I’m home from deployment, as is my son. We’re having a really great family holiday. However. About 3 days after getting home, I started up with the worst sore throat I’ve ever had. Bad enough to nessecitate a christmas day ED trip. Now, my throat has been hurting so badly that I haven’t been eating, and have been taking copious amounts of motrin. In the car on the way to the ED, this all came to a head, and I walked into the ED covered in puke. I begged for scrubs to change into, but was made to sit in the waiting room filling out paperwork before they would even deign to speak to me. This was unpleasant, but I did get seen eventually.
What is really unpleasant is the cycle I seem to be stuck in…I have to take zofran, to keep from being nauseated, so I can take vicodin, which is just barely taking the edge off my throat enough to eat. The vicodin is making me itchy, so I have to take Benadryl to try and stop itching. Then the zofran wears off. And I throw up the food I just ate. I really hope my throat stops hurting soon. This sucks.
But I’m sitting here on the couch beside my son, home safe from Iraq. That’s great.
I had my own pill-induced nightmare yesterday which I won’t get into here, but from one drugged-out Christmas victim to another, good luck And enjoy the rest of your holiday and all that. At least you’re home safe.
[[[[[Lucretia]]]]]]
I’m glad to hear everybody is safe and you got to spend a little time together. Thank you for the card, I received it the other day.
I hope the medication starts working soon, and if they didn’t already tell you, try gargling with warm salt water a little bit. It helps kill the bacteria and soothe your throat at the same time. It’s always worked for me.
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. I actually feel better today, and can eat without crying, which is good. I’m glad you got my card, Ladyfoxfyre, and thanks for the suggestion!
I feel ya, Lucretia. The weekend before Christmas my throat was so sore that I was popping Aleve and Tylenol constantly and basically drinking Chloraseptic to numb my throat. Christmas Eve saw a visit to a doc-in-a-box for a course of antibiotics for the ear infection that was causing the irritation.
No Vicodin or codeine or anything for me – the codeine derivatives don’t do much for me pain-wise anyway, but I’m sorry for your nausea and your itching. Have you considered asking the doc next time for a painkiller you’re not allergic to? Say Darvocet or something else?
I hope you are feeling better, Bambi. The incompatibility with opiates is actually a newish thing, starting with morphine affecting me that way after a procedure I had about 6 months ago. Before then I’d never really had a problem, and since I don’t take opiate painkillers all that often, I wasn’t sure if it was a real sensitivity or just a one time situational thing. It seems that it’s a real sensitivity, and I will definitely be bringing it up the next time I need prescription analgesics. For now, mercifully, the pain has decreased to the point that the occasional motrin is handling it.
Much better, thank you. Sucks about the opiates, since that’s basically What You Get for severe pain. A lot of people experience itching and rash with one opiate but not another, so it’s definitely something for you and your doctor to look into.
I’ve never had anything stiffer than hydrocodone, which didn’t do anything more for me than acetaminophen does. It’s hard telling that to a doctor, though – “Hey doc, Vicodin just doesn’t do it for me – how about Percocet or OxyContin?” – without looking like a pill-seeker.
Oh, I will definitely be discussing it next time. It may be that I just have to take benadryl along with whatever else. I know what you mean…it often does look to healthcare providers like you are drug seeking if you request “something stronger”. Do you have a regular physician, that knows you? That can help with the problem if you have a provider in your corner.
The rare times I’ve needed prescription analgesics have been related to office procedures – most recently, I had both of my great toenails removed and phenolized over the course of three visits during about 15 months. So he wasn’t my regular doctor – had the pain been much worse, I would have gone to my PCP and gotten something stronger, but I’m to the point I’ll ordinarily just put up with it.
Interesting (to me, anyway) side note: the chemical used to kill the cells responsible for growing my toenails is the same as active ingredient in the Chloraseptic I spent the previous weekend pouring down my throat.
Hope you’re feeling better, Lucretia, and I’m glad that you and your son are together. It sucks being overseas during the holidays.
I had to take emergency leave while I was stationed in Japan once. I had to attend a funeral when I arrived, and came down with a massive migraine afterwards. I was at my in-laws’, and asked if they had any Advil.
“Sure, it’s in the kitchen cupboard”. I took two, and slept for 22 hours straight.
When I asked them about the Advil, my MIL said “Did you take the pills in the brown bottle?”
When I said yes, she informed me that I’d accidently taken my FIL’s Thorazine instead. :eek:
Good thing that I didn’t have a Whiz Quiz when I got back to my boat!
Well, holy crap, hey there! Yeah, it’s been that long, and yes, he’s all growed up, and a veteran of a foreign war, no less, though I don’t see him hanging out at the local VFW anytime soon.
And enjoy the rest of your holiday and all that. At least you’re home safe.