MY HEALTH EXPERIENCE:Leg ulcers left me in constant pain and discomfort, tells Dr BRENDA O'HANRAHAN
IN 2002, I GOT a cut on my right leg that failed to heal. As a result of that I developed cellulitis, an infection of the skin. My leg became septic and was very painful and itchy. My left leg then became infected and I’ve had the problem of leg ulcers ever since.
Things rapidly reached the point where I could barely stand at the kitchen sink long enough to fill the kettle, walk more than a few paces without feeling ready to collapse, attempt any kind of housework which necessitated being on my feet or drive my car as far as the local shops. Sharp stabbing pains sliced through the backs of my legs and I had a constant dull ache in both.
Weeping is a big problem with ulcers and is terribly unpleasant. A large amount of fluid comes out of them and literally cascades down onto the floor. It destroys your clothes and you can’t go to bed because the mattress and the bedclothes become wringing wet.
I did not go to bed for 25 months. I sat up in my kitchen every night on a chair because I was afraid of destroying the bedclothes. I live alone and am in my late 60s. There was nobody to look after me or change bed linen over and over again. I was constantly tired and began to lose interest in everything.
When I became tired or stressed, my legs swelled dreadfully. If they swell badly enough, they will start to weep. And when they are weeping, sore and itchy, you really have no choice but to get them seen to.
I have been hospitalised with the condition 15 times over the past seven years in five different Dublin hospitals. I have found that they are reluctant to admit patients with leg ulcers either because it is a chronic condition about which they know they can only do so much or because other, more acute, cases also urgently require beds.
I have been sent home on a number of occasions without admission, despite my GP writing letters saying I urgently needed admitting. While I had my ulcers dressed in the outpatient departments of various hospitals and the public health nurses were a great support, I was in constant pain and wasn’t seeing any improvement.
Although leg ulcers are a major problem for many older people, my experience has been that there appears to be no form of treatment generally available, other than compression therapy which does not suit everybody, antibiotics where necessary to combat infection and constant exhortations to keep the legs elevated – something which is not always either convenient nor practical.
There is no topical cure for the condition and sensitivity to substances in certain dressings as well as allergic reactions can both complicate and delay the healing process.
Dressing the ulcers is a very time- consuming process and is a very skilled job. Up to three layers of different dressings are required. I’ve had it done well and extremely badly on occasion.
My personal situation has also been complicated by the fact that I have been found to be allergic to certain substances and sensitive to others, which ruled out the use of various creams and dressings I might have found helpful.
My life was completely on hold. The condition took over my whole life. I wasn’t able to move about, I couldn’t walk and walking is important because it keeps the circulation going. I lost all my energy and my social life came to a complete standstill.
I remember on one occasion breaking down and crying in the middle of the street as cars swept by me on either side after the bandages I’d struggled for three hours to put on by myself fell to the ground.
At my lowest ebb in 2009, I was contacted by a reader of this newspaper on foot of a letter I had published detailing my situation. She wrote to me telling me about a new treatment for leg ulcers at the Beacon Hospital in Dublin.
The treatment involves treating ulcers with an autologous platelet gel spray – involving the use of a patient’s own blood – combined with skin grafting. Armed with a letter from my GP, I went to the emergency department there and was admitted that day.
I have now had this treatment three times and, combined with skin grafting on two occasions, have finally seen an improvement in my condition. New, healthy, even skin has begun to grow over my ulcers. My legs are dressed weekly by a wound care specialist at the hospital.
The procedure is used both in the UK and in the US and it is very successful, not only in treating leg ulcers, but in dealing with major heart problems as well. The spray helps tissue to heal which will not heal of its own accord.
I have now been hospitalised four times in all at the Beacon Hospital where the kindness and professional expertise of the staff are second to none. I finally felt that I was getting constructive help to heal there. The treatment has brought me out of the dark ages.
While I don’t know if I will ever fully recover my lost energy, at long last after years of pain and discomfort and many sleepless nights, I can now see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m beginning to look forward to living again rather than just existing.
