Climbing out of a very deep hole.

This was day 5 of being sick. My estimate was that I'm back to about 40% normal strength.

Thursday I had a stomach-bug. You will remember that I had diarrhea meds in the house already. (I'm a good Girl Scout!) Didn't have any action at my northern end, but I was pretty miserable.

Friday, I noticed that the glands in my neck were swelling, tho' not my tonsils, which are usually first on the list when I get sick. Now, tonsils and glands collect dead germ-guys *and* the white cells that give their little lives to kill them. They are then routed out through the lymphatic system and out of the body. When they are overworked, you get tonsillitis or swollen glands.

Saturday morning I was feeling better, and thought I was really "on the mend." I took a nap like a good little sick-girl, and woke up feeling really, really awful. My tonsils had blown up like balloons, and were covered stem-to-stern with yellow, waxy (well, let's be gross) pus pockets. I had no energy to even get up to the bathroom.

Great. Saturday late afternoon. My preferred treatment would be chiropractic (explained later), but my chiro wasn't open either Saturday or Sunday. Was not going to wait until Monday, folks.

Now, let me explain about me and tonsillitis.

From the time I was a little girl, I spent two weeks a year (one fall and one spring) with tonsillitis/swollen glands. The actually-fairly-new drug penicillin worked wonders, and was used often. Later, amoxicillin and ampicillin and other antibiotics were also used.

Once I grew up and entered my childbearing years, these bouts would come three times a year (young mom/tired thing, I think) and often turn to bronchitis or pneumonia. Still loaded up on antibiotics. Only sometimes the meds wouldn't work, and I'd have to try another kind. Twice, I did three rounds of different meds, and still was sick. Not. Fun.

When I worked for the chiropractor, he adjusted my neck (which had been in *horrible* shape (his word). If I felt sick, he'd just adjust it at work, and I'd be back at my desk. He did call me "a stubborn case," though, because sometimes he'd adjust me four times a day, and each time it was like he hadn't done it before.

I worked for him for two years. Having my neck adjusted worked so well, that for the next six years, if I felt sick, I just went to bed as well as I could with kids, and get better with no meds. The effect eventually wore off, and I began to get sick again.

At times, our insurance didn't cover chiro well, but did the urgent care center at 100%, so, sorry, it won out. A new drug, Zithromax, was a wonder for me. You know how they say it takes 36-48 hours for the effect of an antibiotic to be felt? 12 hours after Zithromax, I was improving. Verra, verra cool.

I started getting sick only about once a year, I figure because I have had so many infections, I've prolly got antibodies for most of them, right? I've had these symptoms *maybe* 75 times or more. Is that as scary to you as it sounds to me? I'm thinkin' I might be antibiotic-resistant.

Fast forward to Saturday night.

I hate going to the urgent care center, because I get a doctor I've never seen before, and they always think that the world is ending when they stick that tongue depressor in my mouth. "OH MY GOSH!!" (it really does look horrible...) This doctor wanted to do a test for mono. (really, Doctor, it's not going to be mono, it's going to be tonsillitis.) *just to be sure.* I waited, and he came back in the room, really disappointed. "It's not mono. It's acute tonsillitis. Hasn't anyone ever suggested to you to get your tonsils removed?" Actually, the only doctors that have ever suggested that have been the urgent care doctors. My own doctors have told me that if all that cuh-rap doesn't have tonsils to go to, it will just be shoved into the neck glands, which, honey, are like little rocks, they're so hard and full. My tonsils are part of my not-very-well-functioning lymph system, and I'll keep them, thank you.

I told the doctor that I have had good luck with Zithromax, and so he wrote a prescription, as well as giving me a shot of something. Now, shots are something I've tried before, as well. Supposed to work faster than pills. Haven't had too much success with them, tho'. But, okay, let's go. Honey, that was the biggest shot I have ever seen (volume wise.) Nurse said that it was a whole gram. So I went home and waited to be amazed.

At twenty-four hours (early Sunday evening)...nothing. Felt just as bad, looked just as bad. So much for Miracle Zithromax and Fast-Acting Shot. This morning (Monday) I noticed a Change. I could actually do something for about ten minutes before crashing on the couch. Before school I folded two baskets of laundry. I was exhausted. Took the kids to school. Had to rest when I got back. So I paced myself all day, made sure I did no more than ten minutes' effort, with at least 20 minutes' rest before doing something else. It wasn't much better this evening. I went to the atm to deposit a check, then to the gas station for $15 worth. Gone between ten and fifteen minutes. Didn't even get out of the car at the bank. Could hardly walk up to the house and throw myself on the couch when I was done.

So after five days of being sick, I'm still at about 40% of my normal strength. This one's a bad'n. But tomorrow is another day, and Rest is a good thing. (and I can make an appt. at the chiro!)

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Nettie (Myra) came home tonight! You can read about her "adventure" here.

I. am. off. to. bed.