A Different Kind of Strep and Rosacea

Update on my thrush that turned out to not be thrush:

So, you may have remembered a few posts ago when I wrote about thrush. Well for months I have had what I thought was thrush in my mouth. I took four 7 to 10 day doses of Difflucan to try and “kill” the yeast fungus in my mouth. That did nothing. The doctors were stumped.

Finally, I went in to see my general practitioner and she swabbed my mouth to culture it. When the culture came back, it showed that I had strep. Not strep throat. It is a different kind of strep. I have had no sore throat and no fever. I never would have guessed, and I didn't know there was such a thing.

If I have had an infection for the last 2 months, that would explain why I have been so freakin tired and just not feeling well in general. I have been able to function; I just have not felt “normal.” Of course, it has been strep mixed with tapering off Prednisone and still fighting Crohns. All of that just wears me out. Phew!

I think I am still trying to swallow the fact that a common symptom of Crohn's is chronic fatigue. 

So anyways, the doctor started me on some antibiotics Ampicillan. And after a few days, my mouth and tongue look almost normal again! I have not seen my tongue look pink in months! I hope it heals completely. Isaac and I celebrated last night by making out. Ha! I know, TMI.

7 days after I started the antibiotic, I went to the doctor for several symptoms I had been having for a week of just feeling ill- migraines, nausea, extreme fatigue, fever and a period that was on day 8. 

I still do not know the cause of all these symptoms yet, but I do know that I stopped the antibiotic and resumed Entocort - a drug that I had stopped last week. My GI doctor said I could stop taking it ( a drug that I had been on for a year a half) since I am on Cimzia now. I'm not sure if I had some kind fo reaction to coming off of it or what. They ran a bunch of blood tests etc. 

My forever long period that still has not stopped was apparently brought on by the antibiotic. Weird, I know. 

Steroid induced rosacea:

For the last month or two I have noticed my cheeks have been blushed or really red looking. It has gotten worse over time, and the redness is constantly there with little bumps and red veiny looking things on my cheeks. Heat and stress make it stand out more, but it never completely goes away. It does not make me feel attractive, and it is hard to cover it up with make up.

Isaac says I still look beautiful and he doesn't really notice it much. But I do. I see it, and it bothers me. I don’t like it.

My general practitioner suggested I go see a dermatologist. Last week, I saw a dermatologist, and she said it looks like steroid induced rosacea. Great. She thinks it should go away with time and being off the steroid. I sure hope so.

I had been using this Redness Relief Eucerine cream twice a day, when I noticed it was making the skin on my face feel really tight and it became extremely dry and itchy/ It was gross looking. It stings when I put it on. 

So, the dermatologist prescribed me this gel stuff called Fenacea. Tonight is my first night to try it, so we will see...

My skin all over has been so itchy lately. It might just be dryness in the air and the weather changing. Has anyone else felt this??? 

Let me vent:

It is times like these that frustrate me. It just feels like one thing after another. I want to cry. When will I feel normal again? I just want to have a break. I constantly feel tired all the time.

Is it ok for me to just vent in this blog post? I don’t like to whine a ton publicly about my health condition, but sometimes you just need to! It sucks having an autoimmune disease at 25 years old. I’m young. I’m not supposed to feel this way. I’m supposed to have energy and not go to the doctor so much. People always remind me, it could always be worse…yes, yes I know, but it doesn't mean it is not hard.  

I have learned to put a smile on my face a look somewhat normal even when I feel like crap, because I do  not want to look ill all the time and get attention for being sick all the time. I want to be understood that I am having a hard time, but I don't want people to feel sorry for me all the time. On the other hand, it has hard when I am feeling bad and people are like, "oh, well you look good." How I feel does not always show on the outside. 

I know it will get better. It has before. It goes up and down. It comes and goes. 

Lord, help me to see the good in this situation. Show me how you can use me with this condition. Heal me, soothe me, love me, protect me, and give me peace. Thank you.