Enormous hickey

[GettingSerious]

I'm so sorry for the dramatic title to this post. I've got about 10 minutes left on my computer battery - I'm on a train - and was just looking for the best way to describe what's going on. In the last 48hours, I've developed what can best be described as a full body hickey from my mid-back down to my mid-calves. it's also somewhat on my shins and has (since last night) crept up to my neck and in the creases of my arms.

anyone experienced this????

[Murphyx]

Enormous hickey

No, I don't think so, it sounds awful. But then again, I have no idea what a hickey is. Soz.

[GettingSerious]

Enormous hickey

Supplement from my phone. I know what it is: petechiae. Millions upon millions of burst capillaries. What i dont know is why its there. Anyone heard of this as a bac related SE?

[Murphyx]

Enormous hickey

Is it a rash? A serious bac SE is rash. Just saw this on the net:

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Baclofen:
Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching;

Not sure if it would suddenly just develop though.

[GettingSerious]

Enormous hickey

It does not itch, does not hurt, and is not raised. Its burst blood vessels under the skin. In that respect (imho) its no more a rash than a hickey is. But i appreciate your concern. Therapist is saying get to ER/doc-in-a-box stat, but honestly she's not an MD and for heaven's sake its the fourth of july and nothing's going to be open....

[GettingSerious]

Enormous hickey

Oh, ha. Plus, I'm drunk. 4th july not exactly the day to take yer chances driving......

[Murphyx]

Enormous hickey

Ahhhhh you're drunk. Why didn't you say so? When I used to get drunk, I always ended up with loads of bruises all over me.

Have you been in a bar fight?

[RudyB]

Enormous hickey

omg, i've been SO red from drink so many times! esp when combining guinness w lobster. are you english/irish blood? that'll do ya!

[terryk]

Enormous hickey

You should go see a doctor right away, as in RIGHT NOW. Petechia can be a sign of Thrombocytopenia (low blood platelets). I remember one other bac'er mentioning her doctor nixing bac because of a low platlet count. Not sure if it's the baclofen, but it sounds serious to me. -tk

edit: here's the thread I mentioned: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f2...ets-50203.html

[Lo0p]

Enormous hickey

I concur, go to the ER.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Enormous hickey

Hope she went to the ER. Check in if you get a chance, will you, GS?

[redhead77]

Enormous hickey

I guess if you need immediate attention this is an excellent way to go about it. You do need immediate attention GS, the medical sort. I know you were too drunk to drive yourself to the ER yesterday, but did you find a way? If not, can you go this am? I (we) hope you are okay.

[GettingSerious]

Enormous hickey

Hi everyone. Sorry about the dramatic title (I'm sort of embarassed about it now) but I was looking for immediate answers and it WAS the best way to describe what I was looking at. I appreciate those who responded right away - my immediate concern was that this was some baclofen side-effect that I had neglected to discover in my internet wanderings. i was reassured by the near-immediate posts by some of our more encyclopedic members that this wasn't common, at the very least, although I did appreciate the contribution of the thrombocytopenia thread. That was actually what I was worried about when I was looking at the internet.

Anyway, I went to a doc-in-the-box in the a.m. and kind of freaked out the nice folks there. I wore a lovely floor-length maxi dress (navy with yelow star bursts) to cover the hot, hot mess that was my stomach, bum and legs.

I had to go to a receptionist-type person first. She asked me what I was there for, and I told her extensive petechiae. Confusion ensued as both she and I tried to figure out the correct spelling. P-E-T-E- "Broken blood vessels," I finally said. "Everywhere. Like a hickey."

"You have a hickey?"

"Yes, I have a hickey. I have a hickey that covers the whole lower half of my body." I swear, the girl didn't blink. Good for her, she'll go far.

Immediately after a CNA showed me to my cubicle and asked me what the problem was. I told her I felt fine, except for....I turned around and lifted my dress up to bust level (not particularly shy with medical stuff). I heard the poor thing gasp and by the time I put my dress down and turned around, she had hustled herself out of the cubicle whilst tossing over her shoulder "Oh, I see!" as the curtain fell back in place behind her.

Not one minute later, the Casey Anthony verdict came back. I heard a general "Noooo!" chorus of female voices and stuck my head out, asking, "Did she get off?"

"Yes!" yelled one woman. "Can you BELIEVE it?"

"Noooo," I shouted back. "Of everything?"

"YOU NEED TO LIE DOWN," the CNA yelled at me. She was standing by some kind of dispenser, pumping furiously and rubbing her hands at what I can only assume was an antibacterial station.

I will tell you, I have never had such a quick response from medical staff in my life! Within 3 minutes the doctor came in (with her SARS mask on, no less!) and told me, "Hi (glance at chart) [first name], I'm Dr. [last name]. I have a couple of patients in front of you, but I just wanted to check on some of the symptoms that you've been experiencing."

Knowing that there was little point in explaining, I turned around and lifted my skirt again. I could see her in a mirror on the wall. She literally pressed her mask to her face, stood as far as she could from me, and poked at the back of my knee with a tongue depressor.

At this point, I'm practically in hysterics. I mean, I feel FINE. I suppose I could die at any minute, but really. I don't FEEL like I'm going to die at any minute.

So she asked me a bunch of questions, and I knew what they were for. They were concerned I had some kind of meningitis/meningococcemia, which is a huge big, bad deal. The later stages present with burst blood vessels under the skin like mine. No headache, no stiff neck, no fever, no nausea, no vomiting, etc. etc. etc.

After she determines I'm not a walking WMD, she goes to her other patients and eventually comes back. By now she's intrigued and she's asking me if she can take pictures, send them to other doctors, etc. etc. Sure, sure, and fine, I say. Just keep my bum out of it and my bikini area, which is sorely in need of attention.

Kinda cool to be actually paid attention to by medical personnel. You know, usually you get the bum's rush. Oh, your foot hurts? Diagnosis: hurt foot. Here's an advil, call me if it persists. Or, bum feels like razor blades every time you go number 2? Diagnosis: hemorhoids/not enough fiber/IBS/colorectal cancer/probably something you did that's your fault. Colonoscopy or stool softeners, pick your poison.

Anyway, all the blood tests came back fine. Platelets: OK. Hepatic function panel: OK (yay!!). PTT: all good. Prothrombin time: (WTF?) apparently fine!

At the moment, I am chalking it up to stress, possibly a reaction to magnesium glycinate, which I started taking two weeks before. If there was ever a week to react to stress, it was last week.

So, thanks for bearing with me. Sorry if I caused any minor heart palpitations. Still with the living! (for better or worse)

~GS

[redhead77]

Enormous hickey

I'm thinking people are going to have to get out their medical dictionaries to understand this. It makes for a fine read, I was entrenched in your post, but I'm still confused. Do you still have the petechiae? What was the final diagnosis? Did they refer you to a hematologist?

[GettingSerious]

Enormous hickey

oooof sorry!!! got so caught up in the telling I forgot the point, obviously.

1) I still have the petechiae, but they don't seem to be any worse (larger, darker, or more extensive) than yesterday or the day before. still gasp-worthy, though. I have been the height of Mormon-chic this week (M.D. also advised full-coverage, loose-fitting clothing). At lunch today I lifted my floor-length skirt to mid thigh to some of the female members of my office and still got the sharp intake of breath all around. so, still there, still hideous, but no more hideous than yesterday. By the way, I am SO glad I spent 50 bucks on clearance mini-skirts from Express last week. Seriously!

2) "final" diagnosis was dermatitis. which, if you look it up, basically means "skin problem." M.D. asked me if I had been under any "stress" recently and you know the story....mom....stage IV....Oh! (sigh of relief from M.D.) that most likely explains it! that or the "bath works." Me: "Bath works?" Him: "You know, you girls are going and getting the smelly creams like flowers....lovely but" Me: "Oh, bath and body works." Him: "well whatever it is. That's a likely culprit as well."

(I do not use any body lotion. I find the feeling of slippery lipids sliding atop my skin too repulsive to bear)

3) no, no one referred me to a hematologist.

My shrink (not an M.D.) has my cell phone number now, though, and literally texts me every 15 minutes about "the rash." (although i have explained it is NOT a rash)

I hope no one gets the impression that I'm a smartass or that I think I know better than an M.D., because I know that I don't. I'm just trying to be amusing about what, for me, has been a shitty turn of events the past few weeks. On the other hand, though, I get the distinct impression that no one is LISTENING to me. And not for nothing, and not to blow myself up, but I'm the kind of patient you listen to. I'm not elderly, I'm not foreign, I am not too sick to express myself. I am young enough, and well enough (god willing) to hold a grudge. I have the internet and i will go file a complaint against you if you act like an A-hole. i think of all the people who don't have the ability to be HEARD and wonder how much harder it is for them.

On the other hand, i'm just grateful to be getting any medical care at all.

anyway, my petechiae and i bid you good night.