Mind you that I have a severely damaged immune system [relevant tests below (immune in green, cbc in purple, 6'4" male, hiv+ ~34yrs.)].
A few months ago I noticed a hard bump near my elbow as if a part of the bone was growing out to the side. It was painless, examined by two doctors, then x-rayed. It was of no known origin (both doctors said they didn't know, and the x-ray came back 'negative for everything' but no film with which to actually see/interpret it), so off I went a bit perplexed but not worried.
Since then it had changed size a bit in both directions, stayed hard like bone, and didn't hurt until earlier this week.
A day of sudden, searing pain and a lot of difficulty moving my right arm sent me to emergency. I came out with a script for clindamyacin (300 every 6 (ugh) x 7d). But the lady's (I don't remember her long title) first instruction was to come back to emergency if it started to hurt when I moved my elbow. I reminded her that the pain was already a solid 7 when I moved my elbow (also I push a manual wheelchair). She then said to only come back if it hurt too badly to move my arm at all.
She had squeezed it a lot, plus it took hours in the emergency room, and the pain overrode my self-considerations for food and water or my normal large doses of antiretrovirals.
The pain increased a lot and is less now (I've had 8 doses of the antibiotic, but I wouldn't try to drive yet), and the swelling seems to have reached a plateau.
Does it sound right that I should be ok as long as I can move my elbow with lessening (back to a 7) pain and limited extension? Wait and see?
[for those who care, this medical intervention was paid for by my private Medigap plan and Medicare]
A few months ago I noticed a hard bump near my elbow as if a part of the bone was growing out to the side. It was painless, examined by two doctors, then x-rayed. It was of no known origin (both doctors said they didn't know, and the x-ray came back 'negative for everything' but no film with which to actually see/interpret it), so off I went a bit perplexed but not worried.
Since then it had changed size a bit in both directions, stayed hard like bone, and didn't hurt until earlier this week.
A day of sudden, searing pain and a lot of difficulty moving my right arm sent me to emergency. I came out with a script for clindamyacin (300 every 6 (ugh) x 7d). But the lady's (I don't remember her long title) first instruction was to come back to emergency if it started to hurt when I moved my elbow. I reminded her that the pain was already a solid 7 when I moved my elbow (also I push a manual wheelchair). She then said to only come back if it hurt too badly to move my arm at all.
She had squeezed it a lot, plus it took hours in the emergency room, and the pain overrode my self-considerations for food and water or my normal large doses of antiretrovirals.
The pain increased a lot and is less now (I've had 8 doses of the antibiotic, but I wouldn't try to drive yet), and the swelling seems to have reached a plateau.
Does it sound right that I should be ok as long as I can move my elbow with lessening (back to a 7) pain and limited extension? Wait and see?
[for those who care, this medical intervention was paid for by my private Medigap plan and Medicare]
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