Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Post #1995: Workday obsessions
So yesterday, I went to the Doctor, because I am pretty sure that I have strep throat. And the reason I think this is because I get strep throat every three years or so – and the ailment I’ve got does *not* feel like a cold or the flu as it has no other symptoms except for a spotted, swollen throat (and left ear, of all things). But! She told me – grown-ups do not get strep throat, and also, I don’t have a fever so it can’t be. And! She said, because I have a cough, that’s a cold symptom so it must be viral. Unfortunately:
- I am a grown-up and I do get strep throat and so do other grown-ups I know;
- My regular Doctor told me for three years that I couldn’t possibly have a sinus infection because – no fever – and so I suffered, miserably until I got to a specialist who took a swab, and did a CAT Scan and was horrified at the state of the infection;
- I have a mild asthma that causes a cough with pretty much any illness, lack of sleep, stress, or over-exposure to perfumes.
She took a swab, and now I am waiting for the results, but in the meantime I picked up a “just in case” prescription for antibiotics and the swollen throat seems to be subsiding – the whole thing was somewhat frustrating. On the one hand, I fully recognize that over-prescription of antibiotics (and all drugs really) is a serious health problem in our culture. On the other, a quick look at my history would reveal that I take drugs for nothing, and my antibiotic use is rare (twice in the last five years).
A part of me really wants to the swab results to show that I have strep and therefore am right – while another part of me wishes that the results would be negative so I don’t have to take these pills which make me nauseated – and so I sit here at work refreshing the E-Health results screen over and over – waiting to find out which is so. Am I right? Or am I just getting better without the aid of the antibiotics I’m taking (which means I can stop)?
(And if you are wondering about today’s picture up top – my friend Rachel recently had pneumonia for a month and while she was sick, she did some macrame – including a plantholder for my birthday present. I put plants in it this weekend and I think it looks mighty fine by the bedroom window.)
Red Cedar 
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