Playing with Spiders - A Cautionary Tale of Health Care

It's funny how life can slap me upside the head when I'm thinking of doing something stupid. I learned in January that my insurance carrier, Blue Crap, was going to increase my rates (and thousands of others) by 40% in March, despite the company raking in billions in profits last year. Since I can barely afford it now, I spent February getting checkups... basic blood work, mammary gram, etc. so that I could cancel the policy in March. (California's insurance commission asked Blue Crap to postpone the increase until May.)

Now, all the debates over national health care in the news has me pondering my own recent travails through the system. From the research I've done on the bill that may or may not pass (depending on what news station you watch), the government plan would cost me about the same as I'm paying now. Whooptidoo. But would it provide more? Less? Who knows??? I just know something's gotta give.


The Background
Yes, I got bit by a spider. No, I don't know what kind. I'm not even certain as to when it happened. On February 18th, I was in bed, ready for sleep, when I noticed my left leg felt dry and itchy. I rolled up my p.j.s and put some lotion on and thought it odd that only one leg felt dry. The next day, in the shower, I noticed redness and swelling.

The fact that I was bit by something is a mystery. In winter, I go from pants to pajamas with as little time as possible in between. I often don't bother with lotion out of the shower because I'm cold natured. I'm assuming the spider had to be inside some article of clothing to have bit me in the first place.

Over that first week, I read up on spider bites. I applied peroxide, liquid erythromycin, pure alcohol. The antibiotic or the alcohol never burned which told me they really weren't reaching the problem. I also used cold compresses. None of which did a darn thing.

And the pain in my leg was getting to be horrific. If I casually brush my right leg over the left, the pain would make me scream! Any pressure on the left leg was unbearable. I crawl into my tall bed on my knees. It's habit. Only when I tried to get in bed since the bite, as soon as I put my weight on the left leg, I would fall over on my face from the pain! I've had to teach myself how to get in bed all over again!

I haven't even wanted to post a picture of it because... as a wound, it's soooo unimpressive. I've had much worse from far less dangerous encounters. You would never believe this could cause so much pain! Making It Worse
By the 24th, I'd had enough. I called Mom and got my grandmother's poultice recipe. It was basically clay mixed with vinegar. I took a clay facial mask and mixed it to a thick liquid and applied it to the engorged wound...now six inches in diameter. I would let this dry and then apply a hot compress, covered with a towel and a heating pad. I did this several times until I could force an opening in my leg. It drained a bit...orange pus! But it would close right back up again.

By 9p.m., the swollen, feverish part was now nine inches in diameter and the pain was unbelievable. Knowing I had to fly to Louisiana in a day and a half, I tried to get my little Taiwanese doctor on the phone. She wanted to see me the next morning.

The Cure - Worse than the Disease?
I do have a highly distrustful relationship with her. She is the only doctor I've ever had that discussed money with me. Not only is this uncomfortable, I find it unethical. Several years ago, I had bronchitis, 102 fever, coughing, etc. I dragged my sorry butt into see her for the first time in a year and a half and she opens with, "Why you not pay you bill?"

"Because you didn't send me a bill."

"But you owe me money."

"How would I know that?"

"You pay today?"

"I will call Blue Crap today and verify that I owe you."

"You need to pay today."

I finally got really stern with her and said, "Look, my fever is 102. Can you treat me and I promise, I will straighten this out. Can we just deal with why I'm here today!??!"

So, I've tried to find other doctors at least twice and ... what can I say...she returns phone calls in the middle of the night and I now understand she never will mail me a bill so I have to be on top of things and at least I have a doctor who will see me in an emergency.

She immediately started talking of IV antibiotics... and in my suspicious nature, I suspected this was just a ploy to charge me more. As I pass out any time my veins are played with and I had a flight to catch the next day, I said no way!

But she did lance it. Whatever numbing agent she gave me worked immediately because she kept asking me if I felt that but I had no feeling at all. After she opened it up, she and the nurse sat down on the exam table and pressed on my leg. That, I felt! It was all I could do to stay put. They pressed and pressed and pressed. And when they were done, they had a quart baggie full of orange pus filled gauze! ICK! I couldn't believe all the gunk they got out of my leg!

She cultured it, put in a drain and gave me bactrim...one of the weakest antibiotics on the market.

I left on my trip and on Saturday, I dutifully called into check on my test results. The nurse never came in to check the faxes that day.

Batting 1000 in Baton Rouge
Come Monday, my cell phone was ringing. My culture was not good. It was staph. I would need IV antibiotics right away. I explained I wouldn't be home until the next evening and set out to find a way to get the needed Cipro in Baton Rouge.

I made two phone calls. One to my sister's general practitioner who referred me to an Infusion Center... who knew there were such places??? I called and got an angel named Mary on the phone who immediately asked my doctor's info, placed me on hold to get her pharmacist on the line with my doc and then got my insurance information. Within an hour, they were ready for me! $107 per treatment because my ginormous deductible had not been met.

The family raced me across town in a rain storm and a few hours later, I emerged, one treatment behind me and a line still in my arm for more IV the next day. That night, the swollen feverish area reduced to about three inches. Another round of meds in Baton Rouge and some missed flights home, I was back in LA for my 46th birthday, March 3, feeling old and tired.


Striking Out in L.A.
I saw the doc on Friday. She was impressed with my progress but handed me a scrip that read "8 bags Cipro 400 mg." I thought this was strange.... where do I get that? Will the pharmacy have it? No. Doc wanted me to have EIGHT more rounds of IV. I'm doing the math in my head... 107 x 8 = 856 + the 214 from Baton Rouge... I DON'T HAVE A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!

Doc's nurse was standing behind her and giving me a look of disbelief. As I stood there in sticker shock, Doc takes another patient into the exam room. The nurse pulled me in her office and said, " I don't think you need eight rounds... You need two... but not eight."

"If she had told me two, I would have rolled up my sleeve! Look, I need something... she can't just send me away like this! "

The good nurse wrote out a scrip for Cipro pills and went into the exam room, returning with the signature.

I take my pills for a week. I am exhausted all the time which is apparently normal when your body is fighting a bad infection. When I was down to the last two on the 11th, I called to ask for more.

The nurse quibbled... I needed the IV. OK... How much will it cost? I spent the day waiting on the insurance clerk and then my doctor. Suspecting I needed other options, I started looking for infusion centers in L.A. After all, if po-dunk Baton Rouge had one, surely LA LA land has many... If only!

The one in Santa Monica will only see patients from doctors that practice there. The one in Valencia only sees cancer patients. The one at Glendale Adventist - well... I'm STILL waiting for Kay in accounting to tell me how much it will cost! My leg could've fallen off by now!

I finally heard from my doc... It would cost me "around 400 - 500" ('cuse me but in my underemployed world that's HUGE DIFFERENCE! Which is it? 4 or 5???) PER treatment. For the same exact treatment I got in Baton Rouge two weeks before???? NO. FREAKING. WAY!

So after spending the whole day on the phone, I said to my doc, "Look, for 400 bucks, I'll fly to Baton Rouge just to have my sister hold my hand and get me through it and still have money left over for the treatment! I don't have this kind of money. My leg is still infected and at this point, the ethical thing for YOU to do is give me a refill on the pills!"

And she simply said, "OK."

Second Guessing / Second OpinionBy this point, I was so freaked out and wondering if my leg may actually be falling off! I placed a call to my former production boss who is now a homeopath's assistant. I'm always a little afraid to call when something is wrong because she doesn't have a lot of faith in traditional medicine. I tend to believe in a little of both. But, then again, she's NEVER given me bad advice.

She told me to absolutely stick with Cipro. She trained me years ago to always take probiotics when I was on antibiotics. It prevents the inevitable yeast infection and keeps my stomach upset to a minimum. She told me to up my intake because Cipro was so strong. (I'm not going into dosages here... always see a doctor and don't believe what you read on the net!)

She also told me to add oil of oregano to my regimen. It is believed that oil of oregano boosts the immune system and I've taken it when I have a cold or flu so I had some in the house. I also learned that it's good for the skin and destroys organisms that contribute to skin infections and digestive problems.

The Glory of Icthammol
The last thing she told me about I had never heard of but am I ever in love with it now... Icthammol. Funny but every horse person I know has heard of it and believes in it. The black tar draws poison through the skin.

But since I live in California and this state believes in protecting idiots who apparently can't read directions, I can only find a 20% solution. I'm wondering if I could find something stronger down at the tack and feed...

At any rate... it stinks to high heaven and is so so sticky. My friend also suggested cleaning the wound with Seabreeze as it doesn't damage surrounding tissue. The Seabreeze cuts right through the icthammol making wound care so easy.

I noticed right away that it felt as though someone were squeezing the wound. As the days have gotten warmer, I started pinning the left leg of my pants above me knee to give the bite some "air" time. The second day on icthammol, I was sitting at the computer when I realized the leg was draining!


******THIS IS GROSS!!!***********
Around day five, I was pulling off my gauze bandage in the morning when it appeared a string was stuck to my wound. I flinched expecting the pain that would come when the string released...only I realized that was no string! It was a six inch "string" of pus!!!!!! EW!!!!

The icthammol makes the wound look worse than it actually is. I spread the stuff over all the area that is still "lumpy" as that is an indicator of where the poison is.


It looks even more gross with the bandage on it.
The lumpy part is now about one inch in diameter and I'm now on my third round of pills. I was amazed that they cost more on the third scrip... I have no idea what I'm going to do about insurance come May.

Smart Girl

The comments on yesterday's post had me thinking about the dangers of hiking a raging creek with a pup. I've given thought to what I would do if my dog got taken in...do I dive in and try to float on my back, feet first, like they teach in white water rafting? But - I wouldn't be able to catch her. Swim and pray I don't bang my head on a boulder? Not likely!

But I'm lucky. I learned when Mabel was a pup to trust her. I thought I had published the story here before but for the life of me, I can't find it. But this is what RottRover was alluding to in her comments about Mabel knowing geometry.

The first year I had Mabel, we would often stop by my BFF's and pick up a dog or three to hike with us. Their lab, Sarah Jean, was one of the most special dogs I've ever known. One that could understand humans on a conversational level. She helped a lot with Mabel's training. We would visit the creek and Mabel would play with the dogs for hours but it was Sarah that loved the water and tennis balls as much as Mabel.

That winter, there was a horrible flood in the creek. I had picked up Sarah and Tommy the mutt and headed to the water. Sarah knew immediately not to rush into the water. But as we rounded the end of the levee, (There was no upper stream bed back then, just a gradual slope to the river.) Mabel dashed headlong into the raging water with me screaming and Sarah barking warnings frantically. She was underwater and being swept downstream and some part of me was certain I was watching my pup drown.

She popped up and went under again and came up running with all her might, finally washing out on the opposite shore about 25 feet down stream. She coughed and sputtered, resting on the sand. After a few minutes, she was up and on her feet and doing her usual puppy exploration on the other side of the river: chasing lizards and ground squirrels. Occasionally, she would look over at Sarah and Tommy and wonder why her friends weren't joining her.

Relieved that she was O.K., I started planning. I was certain that any minute another hiker would be along the trail and that I could talk them into hiking up and around with a leash and have them lead Mabel out the other way. I knew that if I left that shore, Mabel would try to cross. So I waited...and waited. For the first time since I had been hiking at the creek, absolutely no one came along.

But that was all right. I figured if I stayed put, the BFF would send out a search party. After about 45 minutes...which is about the amount of time I would let the dogs play on a normal day...Mabel start whining and looking across the stream at us longingly. I would yell at her, "NO! STAY!" And since we've long ago established just how well my dog listens to me...

Mabel got a strange determined look in her eye. She looked downstream where she washed out of the rapids. She looked at me. She looked upstream and back at me. She turned and took off upstream. 25 feet upstream.

I'm still yelling for her to stay when she turned and took off into the brush. I was content that she had found something else to hold her attention and was breathing a sigh of relief when I realized she was just getting a running start!

She leaped into that roaring stream, went under and popped up, leaping with everything in her. Under and leap, under and leap and would you believe she washed out at my feet? Hence, Mabel's friends think she can do geometry!

But seriously, since that time, Mabel is VERY cautious when entering fast moving water. She is not a natural swimmer... terrified of even walking NEAR my pool and when she is afraid water is deep, she leaps. Which is how the very first Creekhiker logo photo came to be. This was taken later that same summer, after the stream had calmed.
If you have a dog and you hike near dangerous waters, give it some thought so panic won't be your guide in a frightening situation.

See? I Told You ...

Today, I noticed the creek is finally calming down from our amazing storms and there was a foot wide (as in my foot wide, not 12") path at the base of the levee going far upstream. I took it with Mabel on my heels until we reached the end. There the water was calm and I could tell it was not deep.

And since my dog understands what I say... I told her, "I think you could cross here. If you want to go 'sploring, I'll wait here and sun my leg (spider bite)."

And off she went into the water, gingerly placing her feet and slowing crossing the stream. When she reached the other side, she was so happy. She hasn't been on that shore in months and months. She raced around sniffing everything and slowly worked her way back down to Tim's old camp - abandoned since the first flood.

Then she tried to cross the creek down there...where the water is deep and raging.

I yelled down to her, "You need to cross up here. You're gonna go UND..." And she was underwater and my heart was racing. I stood up to dash downstream and before I was on my feet, she had popped out of the current, leaping high into the air and was in shallow water.

Since I have apparently turned into my own mother, I chided her, "See, I told you not to cross down there!"

And with that, Miss Mabel turned and dove into that raging stream AGAIN! She popped out of the raging water and landed on shore and stood there staring me down.

And since I understand most everything she says with her impatient, quirky body language, I knew exactly what she was telling me. "See, I told you I could!" (Thank goodness that dog doesn't stand upright because I'm certain she would put her paws on her hips!)

Spinal Fusion

Good grief! I seem to keep taking photos for posts I never get around to writing! I thought I would put a few up during this tax time / writing lull.

Mabel Lou was terribly ill in January; I touched on her illness in this post. When she went in for xrays, her doctor was quite impressed with her spine. Mabel has a condition known as spondylosis where her vertebra are fusing together. While this can be painful while the vertebra are fusing, as she gets older, she may very well suffer less joint pain than other dogs her age. But it will also affect her mobility.

Mabel had one joint with so much calcification, the doctor was certain this has been going on since she was a pup. I do remember a very severe growth spurt where she would cry if you looked at her harshly. She was in constant pain at about 10 months. Here is one of her xrays:

The pink is her largest fusion. The purple points to vertebra in the process of fusing. And the red... was why we were at the vet. She had an infection and severe gas.

Hey, no laughing...she's not the first dog I've had xrayed to find gas! I'm really happy she fully mended and eating way too well. That was a frightening few weeks and I'm glad it's behind us.

For those wondering about me... I'm still dealing with the spider bite; still on cipro. When I saw the doctor after my trip, she wanted me to do EIGHT more days of IV cipro. These cost me $110 / per dose out of pocket! I begged her to give me the pills instead as I had had two of the loading doses in Baton Rouge. She acquiesced and I was thrilled... the pills are 7.43 a week! I'm healing oh so slowly.

Home - but All Is Not Well

I realize I haven't posted since Mabel's birthday! If you read my bead blog, you already know why. In addition to all of that, I threw my back out (putting on pants!) and all those antibiotics are wreaking on my digestive tract and let me just say that flying home with an aching back and constantly needing to find a bathroom is NOT the most fun way to travel!

But, I was so happy to see my girl! And she was so happy to see me. She came racing into the driveway and bowled me over with kisses. And despite me being exhausted, she convinced me a creek trek was in order...which actually made my back feel a tiny bit better.

Now, I have to catch up on orders and taxes but should return in a bit.