Leg Ulcer getting worse

[Angela_1808]

I started with an ulcer in May ( the 2nd one this year) I was abroad when I had the 1st one & although it took a while to heal it was improving all the time & healed ok.
Sadly this one has been steadily getting worse & at least 10 times bigger. 2 weeks ago my daughter in law took me to A & E because she was so worried about me & I was prescribed antibiotics as I had an infection. I am going twice a week to have it dressed.I was ordered to take complete bed rest in elevated bed which I’ve done & yesterday they put compression on it.
The pain is excruciating & I am taking Tramadol, Paracetamol every 6 hours & also Amitriptyline at night.
I am concerned that I am having to take so many painkillers & also the fact that after over 2 months treatment it has got worse & no signs of healing.

[bowlingbun]

Amitryptilene should help you sleep, it's not a pain killer. I would suggest asking for swabs to be taken so that they know exactly what the infection is.
Be sure to tell them that it started when you were abroad, not in the UK, as the infection may be something they are not used to dealing with. Swabs are now vital if it's not getting better.
Paracetamol is useless for severe pain.
Ask the doctor if you can have something like Ibuprofen which should reduce swelling in inflammation. I've now had 8 operations, too many medical "adventures". When I told the doctor that the ibuprofen wasn't enough, I had Naproxen, it upset my stomach in tablet form, but it's also available in time release capsules.
After one of my knee replacements I had a lot of swelling - I accidentallyl leant on the drain and it came out. I bought a "Circulation Booster" from my local chemist, and it chased the swelling away almost immediately. Again, I don't know if this would be appropriate for you, no good if you have a pacemaker apparently, but well worth asking about.

[Angela_1808]

They took swabs about 2 weeks ago . And the results were a long time coming back but the antibiotics that the hospital prescribed were a wide based one .i was given codeine for the pain but was allergic to that. The other day I had hours to wait before I could take my next pills so tried using the Tens machine but can’t do that now I have the compression on.
It is just difficult to get comfortable in bed - it seems whatever I do it hurts.

[bowlingbun]

Have the results come back from the hospital now? They usually give a wide based one to start with, but then another once the results come through.
(I used to work in the office of a small outback hospital, but we had our own path lab, the pathologist was a good friend and showed me how a lot of the tests were done. Really interesting).

[Angela_1808]

Have the results come back from the hospital now? They usually give a wide based one to start with, but then another once the results come through.
(I used to work in the office of a small outback hospital, but we had our own path lab, the pathologist was a good friend and showed me how a lot of the tests were done. Really interesting).

The result came back but I can’t remember what she said but she clearly didn’t find it necessary to give me another course of antibiotics. They have ordered special silver dressings for it. When it was changed there was a lot of blood on it.
This is the third ulcer I have had and although they were painful ( particularly after it was dressedi) this is far worse. And the others did gradually get better but I was shocked to see that this one is 10 times bigger than when I started treatment. Is that normal?

[bowlingbun]

Have you seen a consultant yet?

My mum had the most horrible ulcers when I was a teenager. The only relief she could find was me massaging them. I put a brave face on the job, but I absolutely hated doing it.

Some years later she had several inpatient stays in hospital, she had varicose veins as well. I don't know exactly what was done, it's about 40 years ago, but the ulcers stopped, and as an old lady she actually had nice legs with no bad veins at all.

The Circulation Booster I mentioned might be really beneficial. (No, I'm definitely not a rep for the company! It's just I was very sceptical, and I'm not easily impressed, but this thing worked like magic).

[Denise _1812]

Are you Diabetic?
My husband had terrible ulcers t the time of his brain injury but three and a half months in rehab and they were cured.
This was due to careful diet.leg rest and regular dressing changes.
Good luck with finding the right pain killer x

[rosemary]

Hi Angela,

This is NOT advice for you to follow, just posting what helped me this year.

I too had my 2nd leg ulcer and then developed another. So had one on front of left leg and one at the back of same leg. I cannot put into words how bad the pain was. I also had cellulitis in same leg for a period of time, antibiotics healed that though.
Compression can bring its own horrendous pain too but is worth persevering with. Underneath the nurse added a gentle adhesive dressing 1st. This stopped the compression badges from sticking to the blood. We tried a skin patch using manuka honey and it worked. I couldn't tolerate the silver dressings but know of other people who swear by them. I was on liquid morphine for just over 5 months for the pain.

What were the results of your Doppler test?

Also, consider asking to be referred to the tissue viability team at your hospital. Ours are great.

x x

[Albert_1604]

Just a comment.
The elderly should only take Ibuprofen if cleared by a doctor.

[Pet66]

Can I ask why Albert? I'm lucky in the fact l don't have prescribed medications, and only ever take one nurofen at a time if I really need it. Get sleep paralysis if I take the amount allowed! I have had to the last couple of weeks because of the rotten cold and cough I'm only just about getting rid of.
Interested in your thoughts on ibrufen.