(no subject)

Stayed home from work today. The family made me stay home from work today.

Fever of 103.4 around midnight. It dropped to 101 this morning, and went back up to 102.2 around noon. Feel like crap. Having small fits of delirious dreams followed by fit filled sleep.

In turns sweaty, chilly, cold, blazing hot.

My lips are swollen. Right tonsil swollen. Glands on both sides of my neck are swollen. My neck is tender. My neck on the right side hurts, as does my ear. When I swallow, I have head explodey. When I open my mouth up too wide, I have head explodey. If I move my jaw *just* so I have head explodey.

I haven't really had any water today, as it is pretty much unbearable to swallow.

Going to the Urgent Care Unit tonight. Hoping it's something simple. Just a cold. Hoping it's not tonsilitis, or worse yet, West Nile Virus (since Compton is right next to new hot spot Long Beach).

Fever is feeding paranoia. Need more sleep. Tired of sleep. Sick of laying down. Can't sit up too long...

Urg...

...Gah

Props to Dr. Chien for being such a nice guy. And being calm, rational, and pretty much cool about it all.

"Doc, sorry about my breath..."

"No, no, don't worry about it."

"I can't really open my mouth, Dr. Chien."

"We'll just do the best we can."

Nicest bedside manner I've gotten out of Kaiser in a while. I swear, this guy worked Pediatrics for a while, he had to.

A quick look in my ears, a prod of my neck, and a glance down my throat and doctor quickly declared:

"Well, from the look of things, you're consistant with Strep Throat."

A quick culture of the ickyness that's in the back of my throat and it was off to the pharmacy for Lydocaine and Penicilin. Hardcore, military that is. And lots of motrin.

But I ask why? WHY when you can barely swallow your own spit without screaming do they give out these huge horse pills? But I did discover that as long as I'm actively drinking (aka opening my throat and chug-a-lugging like TANG) does the pain in my ear (the worse of the bunch) not make me scream like a 8 year old school girl.

Wuss? Possibly. But considering that I've never had strep before, and the last time I had a fever this high was back in the 80's...well, at least it's subsiding some--99.8, down from the 102 it was at the doctor's office.

Fuggernut. I've been asleep the better part of the last 24 hours. 5:30 pm to 9pm, and then off and on from Midnight to 2pm, and then some more sleepiness from 4 to 6:30. I'm tired, wrung out and mightilly awake. And contageous. Did I mention contageous? I should go to work and give this to everyone else...EEEEEVIIIIILLLLL...

If I could only get my inner ear to stop screwing with my ability to walk a straight line...