The Young and the Restless' Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman) recently revealed via Twitter that she's suffered a health crisis that not only has left her sick and baffled but also missing from Genoa City sets as of late.
"Have been incapacitated w/a serious reaction 2 a medication I was prescribed 4 a sinus infection," she explained to fans on December 14. "Have just returned to work after 6 weeks of misery, a brief hospital stay, & have turned to alternative remedies, as the medical community had nothing 2 offer me. I'll B utilizing my FB (which I rarely use) to explain the horrific nightmare I've been going through. I hope 2 have the energy 2 write it tomorrow. Am thankful that I have gained enough strength 2 B back at work. The recovery has been slow, but improving. Not a secret: I'm actually looking 4 more ppl who have suffered w/this same reaction. These meds should not B available to public. Very serious side effects. God willing, I will be able to describe my agonies and slow recovery to all of you tomorrow. Thank you 4 your patience. Miss u all. Xo."
The actress has yet to reveal what medication caused her this seemingly serious reaction, and she did not address how the fallout impacted her work schedule. However, a rep for the show told Soap Central that production has been able to work around Scott's illness and that she'll be airing regularly in the coming weeks as well as on Christmas and New Year's Eve.
UPDATE (December 22):
Though it took her a few days longer than planned, Scott kept to her promise and posted a Facebook message describing the ordeal she's gone through, which began on Thursday, November 13. After having been sick with a sinus infection that didn't improve with typical antibiotics, the actress (who'd had to call in sick to work several times by this point) visited a new doctor that gave her cough syrup with codeine along with two prescriptions: the antibiotic Augmentin and a steroid called methylprednisolone.
"As it turned out, my body did not like those steroids or the antibiotic," she wrote, explaining that the combination not only made her sicker than before, but also caused her to hallucinate. "Lying in bed up in my room, I thought I was somewhere in Texas or Mexico, close to the ocean, in fear of 'them' coming to get me. I wasn't really sure who 'they' were, but I knew I was in danger and I didn't think 'they' spoke English. I kept listening at the balcony screen door off of my bedroom. I was certain that a pack of men would soon be scurrying up my balcony to kidnap me. My head was spinning with dizziness and I was disoriented."
As her conditioned worsened, the doctor decided that maybe she was having a reaction to the medications and ordered her to stop taking them. She followed his instructions, but her conditioned continued to decline, and she eventually was rushed to the hospital, where she couldn't walk or speak. "I was slumped over in the wheelchair, eyes closed, in and out of reality. I remember the doctors asking me 'Do you know where you are?' 'What's today's date?' 'What is your name?' 'Who is the president,' etc. The only answer I could come up with was that I was in the hospital."
Scott ended up staying days at Cedars-Sinai with her health slowly improving but not getting fully better. And through it all, she was never given a reason as to why she felt so horrible. Eventually, she was released, but "I was obviously not ready to resume my normal life," she wrote. "My boss called me on my cellphone and I couldn't remember how to operate it. Nor could I figure out house phones, computers, [and] remote controls. Any kind of gadget with buttons and numbers on them confused me. I wasn't 'right' and it didn't seem that anyone from the medical community could help me or even cared."
Eventually, Scott decided to try acupuncture -- which she says has been a miracle so far. "For the first time in over a month, I had hope," she recalls of her first visit. "The daily improvements are slight, but very welcome. This has turned out to be a long haul. Albeit, a very unexpected one. It's still difficult for me to believe that this happened. How could it happen? Why are the medical 'experts' so aloof about the situation? These are things that will be more aggressively pondered as I continue to 'get my brain back.'"
What do you think about Scott's health scare reveal? Have you ever experienced a serious reaction to a prescription medication? You can share your thoughts below in the Comments section or via Feedback by clicking here.
