Joe Average

Morning weigh-in: 176#, 11% BF

Went to the infectious disease specialist yesterday, he helped me with a number of my worries:

1. Sometimes, some people can feel the PICC line inside their arm. It may be uncomfortable, but it's not something to worry about.

2. The oral antibiotic has to be watched, and if any signs of toxicity show up (in either the blood tests or symptoms like jaundice) it will be dropped. It is not as necessary as the other (IV)antibiotic, but it helps to take it when there is possibly infected hardware involved. (BTW, I found out what they mean by "infected" hardware: the more accurate term would probably be "colonized," the bacteria find a home on the metal, and build a "protective layer of slime" that makes getting to them with the antibiotics difficult.)

3. My bloodwork indicates that I'm normal -- I should probably get that in writing? No problems w/ liver enzymes, white blood cell count is OK, etc. One week down, five to go...

He was a little concerned with the incision since it is still "leaking," and wants me to talk to the surgeon about it.