B.T.I.D.

... which stands for, of course, the Bermuda Triangle of Infectious Disease. First, Ethan's out for several days with his virus. Then, on the 4th of July I woke up feeling very ill-- tired, worn out, drained of all energy, a little dizzy. Turns out I had a fever, so I started taking ibuprofen. Didn't help much. Later that day my throat started hurting. I woke up Tuesday morning with what felt like little shards of glass in my throat, making the act of swallowing quite painful. And guess what? A throat injury is like a back injury; you never realize how much you actually use it until it starts to hurt. Ouch....

Anyway, went in to the urgent care Tuesday a.m. and got some Amoxycillin prescribed. Took the day off work, hoping to feel better. Woke up Wednesday actually feeling worse-- throat was even more swollen and extremely painful, could hardly speak, still had a fever, coughed up some blood (turns out, it was from my throat, not lungs) and just generally felt miserable. Called in to the urgent care for advice. The RN who called me back was concerned, and gave me another two-day note off from work. She prescribed Prednisone to help reduce the swelling, plus a lidocaine rinse to deaden the pain a bit. Altogether, it seems to be working. Still painful to speak or swallow, but much less so than before. And I can't really afford any more days off work, both financially and in terms of the massive workload I'll have waiting for me on my return.

As a friend said on Facebook, when I get sick, I *really* get sick. No halfsies for this girl, I go whole hog or don't go at all!