Shingles...or not...maybe

Yesterday I had a follow up visit with my doctor for my fabulous facial fun.

They had called several times during the week to check up on things (party because getting all the meds called in was a mess because I do have allergies to some heavier antibiotics) and since my fancy, red, face friend was spreading they decided they wanted to see me again.

This was the progression during the week:

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday...accidentally deleted photo...lame!

Wednesday

Thursday

So, I went into a room and the nurse said, "Someone will be in to check on your cellulitis in just a minute."

Now, that was odd since when I was at the same office on Monday I was told I had shingles, so now I am vaguely confused.  I knew they had put me on an antibiotic as a precaution, but didn't know my diagnosis had actually changed.

When said "someone" (a different someone than I saw on Monday...that someone wasn't working Thursday) came in a while later she told me since the redness had spread I needed to head to the ER for IV antibiotics.  I thought that seemed a tiny bit extreme so I showed her the pictures above. She studied them and said never mind it looked like the infection was getting better, keep taking the medicine and she was ready to be done and leave.  Infection...not shingles.

That's when I asked about shingles...because as far as I knew, that was what I was dealing with and had been prepping myself for much more nastiness to come because from everything I have read, whoever you are SHINGLES IT NOT YOUR FRIEND.

Anyway, I was told, yes, it "could" be shingles still, but it also might be a staph/strep infection of some sort.  It could also be both at the same time.  That was why they put me on an antiviral medicine and a pretty tough antibiotic at the same time.  They wanted to cover all the bases. I'm pretty sure this lady was strongly leaning toward infection but unwilling to really rule out the other just in case. 

So, I may be the owner of a fun facial infection and the antibiotics are doing their job, or I may have shingles and the antiviral is really helping (which -- according to people who know -- it really tends to do if administered within three days of the onset of the disease...and it was) or maybe a bit of both.  Who knows. Only time will tell.

Basically I left the office knowing nothing more than I knew when I went in but now wondering what in the world is ravaging my face.  Fun!

Either way, I hope it goes away soon.  For that purpose (and to avoid weeks worth of pain) I vote bacterial infection.

We'll see what happens.  

I go for round three at the doctor in a week and hopefully by then it will be clear what I am dealing with (and if I am lucky, maybe I'll even be completely done with it).