Dear Body,  

I’d like to officially file a complaint.  There should be immunity to never catching a bug you’ve caught before again and again.  I understand you make the prefect environment for bacterial and viruses to grow, but I need you to up your offenses.  Why do you only play defense?

Disappointed Host

I’ve now had the displeasure of strep throat twice as an adult.  It was bad enough as a kid that I could have happily persisted never having it again.  I so love my little petri dish children though.  As long as snot or some other unknown colorful substance is not present surrounding their mouths, I’ll happily accept their kisses when offered.  If there was any reason for me to suspect illness, I’ll hug and kiss them on the forehead instead.

There are just not always signs.  It’s amazing how resilient kids are.  Most of the time, they bring us their post-millennial (I’m guessing they’ll become the droid generation with technological implants because pushing buttons becomes to much work) bugs unknowingly with no real symptoms.  Then the adults get a sinus infection or bronchitis.  Other viruses get them that we have built an immunity for.  This seems like the expected course of nature.  We need to be well to tend to sick children!  You’re up all night taking temps, re-positioning, and giving medications.  Why yes, I have no PhD, but I answer to Dr. Mom!  This is fine.  Exhausting, sad and miserable, but I’ll manage.  It’s a whole new ballgame when my husband and/or I catch the illness too.  When can I tap out?

Luckily, my husband did not catch this round.  I missed a prior stomach bug and a respiratory infection that got the house down so my ego of the superior immune system was destined to be smashed quickly.

Thursday morning it was 50 degrees!  This is a heat wave in the arctic we’ve been living in.  Woke up early.  Noticed the right tonsil.  That’s it.  Observed I could feel it’s presence in my body with no effort and wondered if the good ole allergies were acting up.  Continued morning routine with coffee. Eager to start the run.  It was going to be the most glorious workout in weeks at this temperature.  It wasn’t.  It was the WORST.  This insane labored event I’d like to forget ever happened where I just got slower, thirsty and more miserable each minute.  My husband asked why I’d returned so quick and I told him I thought I was getting sick. It’s a dreaded phrase in a house of minions.

The daily activities still had to continue.  Kids had school to get to, but I was starting to run a fever pretty quickly.  Thank God Daniel was not traveling this week.  There’s no way I would have managed.  I worked a full day and immediately went to bed.  I couldn’t hold my head up.  Had alternated tylenol and advil just to keep the fever in check all day.  By night, I couldn’t swallow.  The year prior when I got strep I waiting entirely too long to go to the doctor.  Kids bring viruses and I don’t want to pay for them to say, “It’s a virus.  Nothing we can do.  Good luck and here’s your bill”.  This time, I wouldn’t have cared the cost.  I took as much medicine as I could get down to function and was off to the doctor who confirmed it was strep again.

One large annoyance, with exception of the bacteria itself, is this somehow isn’t a big deal to everyone.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it isn’t for them!!! I hear the 24 hours on antibiotics and you’ll feel better.  Or the story the last year practitioner told me how she walked around for a month not feeling great, but no sore throat so hadn’t checked strep to find out that was what she had.  Or the pharmacist technician who said she never caught strep when her kids did.  Seriously, I am dying here!  I couldn’t even figure out where I caught it until my youngest started having a rash a few days after my onset.  Hers was going untreated because she had no fever or complaints on her throat.

‘Tis why I have filed a complaint.  My body just lets strep take right on over.  I get all the symptoms.  After three days on antibiotics, I’m still running a temperature.  Alternating pain meds to live.  I go to Urgent Treatment where I wait 2 hours, but get a shot of antibiotics and steroids and a new prescription of stronger antibiotics.

The only perk, and really, I shouldn’t call it a perk.  It wasn’t worth this and I’d rather be running….. I’ve lost weight.  Nothing but protein shakes or bone broth for days now.  Cannot swallow solid foods!  Daniel has been joking he bought some streptocococcus to help my goals and we should sell it.  His sense of humor truly ignoring all my misery.  Or even his, for that matter, as he takes full care of everything.

Here’s a super gross picture of some stuff hanging around my tonsils.  Seems wrong not to share it now.

2 thoughts on “Strep Throat”

  1. LOL. Been there. I always get the repeat offender of ear infection. It never shows a temp, acts just like my allergies so its a crap shoot going to the dr with ear issues. I feel your pain though.

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