Quote Originally Posted by GMan
I am so glad that you shared this with us all, it is extremely difficult to discuss these private matters in this day and age, and I am so thankful that you did. I sometimes wish that we could have a magic wand and whisk these problems away, however we do not. I admire your strength in just being able to be up front about it. I really do not think that I would have that kind of intestinal fortitude.

I will take what you said to heart and allow others to know about this also. I can only relate to a minor rash, but that developed shortly before kilts became my lifestyle, and so it went away, but sometimes after sleeping with the covers wrapped around my lower body it does seem to act up, in otherwords not being able to let everything "breathe" has contributed to that.

I will continue to have these words on my heart, and sincerely trust that things work out well for you as I know they always will.
Sounds like you reached the point where you started having a bacterial problem. While I am no expert in this area, (Although I seem to be becoming one) it sounds like you still have said bacteria lying in wait. Hot humid area under the covers allows it to "wake up" and resume action. At least I think that's how it works. Don't take what I just said at face value. I am still delving deep into medical texts. I am not a medical doctor, I have a Ph.D. in Philosophy, but with my Ph.D. I learned how to study and absorb large amounts of information, which I have been doing lately. As near as I can tell, it's a bit like yeast in those little paper packets. You can store it for years and years and years in a pantry, and when you need it, just add a little hot water and presto. Live bacteria.

I have to talk about this. Somebody needs to. Embarassing? What's more embarassing? Talking about the problem and how to fix it? Or getting castrated because I tried to follow the "ignorance is bliss" method? That little itch, rash, burning sensation, or feeling of tight drawn skin that does not go away might be the early warning signs of a potentially life changing and even life threatening problem. Me going though this is bad enough. Me and so many others. But to sit back and do nothing and let others fall prey while I sit back and selfishly feel sorry for my self? Unthinkable and inexcuseable. Inhumane even. I have a terrible combo of rhuematoid and fibromyalgia. It's crippling when both are together. Now I could sit back and think only of my self and feel bad for those too, but, I am going to let doctors study me a bit and I will do what I can on my own to make sure that my experiences in these areas will not be wasted. When something like this, something bad happens, if it's a crippling infection or even some gosh awful disease, we owe it to our selves and to others around us to make the most of it and get something, anything, but something good out of it. We are all human beings, and, we are all in this together. This is a shared experience. What one man feels can effect so many others. What I feel, and what I know, while it is merely a grain of sand in the whole human experience, just one person might relate, or take warning, or learn something, or gain something valuable unto themselves.

I live with physical pain I can not even begin to describe. The RA and fibro are cruel. I do not take any sort of pain medication. I value my mind far to much to allow my self to become a zombie. I have a free lifetime supply of oxycontins just waiting for me that I keep refusing. The only thing that gets me through the day is knowing that some way, some how, this experience is not in vain. Something good will come of it. Some how. Maybe not for my self, but somebody. And I feel the same way about my little problem just South of my belly button.

It is in weakness that we are made strong. These thorns in the flesh can either take you down and lay you low... Or they can give you power to rise up and try to make some sort of a difference in the world around you.

If I am going to suffer from anything, anything at all, I would hope that it means something. I would suffer a lot more knowing that it was meaningless.