Tumultuous Times Update... (And an Antibiotic That Costs $890) In a continuation of last month's journal entry, here are some new developments regarding my skin condition and the people who are treatin' it:
1.) The dermatologist who I had an appointment with in Glendora on April 2nd is a friggin' asswipe. Clearly, throughout the whole time he was talking to me, this dermatologist was trying to convince me to see another doctor and not return to his office ever again. How did I know this? Simple. He flat-out said he was unable to help me at his measly little place along the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains (lousy general practitioners)...and that I should go back to the first dermatologist I went to last February (HELL NO) since he conducted the original biopsies and whatnot. While this obviously made sense, there was NO CHANCE I was putting up with a medical specialist whose way of trying to help me is to constantly point out that I had no health insurance. Anyways, to make the Glendora doctor look more like a douche, he kept repeating, "You're very sick. You're very sick. You're very sick." No s**t, Sherlock...that's why I was at your office: to seek medical help.
Of course, this guy is only a skin doctor. He probably treated a pimple on some dude's ass right after I left.
2.) My blood is really screwed up. Right after I left the douchebag's office in Glendora, I immediately went to my family doctor's office (yes, this is the same doctor who went on vacation for a couple weeks last January and February...causing me to go to the local Urgent Care clinic to initially seek "treatment" there instead) to give some blood samples that would be tested at a lab. (This is actually one of the suggestions the Glendora doctor made before I departed; just because he's a douchebag doesn't mean I won't follow some of his advice). Here are the results:
- I'm anemic, thanks to what's causing my skin condition.
- I have a low red blood cell count.
- I have a high white blood cell count...which definitely means there's an infection being fought inside me.
- My cholesterol level is normal. Time to eat poached eggs and bacon for breakfast everyday! I kid.
- My blood sugar level is okay. I'll think I'll drink a can of Dr Pepper® right now.
- My protein level is abnormally high...which is attributed to the protein supplement (provided by TrueNutrition.com) I took between May of 2007 and early February of this year. The protein shake was very effective in helping me build muscle and increase my body weight over the last 4 1/2 years, but due to some influential people (RE: parents), I won't be taking the protein powder for a while. (As my Dad is strongly convinced that it was the protein supplement that screwed up my immune system. Too bad the blood test results seem to back up his case.)
- I'm iron-deficient. There's no way in heck that I'll eat liver to make up for this insufficiency...so I may possibly take iron supplements in the near future.
- Speaking of my liver, it seems to be off-nominal as well (thank you, NASA jargon). But this might be attributed to the useless $221 Biaxin antibiotic that I stopped using last week.
As for other screwed-up parts of my body:
3.) I have a fungal infection—possibly in my lungs—that may be the cause of my skin condition.
On the plus side, however...
4.) I want to compliment the amazing folks working at the University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) various medical centers on the Westside for being very professional and courteous during my visits there. I saw a dermatologist at one of the university's hospital branches in Santa Monica last week, and he suspected that I might have Coccidioidomycosis...a fungal disease which is endemic in certain parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and northwestern Mexico. He took two biopsies from my arm to confirm this assessment, and just last Monday, he called me at home to tell me that the lab tests proved that it was indeed Cocci-whatever. On one hand, Crap. On the other hand, Good. The dermatologist was able to prescribe me an antibiotic called Sporanox that I would take for the next month or so. However—
The UCLA dermatologist also recommended that I see another healthcare professional to assess my illness. So yesterday, I went to a hospital that was directly on the UCLA campus in Westwood to see an Infectious Disease Specialist (IDS). She was really cool. During the appointment, we spent most of the time getting up to speed about how I contracted the skin condition back in February, what other doctors did in trying to treat it, and what she recommended that I do to take care of this Cocci-induced ailment.
Instead of Sporanox (which is the medication that costs $890... You folks in the pharmaceutical industry must be real happy right now), I'll be taking another antibiotic that is specially designed to treat Coccidioidomycosis. Called Fluconazole, this medication only needs to be taken once a day (though you need to take two tablets at the same time) as opposed to Sporanox or even Biaxin. The thing is, I'm gonna have to indefinitely refill on this antibiotic until the IDS tells me that I'm completely treated. In fact, I'm gonna have to indefinitely see the IDS for the next couple of months to assess my condition and see if I'm getting better. Hopefully, the weather will be much warmer at UCLA the next time I pay a visit there (which will be on May 8 for a follow-up with the IDS).
So there you have it... That's how I'm doing right now. The UCLA dermatologist said the pustules on my face should eventually fall off the longer I take Sporano—I mean, Fluconazole, but I'm definitely taking that with a grain of salt.
Until then, take care people! And watch out for mosquitoes and don't let your immune system go down the crapper. (Good luck with that last one.) That is all.
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