Road Rash Throat

My throat hurt so bad last weekend.

I'm typically not a whiner, but I'm going to go on about this for a bit. Because seriously - I have rarely if ever had a throat this destroyed.

I woke up Friday with a mildly swollen, mildly sore throat, and feeling kind of crummy. By Friday night I was totally wiped out. I didn't even go to Incrediboy's karate class (and I really wanted to, because he was getting his blue belt - a very big deal since blue is his favorite color - but I digress). When I woke up Saturday I was a dead woman. I was feverish and my throat was completely destroyed from my sinuses to my lungs - it felt as if I'd swallowed hot asphalt. I could not eat, drink, talk, or even swallow my own spit. When I looked in my mouth with a flashlight, my whole throat was nearly swollen shut - not to mention red as tabasco sauce and covered with white splotches.

Gross.

I laid in excessive misery until Monday when I could get in to see the doctor. I thought for sure I had strep. After an excruciatingly agonizing throat culture (I literally grabbed my doctor's arm and forced the swab out of my mouth before I even realized I was doing it - and I'm not normally that kind of patient), I learned I did NOT have strep. I was diagnosed with tonsilitis and pharyngitis - which is a fancy term meaning that besides my tonsils being all botched up, the rest of my throat was a completely infected swollen mess as well. So much so that along with a super-duper strong scrip for antibiotics, my doc also gave me a scrip for steroids.

I got my meds filled at the local market, and picked out an assorted array of throat numbing agents, some comforting flavored tea, and a can of soup for my first meal in 3 days.

On the pharmacist's suggestion, I didn't start the steroids right away. He advised taking them in the morning since they tend to make you jittery - and taking them in the afternoon could keep me up that night. I didn't want that. I took two antibiotics during the course of that day and was thankfully feeling much better by morning. God bless whoever discovered the healing properties of all those darling molds.

Since I was feeling on the mend, I decided to skip the steroids altogether. I'm not a fan of steroids ... They help jumpstart your healing initially, but significantly lower your immune system for about a year afterwards. I'm not real fond of that idea. Plus they screw you up with the jimmies while you're taking them - and more often than not swell you up like a tick on a hound dog. I figured if I don't need to, I'm not going there.

Tomorrow will be a week since I fell to the tonsil demon. I almost feel normal again, although my throat still feels kind of scratchy and weird. At least I lost a few pounds during the ordeal.

Now the Hub has come down with it. Bless his heart, the poor guy. I hope we can keep it away from Incrediboy.