Hi ,

Just wondered if anyone has had their band removed.

I have mrsa IN my port wound. :think I have had it now for 14months. :heh: I have had my ups and downs. At the moment I am down.:think The mrsa is getting the better of me. :angry Doc says that It will only go away if band is removed. I am so upset about this.:think

Wondered if anyone has had similar problems.

Mrs D.

MRSA is nothing to mess with, it is potentially quite dangerous.

Sounds like the reason your band needs to be removed is because with an object such as that in your body the object (band) does not have a blood supply to kill off the MRSA.

Can you have it removed and replaced after the MRSA is resolved?

hI,

Yes, the band needs to be removed, I am told so the mrsa will clear up. I am allergic to the treatment of mrsa.

I have to wait approx 6 months then can consider another band. But the problem is money.

Here in the uk the cost of banding is high. So I need to save up all my pennies!

Mrs D

I'm sorry you have to go through this. Don't you guys have socialized medicine? Why wouldn't they cover ANYTHING regarding MRSA? MRSA can potentially be life threatening. I can see banding, but dealing with MRSA is a whole different ball game.

tHANK YOU FOR YOUR kind throughts.. They tell me that the mrsa is being casued by the band???????????? Cant quite work that out. And i have been on the iv antibiotics for 4 weeks and then became allergic to them!. So i think now i must say bye bye to my band and re think.Mrs D

May I ask what drug you are allergic to and what your symptoms were? The reason I ask is that Vancomycin is typically used for MRSA and that causes Red Man Syndrome, many docs still blame an allergic reaction on that and in reality, it is a dosing problem or how fast it was given.

Who did your surgery?

May I ask what drug you are allergic to and what your symptoms were? The reason I ask is that Vancomycin is typically used for MRSA and that causes Red Man Syndrome, many docs still blame an allergic reaction on that and in reality, it is a dosing problem or how fast it was given.

Who did your surgery?

Yes you got it in one. Also I had another drug (which I cant spell) rephacin which caused a few fits. I had red mans syndrome and was quite ill with it.

Red Man's Syndrome is not an allergic reaction and yes! You can get quite ill from it. The problem is either they gave you too high of a dose or more likely, they infused it too fast. Either the doc wrote the orders incorrectly or the nurse infused it incorrectly.

It really is the best drug for MRSA. Rocephin is good but not as good as Vanco.

Do you know what your dose was? Were they doing blood tests every three doses? How long were you on it? Do you know how fast they infused it? An hour? Hour and a half?

BTW, another drug for MRSA when all else fails is Zyvox. Just in case, might want to start doing your research now. It would be nice if they could deal with the MRSA without removing your band.

Red Man's Syndrome is not an allergic reaction and yes! You can get quite ill from it. The problem is either they gave you too high of a dose or more likely, they infused it too fast. Either the doc wrote the orders incorrectly or the nurse infused it incorrectly.

It really is the best drug for MRSA. Rocephin is good but not as good as Vanco.

Do you know what your dose was? Were they doing blood tests every three doses? How long were you on it? Do you know how fast they infused it? An hour? Hour and a half?

They did the blood test. But the "Vanc" was very slow going through. My veins kept giveing up on me! so then i had to wait for a doc to come and put another canular in. So the dosege got complete mess up. When it went in it took =1 hour and a nalf to go through. Theh all of a sudden they prduced a machine to control how fast it would go in and god did it hurt! I will check out this other drug u recomend Thanks.

They did the blood test. But the "Vanc" was very slow going through. My veins kept giveing up on me! so then i had to wait for a doc to come and put another canular in. So the dosege got complete mess up. When it went in it took =1 hour and a nalf to go through. Theh all of a sudden they prduced a machine to control how fast it would go in and god did it hurt! I will check out this other drug u recomend Thanks.

Vanco is a drug that HAS to be given via a pump. It also has to be given through a special IV where they thread a wire from your arm to your chest. Or, they place a port in your chest for infusion. Running a Vanco IV is kinda sorta like running a Draino IV. ;o) It certainly won't work for many doses if not given correctly.

Is there any chance you could talk to your doc about Zyvox before giving up your band?

Also, with Vanco blood tests have to be drawn every three doses, not so with Zyvox.

Hi, Thank you for the info. I have just had a look on the uk webb and this drug is available in this country and it says its recomended for MRSA. Your knowledge is great thank you. Its 1136pm here so I am off to bed feeling a bit more positive knowing there may be hope. Can I say that when the vanco was given the first two weeks it went straight into my vein then after when they od me on it they used a machine to controll its pace of selivery.Anyway thnk you. I will keep u posted tomoorw on any news.Thanks againMrs D

Hi, Thank you for the info. I have just had a look on the uk webb and this drug is available in this country and it says its recomended for MRSA. Your knowledge is great thank you. Its 1136pm here so I am off to bed feeling a bit more positive knowing there may be hope. Can I say that when the vanco was given the first two weeks it went straight into my vein then after when they od me on it they used a machine to controll its pace of selivery.Anyway thnk you. I will keep u posted tomoorw on any news.Thanks againMrs D

Hi Mrs D,

I dont know much re MRSA and am glad Bubble is giving quite a good feeback to you re medication. But at the end of the day, I agreed with Bubble that MRSA is dangerous and yr health comes first. U hv lose alot of weight, and u wud hv learn to eat healthily for all the time yr band is in. So even if they remove the band for a a duration of 6mths to 1yr, Im sure u can sustain yr current weight.

Good luck to you. (P/S: DId u had yr band fitted previously in UK or oversea??? Its much cheaper in Belgium)

...It also has to be given through a special IV where they thread a wire from your arm to your chest. Or, they place a port in your chest for infusion. Running a Vanco IV is kinda sorta like running a Draino IV. ;o) It certainly won't work for many doses if not given correctly.

Vanco can certainly be given via a peripheral IV (for those who don't know what we're discussing, a peripheral IV is like the one you get in the ER or before surgery where they poke you with a needle and catheter that is about 2 inches/5cm long), it does not have to be given in a central line. But if she's at home and getting Vanco, I can't imagine that she'd be getting peripheral after peripheral put in. But I guess other places might do things differently than I'm used to. And yes, in adults it should be infused over a minimum of 90 minutes. I prefer it to be given over two hours to prevent Redman's.

...Also, with Vanco blood tests have to be drawn every three doses, not so with Zyvox.

Vancomycin levels do not necessarily need to be checked every third dose. The first check is usually a trough prior to the fourth dose and thereafter for patients on long-term therapy there is little consensus. Some doctors will order trough levels every few days throughout vancomycin treatment. Some will order both trough and peak concentrations at regular intervals. Many do not feel that general monitoring is necessary and will only order the tests on patients who have decreased kidney function and on those who are not responding to treatment as expected.

Zyvox as you said does not need levels.

Mrs. D, I suggest you also ask about washing the wound with Hibiclens (chlorhexidine gluconate) and applying Bactroban (mupirocin) to it twice daily. Those are the treatments of choice in a patient who turns MRSA positive to kill the bugs externally.

I also found this very interesting webpage that concisely describes the promising treatment of MRSA with a type of honey, check it out:

http://www.manukahoney.com/resources/research/mrsa.html

...I prefer it to be given over two hours to prevent Redman's.

Faithmd... you are my new hero. ;o) Seriously, I wish all docs looked at this as you do.

Vancomycin levels do not necessarily need to be checked every third dose. The first check is usually a trough prior to the fourth dose and thereafter for patients on long-term therapy there is little consensus. Some doctors will order trough levels every few days throughout vancomycin treatment. Some will order both trough and peak concentrations at regular intervals. Many do not feel that general monitoring is necessary and will only order the tests on patients who have decreased kidney function and on those who are not responding to treatment as expected.

No, they don't need to be checked q3rd dose but this gal is a prime example of why it isn't a bad idea. Most docs I work with do order Peaks & Troughs q3d dose. I prefer that myself. It's part of the anal-retentive part of my personality. ;o)

Mrs. D, I suggest you also ask about washing the wound with Hibiclens (chlorhexidine gluconate) and applying Bactroban (mupirocin) to it twice daily. Those are the treatments of choice in a patient who turns MRSA positive to kill the bugs externally.

Will Zyvox give her any hope at keeping her band? Is it a possibility? I'm very familiar with it in your standard patient but with an implant, could it work?