Thursday, April 04, 2013

Woeful Sick Grinch

I have now had a poundingly painful sinus what-the-hell-ever for fourteen weeks. At one point, I was wondering if I needed another root canal. Right now, I'm sure you are thinking two things:

1) Does this woman have an immune system?  (It seems defective.)

2) Fourteen weeks? Why yes!  And the nice ENT is going to call me back soon about that CT scan, too. 

3) What about drugs?  (I can't take macrolides, they give me migraines - wish I'd figured that one out sooner! - and I can't won't take fluoroquinolones while breastfeeding.)

Anyhow, none of this is the point. The point is that when it goes on and on and ON and on and on like this, I start getting really depressed about it and thinking it'll never get better.  And oh, did I mention that I've been on FIVE different nasty antibiotics in the last six months?  And that it takes at least three months and can take up to a year for antibiotic-resistant bacteria to clear?  Did you know that beta-lactamase resistances are frequently integrated to the genome? Did you know that being in a population with antibiotic-resistant carriers, i.e. anyone who's been treated with antibiotics, will colonize you with resistant bacteria? (Excuse me, I need to go scrub everything with bleach now. A little learning...)

Being sick is depressing.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:06 AM

    Being sick is absolutely depressing. In 2005 I was sick for a year with sinus infections, strep throat and eventually pneumonia. Nothing worked and the doctors were incredibly motivating by saying that it can take up to a year to fully recover for things like pneumonia. Gee, thanks, bacteria. I totally commiserate. Here's to feeling better...eventually.

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  2. Yes, it does feel like it will last forever. (My affliction is always the 6 weeks of coughing after every cold in the winter.) Thank goodness the breast feeding will be done soon, someday you will feel better! You probably cannot remember what it is like to feel good, what with all the mastitis, etc. I promise, once you're feeling better, you'll barely remember the horribleness that is now.

    Did you notice your immune system seems more defective when you are stressed? It's not like you have anything stressful going on lately. *sarcasm* Luckily, there is an end in sight! I predict that you will be completely cured a few months after moving. Oldest will be in preschool, Dr. S adjusting to teaching, and you and the little one can go have lunch with Lovely Old Friend.

    In the meantime, find any way to relax that you can. Also, go on a date with your husband. I'll watch the kids as long as you promise not to do work.

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    Replies
    1. I'm SURE stress has NOTHING to do with it!

      You're on for the kid-watching. OMG.

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  3. EarAche26:22 PM

    I had a nice ear infection last for ~3 months. They specialist (which I had to wait a month for an appointment, after already having the infection for a month) did a scan of my sinuses, didn't find anything, and my options came down to continue the antibotics or get tubes again. I've got scar tissue from the tubes as a kid, and after taking levaquin and having bad side effects (and reading about the spontaneous tendon tears for months as a possible side effect), I wasn't taking that sh*t again either. It eventually went away on it's own.

    Have they checked for polyps or seeing if it's a bacterial or fungal infection? Someone I know keep getting frequent, bad sinus infections, and years later it was found that there were so many polyps that nothing could drain out of the sinus cavity. That person has now had 2 surgeries to try to fix the problem.

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    Replies
    1. They definitely looked up my nose a bunch and nobody mentioned polyps. I think I'm going to get scheduled for surgery soon (on the grounds that I've already tried everything else in the flow chart, and the CT does show blockage). I doubt me not that it will be AWESOME.

      Delete
    2. EarAche28:21 PM

      I think this person had a CT scan, after years of having multiple (4+) sinus infections each year, and only then did they find the polyps.

      Delete
  4. Being chronically sick is depressing. Because you stop believing that it can ever get better, and being in pain and/or uncomfortable all the time is just f*ing exhausting. I hope they find something they can fix, or it goes away on its own, whichever happens first.

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