Month: December 2003

I saw the ENT specialist, and it turns out that I have Tonsillitis – so my comment last week to the first doctor that “if I didn’t know my tonsils had been removed, I would think that I had tonsillitis” wasn’t that far off after all. There is a portion of my tonsil that is still there on the right side of my throat, and that is what is inflamed. He said that more than likely, it was never removed when I was a kid. (They can grow back, but he didn’t think that was the case.) So now it’s infected, and I get to go through yet another round of antibiotics! Turns out that Tonsillitis just doesn’t give a damn about the Z-Pack or erythromycin – it doesn’t respond to them. So I got a shot and I get to take Avelox. If it doesn’t respond to that, there is a very minor chance that it could be Epstein Barr virus, but he said that that is unlikely. (Considering I’ve had swollen glands for some time, and I’m always fatigued, I have this fear that that is what it will be – but I am trying not to be paranoid and will try not to focus on that. Not yet.) I have a follow-up appointment in 10 days just in case, but hopefully – hopefully! – this will finally go away and I will be done with it!

Most importantly, I appreciated that he took the time to see me, to listen to my concerns, and to address them. I didn’t feel brushed off, and I felt like I left there with a solution, not just a vague “I don’t know what it is, but here’s some medicine” – which is how I felt on Monday. Two thumbs up for Dr. Andrews!

They did a rapid strep test at my doctor’s appointment on Monday, told me that I didn’t have strep, wrote me a prescription for a Z-Pack and scooted me out the door. It’s bothered me all week – if I don’t have strep, why do I have these funky lumps in my throat? What is going on? They tried to explain it away by saying it was probably just from drainage. Good idea, but I didn’t have any drainage. And even after 4 days on the Z-Pack, the lumps aren’t going away and my throat is still sore.

I found an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist in downtown, and I have an appointment for 3:15 today.

Last night I decided to lay on the couch to watch Will & Grace – I would get up and do all the holiday things still looming over me afterwards. That was at 8:30 – and I woke up at midnight. I stayed awake for about an hour as I watched last night’s episode of ER (the only episode I missed last season), and then I headed back to bed. I guess I was even more tired then I thought I was – and it was so nice to finally, after 4 weeks, have a nice quiet night at home. Yes, I’m a regular Rip Van Winkle…

Our firm Christmas party is tomorrow night. There will be a White Elephant gift exchange; the kind with nice gifts – not gag gifts. We have a $30 spending limit. Everyone at work always comments about how much they like the lotion that I make but they have never seen the holiday soaps. So my big plan was to make a nice gift bag with several holiday soaps, a nice vanilla candle, a stress relief heat pack for your shoulders, a back massager thing, and one of the top foot massagers for plantar fasciitis. Is that cheesy though that I’m making the soaps that I’m including? I mean – I sell them. If I bought them, I know what they would cost. So that’s ok, isn’t it?

I haven’t made soap in awhile, and had forgotten just how much fun it can be! Especially creating new things – I got a flying pig mold earlier this year and I think the new soaps I made in it are going to be adorable! I’ll post a photo tomorrow when they are ready. My snowflakes and my Celtic knot hearts look wonderful too!