[KenP]

Nasty. I had to post another pic:

I was bitten around April 17, 2006 on the left side of my stomach. I showed my doctor the bite in a day or so later after it happened - she seemed very unconcerned and she gave me KEFLEX which seemed to have no effect.

The first day or so, I felt paralyzed and ached horribly. After 2 or 3 days the area was extremely red and infectious about 6 inches in diameter. When I first noticed the bite, it was after it had started itching. Within the first few days I could tell I had an infection, fever, chills, general aches and pains. The spot was about 200% it was hot as hell.

Luckily for me, I put an ice pack on it within the first day or so(because it gave me relief) which I've now learned keeps the venom from activating and destroying tissue. The venom is an enzyme, lysophospholipase D, that does not function when cooled ? it is heat activated. I found that ice probably works better than anything for early bites, no dead tissue yet, and less pain.

After about 3 or 4 days, I was too sick to go to work so I went back to the emergency room over the weekend. They did nothing, told me to go home and let the antibiotics work. By Monday, I was too sick to almost move. Without the ice pack I wouldn't have been able to. I was having severe lower pack and leg pain and my urine was very yellow. My doctor said I was getting a systemic reaction to the bite and needed to have it cut out immediately. She changed my antibiotics to LEVAQUIN. I wondered then, why it wasn't lanced from the onset to allow it to drain. But everything seems to be about DRUGS for new doctors.

By this time, I had learned about the stun gun treatment and told both my doctor and the surgeon about it. They both acted like I was crazy and that using a stun gun was quackery. I offered to purchase the stun gun and my doctor refused to treat me with it. My surgeon even told me that brown recluse bites were very rare in Texas. I knew then I was in trouble because they are NOT rare in this part of the country at all.

I saw the surgeon on the 20th, 3 to 4 days after the bite and she cut the core out. That was so incredibly painful that I though I could just die. I was awake through the entire process. For whatever reason, she could not get the area to numb. I felt her cut me about 10 times and I was very pissed - I threw a few eff-bombs at her during the surgery. The day after the surgery I was in severe pain and vomiting. The surgeon gave me more antibiotics ? RIFAMPKIN or something like that.

I stayed out of work the entire week. I also have been unable to sleep, feel depressed and like crying. I am now cleaning the hole in my stomach with alcohol around the bite area, then the hole in my stomach with 1/3 peroxide and 2/3 sterile water. After that I clean it again with alcohol and apply tea tree oil around the bite and it is healing very nicely mainly because I am keeping it sterile.

My only regret is that I let them treat me in a way I fear was the worst and most painful way. I was never given dapsone or a tenatus shot. I was refused treatment with a stun gun. Had I to do it all over again I would have used the stun gun treatment and done it myself. I will NEVER allow this conventional treatment to another bite on my body. I do fear that the venom is not gone and that once I?m off the antibiotics it will return to destroy tissue.

It is May 2nd, and I was running fever again last night. I also noticed blisters in the hole the surgeon cut and some black areas around and in the hole, which makes me believe the venom was not completely excised. I am feeling extremely tired and sick again. I refuse to allow the surgeon to cut on me again and plan to stun it if it gets worse.