http://modetwo.net/users/brokenarts/KittieFace2.JPG)


AHH it's hideous!! Kill it before it kills us all!

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

thats not normal when cats whining, means they have some health probs, let ur kitty a bit out, she need to eat some green, it makes cats healthy.

[-KewlAzMe-]

let ur kitty a bit out.

That means different things in different contexts :) Cmon BA... let your kitty out.. it needs to breathe

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

yep u understud me exacly, nothing else, then just let kitty breath with fresh air, catch some small wildlife etc.

[FixXxeR]

AHH it's hideous!! Kill it before it kills us all!

Pass it 'ere then!

/me produces knife 'n fork.

[BrokenArts]

thats not normal when cats whining, means they have some health probs, let ur kitty a bit out, she need to eat some green, it makes cats healthy.

Ummm, what the hell are you talking about?

CSD has nothing to do with cats whining. :P

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

no? oh.. why ur kitty is crying then? :(

[BrokenArts]

Crying as in WTF is on my face, this giant blue Amoeba thingy? Or get this thing off my face jack ass, and quit making fun of me. :P

[Beowulf]

Caturday. (http://www.digitaluploader.com/1/f5c99714b799f2692cab2cbbdcadeda6.jpg) >_<

[BrokenArts]

Beowulf. LOL!! FUNNEY. :joking::D

/me keeps ze image. Thank you. :--)

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

Me likes this 1 more (http://pazitiva.net/uploads/posts/1192126085_fotoprikol_027.jpg)

[FixXxeR]

Just be careful everyone because...

http://www.cisnky.com/images/blog/ceiling_cat.jpg

[)!(Uruk-Hai)!(]

helping you msturbate.

[Moses2k]

:sweat: ...

I'm calling Animal Control Services...

[Ghostly apparition]

Beowulf. LOL!! FUNNEY. :joking::D

/me keeps ze image. Thank you. :--)

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Check this site out BA, This ought to keep you occupied for hours. :)

[BrokenArts]

Thanks GA, some good ones on there, too many pages!

[WhichDoctor]

Wow that was nasty BA, not a nice thing to go through, glad it all turned out ok in the end though :D.

Good to see it wasn't a black cat that scratched you :P

[immortius]

Best one ever: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/06/19/wonders-if-i-has-evil-twin/

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

I havent read beyond the, sorry to hear what you went through BA, i was wondering though, how can you tell stray cats from "non-stray" cats?

[BrokenArts]

Ki!ler, you can't tell a stray from a house cat. That really depends on the cat, if its not fed, and looks terrible, good chance it is a stray. Then you can have a someone that leaves food outside, and feeds the strays, they don't look so bad.

This particular mother cat, I knew her history, she'd hang around my house, she was very skinny. I knew too she was pregnant, then one day, she disappeared for about a good week. She reappeared skinner, I knew she had her kittens. We looked for them, couldn't find them.

Then one day, I open my front door, and look down, and see these two tiny kittens. She brought them to me, and placed them on my front porch. The rest goes from there.

Thanks all, only reason posting all this, just be careful, you never know. Don't under estimate the power of a tiny scratch. :--)

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

What happened to the mother?

[BrokenArts]

I still have her, and the one kitten I showed you a picture of. The mothers name is Gracie. She is very sweet, quiet, and loves to play. I've thought about keeping them both.

I put a chair sometimes by the back door, so they can lookout the window. They look so cute together sitting there side by side. I'll show a pictar of them later. :-)

[Arnold]

I had a similar experience over the last year or two. I was having what felt to me like heart attacks and I went to the doctor and they gave me an ekg and didnt see anything except that I had stage two hypertension and the doctor put me on a overnight take home heart monitor that cost a bundle to use and still couldnt explain it, then he just told me to quit smoking and drinking then come back if it continued. I wasnt able to quit smoking at the time (wuz going thru a rough seperation) then I went to an optometrist to get new prescription glasses, while he was looking at my eyes he asked me if I knew I had hyperthyroidism, I said I never heard of it. He then said do you have tia's= transient ischemic attacks, basically mini heart attacks. It was a $50 dollar blood test to confirm his offhand diagnosis, all the other visits totalled 3 grand. of course the cure kinda stinks, havent gotten it yet. obtw, I did quit smoking cold turkey 3 months ago :)

p.s. the cure is to get a radioactive dose of iodine to kill my thryoid gland then take a pill every day for the rest of my life to replace what hormones the thyroid made.

[impulse]

A visit to the optometrist alerted my girl friend to the fact that she had had glandular fever. Apparently he could tell by looking into her pupils? He suggested she have a blood test, which confirmed it.

[Arnold]

so what has happened since it was confirmed, is she on a pill, did she have surgery?

[impulse]

Well I hope she is on the pill! :o

As far as I know there is no specific treatment for glandular fever. The virus usually remains dormant until you run yourself down, in which case there is a further risk of chronic fatigue syndrome.

[impulse]

And to (remotely) return to the topic of cat scratch fever....this was a laugh.

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx/?mkt=en-AU&brand=ninemsn&vid=1d059dfc-441b-4da8-a9ff-a0722000d38e&wa=wsignin1.0

[BrokenArts]

Original. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974

I like this one better.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=22441637

[impulse]

The first one is funny, its like they're having a conversation! :D