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Nov. 19th, 2014 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_lucy21So, apparently when you walk into a doctor's office complaining of a 6 week sinus headache of migraine proportions and they discover that you have a low grade fever (that you didn't know you had- apparently, my home thermometer is off by about a degree, so I've probably had a low grade fever for awhile now, since I had taken my temp a couple of times during this sinus headache thing because I was hot and it kept reading normal. I bought a new one and that one matched the temperature taken at the doctor's office), a "whole lot of fluid" in your ears, and irritation in your throat, you're going to get a massive dose of antibiotics on the assumption that your sinuses are infected badly enough that they're not able to drain, which is why they hurt.
Yes, you would think I could recognize a sinus infection when I saw one (I knew my ears were kind of gorked, but most ear infections are viral anyway so it's not usually worth getting them checked). I honestly did not think they were infected because I haven't really been that congested and a massive dose of Sudafed didn't do anything for the pain yesterday (usually it will, if congestion is the issue). But a sinus infection would explain the pain and also explain why I've been seriously tired (which I was putting down to stress, the usual uptick in depression I get in the winter and being cold).
My doctor, however, did also give me Tramadol for the pain and offered to give me something stronger if I wanted it and some hydrocodone cough syrup if I wanted it. I haven't been coughing (another reason why I didn't think there was an infection- usually I get a cough too), so I turned down the cough syrup, but gladly accepted the Tramadol. She even gave me 60 pills, which is more than she figured I'd need for this so I could have some on hand in case my back decided to act up or my tension headaches got really bad again.
(I also discovered Tramadol has become a restricted drug that you need a paper script for and can't get refills on. Um, DEA? It's not a narcotic and not addictive. That's just plain ridiculous, okay?)
So, I got the scripts filled and picked up some high powered decongestant/expectorant pills to see if that would help any. Hopefully that will be the answer and I will start to feel better by the weekend (usually the case once the antibiotics kick in). Otherwise, we'll have to start exploring other possibilities. I stayed home from work today and probably should stay home tomorrow (sinus infections are not highly contagious, so I'm not worried about passing this along- I would have already done so, anyway- but the day after I start antibiotics is usually rough in terms of functioning) but I have too many meetings and only one more day I can use as a sick day until January, so probably I should save it. And I really, really hope I'm feeling better enough by Friday because I'm supposed to go to Cleveland and I haven't seen my friends in close to two years. I need some best friend time right now. Fortunately, we'll probably just hang out anyway, so even if I'm a little tired, it won't much matter.
Yes, you would think I could recognize a sinus infection when I saw one (I knew my ears were kind of gorked, but most ear infections are viral anyway so it's not usually worth getting them checked). I honestly did not think they were infected because I haven't really been that congested and a massive dose of Sudafed didn't do anything for the pain yesterday (usually it will, if congestion is the issue). But a sinus infection would explain the pain and also explain why I've been seriously tired (which I was putting down to stress, the usual uptick in depression I get in the winter and being cold).
My doctor, however, did also give me Tramadol for the pain and offered to give me something stronger if I wanted it and some hydrocodone cough syrup if I wanted it. I haven't been coughing (another reason why I didn't think there was an infection- usually I get a cough too), so I turned down the cough syrup, but gladly accepted the Tramadol. She even gave me 60 pills, which is more than she figured I'd need for this so I could have some on hand in case my back decided to act up or my tension headaches got really bad again.
(I also discovered Tramadol has become a restricted drug that you need a paper script for and can't get refills on. Um, DEA? It's not a narcotic and not addictive. That's just plain ridiculous, okay?)
So, I got the scripts filled and picked up some high powered decongestant/expectorant pills to see if that would help any. Hopefully that will be the answer and I will start to feel better by the weekend (usually the case once the antibiotics kick in). Otherwise, we'll have to start exploring other possibilities. I stayed home from work today and probably should stay home tomorrow (sinus infections are not highly contagious, so I'm not worried about passing this along- I would have already done so, anyway- but the day after I start antibiotics is usually rough in terms of functioning) but I have too many meetings and only one more day I can use as a sick day until January, so probably I should save it. And I really, really hope I'm feeling better enough by Friday because I'm supposed to go to Cleveland and I haven't seen my friends in close to two years. I need some best friend time right now. Fortunately, we'll probably just hang out anyway, so even if I'm a little tired, it won't much matter.