I'm A Little Bit Positive My Health/Sickness Post Isn't Very Exciting At All

Left town to see family for the weekend.

Came back with strep throat.

Worth it! (Generally - the pain really sucks, but the weekend was so fun!)

I went to the doctor tonight, because my ear and throat have been killing me since Monday. A niece had an ear infection all weekend, and a roommate had strep throat weeks ago, so I was anxious my pain might be something more severe than your general cold. Particularly since it wasn't going away or morphing into a stuffy nose/cough/voice loss yet...

My ear was really killing me yesterday, so I stopped by the nurse at work to have her peer into my ears and tell me if she saw anything terrible. She didn't see anything more than just a little wax build-up, which she said was good. Then she stood in front of me, a few feet back, and aimed a flashlight into my mouth. Almost as soon as I opened it, she flicked off the light and said, "ooooooh, my, yes, that throat is red!" She asked if I've ever had strep, and I said, "NO, NEVER!!!!" I didn't like where she was going with that question, so I thought I'd respond emphatically enough for her to know that it couldn't possibly be strep. She then gave me a few pills to see if they would help, and casually mentioned that it might be good to get this checked out, just in case - strep throat is easily treatable, but can be dangerous if not taken care of.

And even though I knew I couldn't possibly have strep throat, her warning struck fear in me.

I really don't like going to the doctor. The visit itself isn't bad at all (usually). It's just that waiting - sitting in a waiting room, looking through boring magazines without actually reading them, watching a tv without hearing it, glancing at your fellow sickies and wondering what's getting them down, and hoping you're not worse, yet also hoping you look sick enough to justify your being there, in line before them. But mainly being anxious that you're actually going to be told you're dying, when all you wanted was to find out that your sore throat is just a sore throat.

So I put the visit off another day. I thought I'd see if the nurse's pills could help me.

They didn't.

So I called in sick today, considered trying to clean up our house a little, stuck in a movie instead, and then spent the rest of my day lounging in my bed, trying not to swallow.

Finally, I went to the doctor this evening, after my roommates came home and I started feeling bad for them - it's one thing for me to be in denial about my health, but I feel bad making them wonder what they should be trying to avoid catching from me. So, after ruling out the possibility of using Face Time between Abby's and my I-Phones to have her doctor husband look at my throat (the connection isn't always the best at her house). I found an urgent care clinic nearby and stopped in.

And it was good that I went when I did, because the next person to come in after me, about 15 minutes later, was turned away because they took their last patient. I didn't know urgent care centers could close at 7:30pm, but whatever.

I was soon taken into a room, and a young nurse took my temperature (99 degrees, .4 degrees higher than the typical temp. - it was 98 even yesterday, so I hoped they might cancel each other out...), and my blood pressure - I'm pretty average on that front. It's funny - one's health seems like the only thing people are happy to hear they're average at.

Then the doctor came in. He first looked at my ears, and said nothing much was wrong with them - just a little waxy build-up, which he said was fine. Then he stood a few feet in front of me and aimed a flashlight into my mouth. Almost as soon as I opened my mouth, he flicked off the light and said, "oooooh my, yes, that throat is red!"

When I get that reaction two times in a row, I tend to get a little self-conscious, but I tried to look like those comments weren't hurtful.

He then felt my neck, noting that it was quite swollen. I thought, "I could'a told you that - every time I move my head, I can feel the swelling in my neck/tonsil region."

This was when I wondered why I refused to believe that my sore throat could be anything but a cold, when I realized all that I was aware of, regarding the pain I was in. But let's not dwell on my denial.

The doctor said he'd get a swab sample of my throat to test quickly, if I didn't mind. I emphatically noted that I sure didn't mind. I wanted nothing more than to get confirmation that I didn't have strep. I'd already found out - twice - that my ears weren't the problem, so ear infection was out. I just needed to cross out the other possibility. I was told to open wide and say, "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," and I made it to the third "h" when he stuck the swab in my mouth and practically gagged me with his quick swipe of my throat. I sometimes forget that my throat is so far back in my mouth. I could feel where he swiped at for the whole 3 minutes wait. It wasn't pleasant.

Three minutes later, the doctor came in and sympathetically noted that my test came back "a little bit positive." I didn't know that was possible, but I can always learn something new. He gave me a prescription for an antibiotic, gave me some other directions for other pills to take, like ibuprofen and a decongestant, and offered to write me a prescription for another pill, if the pain in my throat is bad. I responded that I would LOVE that prescription, so he got that written up for me as well. Then he nodded to me like I was stupid when I asked if I just take the two prescriptions to the pharmacist and that was all - I believe his nod was valid though, because that was a stupid question. I don't get prescriptions much.

So now I'm all medicated up. I'm hoping that since my test was just "a little bit positive," it means the antibiotics will kick in quickly and clear me up fast. I haven't run a fever at all with this, which usually goes hand in hand with strep, and I haven't shown any other typical symptoms, so my roommate and I decided my immune system must be strong like ox. It's been kicking butt the last few days all on it's own. So I got that going for me.

I also feel slightly less guilt-ridden about calling in sick from work - because I am sick! I can prove it! It's not just me being wussy! And it's kind of nice to have something that can be treated by drugs. I don't just have to wait this one out. Thank goodness, because it's just not possible to not swallow. Try as I might, I have to swallow sometimes. Lame!

Anyway, was that more than you wanted to read about regarding my health? Talking to mother about this, I complained that it's been weeks since my roommate had strep, so I don't know how I suddenly got it, and she mentioned that sometimes something can be dwelling in your system for a while, and altitude changes from flights and everything can make it act up suddenly. So I actually count my blessings right now that I didn't feel sick at all during the weekend with family. I didn't feel my throat or ear pains until late Sunday night/Monday morning.  So it didn't ruin the fun family festivities at all! Positive!

P.S. I refuse to take the blame for any sickness any Barlows may come down with in the next month. So don't start jumping on the blame train after skimming through this lame post! Guilt isn't good for my condition, you know.