23rd July 2005
Thanks everyone. I will certainly go look at the thread that you mentioned Mom22greatkids. It's a comfort to know that most of you were up on your feet soon after, and it didn't take you too long to be able to speak normally. I'm a teacher, so that was a big concern for me. I'm so glad to be off for the summer! I go back to work September 8th. I wanted to make sure I'd have plenty of time to recover. In fact, I would've done the surgery immediately after the last day of school (June 26th) but I had 3, weddings to go to in July! I wanted to be able to go! So, my surgery is scheduled for August 3rd.
Yes, unfortunately I do have to take those pills that I mentioned. I can't skip even one day. They're for my digestion. In 2003 I had my gallbladder out, and some people recover from that just fine and have no problems afterwards. I have excess bile, and can't eat anything at all without taking the pills that my GI doctor prescribed for me, called Colestid. They're also used for Cholesterol sometimes. If anyone has ever seen them, you know that they are absolutely gigantic! They are the among the largest pills I have ever seen. Sometimes I have trouble swallowing them even now, and I haven't had throat surgery yet! Unfortunately, I will not be able to take even one bite of food, or drink a glass of water without taking them. I would be in agony and be RUNNING to the bathroom ALL DAY!
The good thing is that a while ago he mentioned to me that Colestid is actually the pill form of a powdery medication called Questran, that gets dissolved in water. I have to call him and ask him for that. I do take some other oills, but they are fairly small to swallow and can probably be crushed or opened and mixed with pudding or applesauce. I better ask my pharmacist about it first though.
My tonsils actually are not infected at the moment. (although my throat is hurting pretty badly right now, so maybe they are!) All of the strep infections and tonsillitis that I had previously, all in the past six or seven months, seems to have eaten away at my tonsils (even with anti-biotics) and now I have HUGE craters in them. I get these nasty looking, foul smelling green particles coming out of them. My doctor says this is called "Chronic Follicular Tonsillitis". The big problem started when I got my very first strep infection back in March. It was a sunday, none of my regular doctors were around, and my throat was absolutely on fire. I had a high fever, and I knew I couldn't wait until monday. Even never having had strep before in my life, I knew this was strep! I got myself over to the local walk-in clinic and saw a P.A. who said he could tell immediately just by looking that this was strep. He did culture it, but they just grow it out overnight in the office, not send it to a lab. He prescribed one of the few anti-biotics that I am not allergic to - Levaquin. It's an excellent, broad spectrum anti-biotic, but not a penicillin. I took it for 10 days. I thought I was better. As soon as I came off of the anti-biotic, I got sick again. I went to my own GP this time and he cultured it and send it out to the lab. He couldn't prescribe an anti-biotic for me until he knew exactly what kind of infection I had and what it would be susceptible to. So, I walked around with strep for another 5 days until the lab culture came back and it told him that I needed a penicillin. Yeah, well I'm allergic to Penicillin. But he found a third generation Penicillin that I had taken before and not had a problem with, called Ceftin. It worked. Until I got the next throat infection a month later, and the ENT guy gave it to me again and I had an anaphylactic reaction to it. Then they had to wait a day for it to get out of my system and prescribe me Levaquin again. This time it worked. But by that time I had had so many throat infections (I think I was on my third one in three months) that every time I got one my tonsils just got worse and worse. I haven't had one in about a month now, but they are still getting new craters and gunk. Now the pharmacist says that the only anti-biotics I can take and won't be allergic to are Levaquin and Zithromax. Hope they come in liquid form!!!
I have been gargling with Listerine to prevent any abcess from forming. I think it has also been helping to ward off infection. My tonsils are just very abnormally shaped and extremely enlarged.
Ten days and counting!!!!
Yes, unfortunately I do have to take those pills that I mentioned. I can't skip even one day. They're for my digestion. In 2003 I had my gallbladder out, and some people recover from that just fine and have no problems afterwards. I have excess bile, and can't eat anything at all without taking the pills that my GI doctor prescribed for me, called Colestid. They're also used for Cholesterol sometimes. If anyone has ever seen them, you know that they are absolutely gigantic! They are the among the largest pills I have ever seen. Sometimes I have trouble swallowing them even now, and I haven't had throat surgery yet! Unfortunately, I will not be able to take even one bite of food, or drink a glass of water without taking them. I would be in agony and be RUNNING to the bathroom ALL DAY!
The good thing is that a while ago he mentioned to me that Colestid is actually the pill form of a powdery medication called Questran, that gets dissolved in water. I have to call him and ask him for that. I do take some other oills, but they are fairly small to swallow and can probably be crushed or opened and mixed with pudding or applesauce. I better ask my pharmacist about it first though.
My tonsils actually are not infected at the moment. (although my throat is hurting pretty badly right now, so maybe they are!) All of the strep infections and tonsillitis that I had previously, all in the past six or seven months, seems to have eaten away at my tonsils (even with anti-biotics) and now I have HUGE craters in them. I get these nasty looking, foul smelling green particles coming out of them. My doctor says this is called "Chronic Follicular Tonsillitis". The big problem started when I got my very first strep infection back in March. It was a sunday, none of my regular doctors were around, and my throat was absolutely on fire. I had a high fever, and I knew I couldn't wait until monday. Even never having had strep before in my life, I knew this was strep! I got myself over to the local walk-in clinic and saw a P.A. who said he could tell immediately just by looking that this was strep. He did culture it, but they just grow it out overnight in the office, not send it to a lab. He prescribed one of the few anti-biotics that I am not allergic to - Levaquin. It's an excellent, broad spectrum anti-biotic, but not a penicillin. I took it for 10 days. I thought I was better. As soon as I came off of the anti-biotic, I got sick again. I went to my own GP this time and he cultured it and send it out to the lab. He couldn't prescribe an anti-biotic for me until he knew exactly what kind of infection I had and what it would be susceptible to. So, I walked around with strep for another 5 days until the lab culture came back and it told him that I needed a penicillin. Yeah, well I'm allergic to Penicillin. But he found a third generation Penicillin that I had taken before and not had a problem with, called Ceftin. It worked. Until I got the next throat infection a month later, and the ENT guy gave it to me again and I had an anaphylactic reaction to it. Then they had to wait a day for it to get out of my system and prescribe me Levaquin again. This time it worked. But by that time I had had so many throat infections (I think I was on my third one in three months) that every time I got one my tonsils just got worse and worse. I haven't had one in about a month now, but they are still getting new craters and gunk. Now the pharmacist says that the only anti-biotics I can take and won't be allergic to are Levaquin and Zithromax. Hope they come in liquid form!!!
I have been gargling with Listerine to prevent any abcess from forming. I think it has also been helping to ward off infection. My tonsils are just very abnormally shaped and extremely enlarged.
Ten days and counting!!!!