Another Treatment
Posted Sat, 09/19/09
After many years, I finally found a doctor who was able to diagnose my particular ongoing strain of infection. It's known as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), which is described as "a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to a large group of antibiotics called the beta-lactams, which include penicillins and cephalosporins."
From Wikipedia:
MRSA/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus was discovered in 1961 in the United Kingdom. It made its first major appearance in the United States in 1981 among intravenous drug users. MRSA is often referred to in the press as a "superbug."
Since I'm not an intravenous drug user, I'm not sure where I picked up the bug but it has been ongoing for many years. It's a wonder I'm not bed-ridden, although for the most part I feel physically normal (aside from unrelated hip/back pain). One astounding fact is I haven't experienced the common cold for more than a decade, so I'm wondering if the MRSA infection has something to do with that. Perhaps the MRSA wards off the cold virus, or as I joked with a friend: "The cold virus probably tries to get in on occasion, but the MRCA either overpowers it or refuses to make room for it."
Anyway, I'm currently on a month-long treatment of Septra.
From Drugs.Com:
Septra is an antibiotic combination containing sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim and it works by killing sensitive bacteria. Both ingredients are antibiotics that treat different types of infection caused by bacteria.
I remain skeptical because of the long history I have with doctors who can't seem to diagnose properly.
We'll see how it goes…