MRSA Support Group

I have had a patch on my cheek that has been coming and going for the last 2 years.
When I first got the patch and went to the doctor for something else, she put me in Bactrim to clear it up which seemed to take it away but after being on it for 2 weeks gave me a skin rash, she then changed it to Doxycycline which made my ears ring for about 2 weeks straight, I finally just quit taking anything and the patch then started to come and go over the 2 years. It has been persistent since May of this year and not gone away - also, in June, I got a patch on my shoulder and on my thigh, I had been in weeds and thought that may have been the cause for the new patches but even if it were poison oak or sumac it should have had ample time to heal.
I had a blood transfusion from Iron Deficiency Anemia on August 27th of this year - it wasn't until after my recheck this week that I finally had enough of the mysterious patches and said okay - exactly what is this? I had began to doubt my husband and wonder when it refused to leave about it being an STD - though my genitalia remained unscathed. I really just didn't know what it was, normal stuff didn't make sense.
It was at this point I was told more than likely "MRSA". I came home and google imaged some pictures and have sores that look exactly like the pictures that came up. I have nothing oozing right now so they can't culture it to be sure but I am nearly certain with what I have read about it thus far.
What I am unclear of is how long can it lay dormant in your body before surfacing? I had stitches a year and a half ago and remember when I got them removed and while there asking the doctor about some sores on my leg - he didn't have an answer.
I was reading in the posts here about something else - probably about 13 years ago I had a condition that puzzled the doctors, I had hard and soft lumps all over my limbs. They sent me to specialists, drew tubes and tubes of blood - tested me for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and numerous other things - all which came back negative. I remember hearing the term possibly "sepsis" in the blood at one point - when I later asked if they still thought it was "sepsis" - I was told "if it was, you'd already be dead".
The mystery lumps disappeared after a while and as I say there was nothing too noticable or weird until about 2 years ago when the patch of sores on my cheek started. Also may I note that I was first diagnosed with the anemia around 2 years ago as well.

so now that I have "possible MRSA" I am back on Bactrim - as I stated to the doctor I would rather have the rash than my ears ringing and am to go back in a month. If this hasn't worked they are going to try a "decolonization".

I am just trying to piece things together. I would think that perhaps my body picked it up when I became quite weak with a low blood count, but then I wonder about the mystery lumps of years ago was it then that it started.

Please tell me someone, what I need to get started, I just really thought about having this and it not going away and I had what I guess was a panic attack at work - I was alone but all the questions and fears of infecting my family, friends and strangers and the stigma of the name started to overwhelm me.

Thank you so much for listening to my bewildered ramblings - but please let me know where to begin.

one other thing I would like to mention is that I was a nursing assistant in a nursing home for 10 years - I had dealt with a couple of MRSA cases than but was always very cautious with isolation procedures as at that time my children would have been small.
I quit that kind of work in 97 - right around the time when the mystery lumps began now that I think about it.

Thanks again in advance for any advice on the subject.
Posted on 09/27/09, 08:09 am