Strep throat and Ear Infections.

SunnyDaysDontLie · February 2011

If any of you guys knew my medical history, you'd laugh. I never got the severe baby illnesses- chicken pox, pertussis, colic, etc. I always got ear infections and strep throat. Always. As soon as an ear infection would clear up in one ear, I'd have one in my other ear. At one point, I had two ear infections going at the same time. Once, one was so severe [and so severely misdiagnosed -_-] that I am now deaf in my left ear. And, I quote my brother "just be happy you can hear out of one ear!" Uh. Moron. I'd be happier if that idiot didn't receive his license to practice, and I'd be even happier if I got a doctor who could diagnose a middle ear infection properly. Anyhow. Once the ear infections stopped [I get swimmers ear every once in a while from team, but not often], I got strep throat at least 8 times a year. No, that is not a ballpark estimate. I literally got it 8 times a year. I guess, eventually, my body learned to recognize the cells and kill them. Somehow, though, I got it again for the first time in four years. And, as always, it started out with a migraine. I am prone to migraines. I don't know if they're stress/tension or if they're caused by a tumor or something. I hope it's just because I'm a high-stress person. I've been cranked out on Tylenol for two weeks. Then my nose started running, and I figured it was because it went from being 30 degrees to being 70 to being 40 degrees. Then my throat started hurting, and I started taking Nyquil along with Tylenol [not at the same time, of course]. It stopped my headache, but not my sore throat. Eventually, it got so bad that I could not speak without effort, could not swallow [I've been spitting into a cup for the past two days], could not eat, and could not drink anything. Mom let me stay home today, and took me to the doctor. A strep test incubates for 6 minutes. It took 2. This is by far the worse case of strep I've had in my lifetime, and I'm glad I stopped it because strep can go from strep to something worse if left untreated. Anyhow, I got a shot because my mom is lazy and didn't feel like going to Wally-World to fill a prescription. And, trust me, with how painful that shot was, I would have gladly swallowed the pill form of that medication, no matter how bad my throat hurts. So, now I'm sitting here, drinking Gatorade because I can swallow now, and finishing my homework, because, even with the option of missing school tomorrow, there is no way in hell I'm passing up the plans I have this weekend to skip another day. Besides, I already have eight pages of homework to make up. I just checked my teacher's websites

Anyone else on here get repetitive illnesses? What's the most severe case of strep [or any illness] you guys have gotten? Anyone else been misdiagnosed and have to live with it for the rest of their lives?

RoyalRaccoon · February 2011

I was the exact same way growing up. Never got any thing like chicken pox, and rarely even caught the flu, but I got tons and tons of strep throat and sinus infections. I remember working my butt off to win the school spelling bee, but I had to drop out, because I could not talk. I was so distraught over dropping out the day of the district spelling bee that I didn't even show up to support my alternate . My biggest problem is that my tonsils were, and still are, unusually larger than the average person, so if they swell I can actually have difficulty breathing. Thankfully, once you grow up you are less likely to get strep and ear infections. I don't think I've had a sore throat as a result of an infection in at least 4 years. Just try to find what works for reliving your discomfort(ramen and otterpops worked for me), so that you are prepared when an infection sets in. Hopefully you don't have too many more years of suffering ahead. Also, you should definitely work on decreasing your stress levels, because stress lowers the immune system, and prolonged stress can have severe side effects on your body. When it comes to tension headaches, taking pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications are not cures, they are temporary treatments. Identify want causes your stress, and then find ways to effectively deal with it such as meditation, massage, self-talking, or exercise, so that you don't have to take so much medication, which can also harm your body, and even cause you to have more headaches.

iluvdogs111 · February 2011

I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I got a TON of ear infections when I was little. Now, I've only had one in the past few years, thankfully. Right now I rarely get sick, only thing last year was a bad cold. A couple years ago was rough, but I'm doing okay now. I don't get migranes very often, but when I do it's bad. My head pounds, my mouth goes numb, I feel like I'll throw up, I see spots, I can't even talk right, it's kinda scary, and they last for hours at a time. :x

Sea Oats · February 2011

I have never once in my life had an ear infection, but I am prone to strep. Extremely prone to strep. Usually I wouldn't even have a sore throat when I went to bed, and I'd wake up with such severe pain and swelling that I could barely breathe. It hit me that fast. I used to get it multiple times a year, too. But I've since had my tonsils out and I don't have that problem anymore. I always got the shots because there was no way I was swallowing a pill (or liquid, for that matter), and the shot makes you feel better within a few hours, unlike the medication, which takes a few days to start working. It had gotten to the point though that they weren't giving me shots of penicillin in my butt anymore, they were giving me two adult doses of bicillin in my upper thigh, which had me not walking for a few days. That's when my doctor decided I needed to have my tonsils out. Other than that I've been a fairly healthy person. xD

SunnyDaysDontLie · February 2011

PrinceSushi wrote:

I was the exact same way growing up. Never got any thing like chicken pox, and rarely even caught the flu, but I got tons and tons of strep throat and sinus infections. I remember working my butt off to win the school spelling bee, but I had to drop out, because I could not talk. I was so distraught over dropping out the day of the district spelling bee that I didn't even show up to support my alternate . My biggest problem is that my tonsils were, and still are, unusually larger than the average person, so if they swell I can actually have difficulty breathing. Thankfully, once you grow up you are less likely to get strep and ear infections. I don't think I've had a sore throat as a result of an infection in at least 4 years. Just try to find what works for reliving your discomfort(ramen and otterpops worked for me), so that you are prepared when an infection sets in. Hopefully you don't have too many more years of suffering ahead. Also, you should definitely work on decreasing your stress levels, because stress lowers the immune system, and prolonged stress can have severe side effects on your body. When it comes to tension headaches, taking pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications are not cures, they are temporary treatments. Identify want causes your stress, and then find ways to effectively deal with it such as meditation, massage, self-talking, or exercise, so that you don't have to take so much medication, which can also harm your body, and even cause you to have more headaches.

I get the flu about once a year, and it puts me in bed for a week. I'm a generally healthy person, but I don't like to stop working. I used to procrastinate, but now I hate having not busy hands. In fact, I've been keeping busy all day, in between responding to a letter I received in the mail to typing to doing my homework so I can go to school tomorrow. And, I'm really upset, because it was at least 65 today, and I was unable to go for a walk.

I had a similar spelling bee incident, but I still took place in it xD I just sounded like I smoked twenty packs a day for thirty years, if you'll pardon the simile. I've been heating up Swanson's Chicken Broth with some green onions in it, salted and peppered, and drinking that. It's been pretty good.

I probably won't. See, my tonsils have shrunk a lot. Like you, mine were [and kind of still are] abnormally big. They used to take up the entire back of my throat, and whenever I'd get it, I was unable to swallow. What makes this episode of strep so much worse than the others is that I was able to see the white pockets of whatever that is on the back of my throat. I picked at it, which made it hurt worse, so I stopped. It kinda irritated me. I think what caused it is the fact that I drink after other people -constantly- if they offer me a drink of NOS or whatever sounds good. The last time I did, though, was after my buddy Jason at school, and he might be a carrier, now that I think of it. I don't know what my stress levels are, honestly, because I don't feel stressed unless it's exam week. I think I just work too hard at practice, and then I walk outside wearing a towel around my waist with no shoes on, normally, and then I come home, and warm up, and then I work my butt off at school, and then I come home, do my homework, etc etc. And I don't get a lot of sleep. I never have. I've always been a night owl.

iluvdogs111 wrote:

I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I got a TON of ear infections when I was little. Now, I've only had one in the past few years, thankfully. Right now I rarely get sick, only thing last year was a bad cold. A couple years ago was rough, but I'm doing okay now. I don't get migranes very often, but when I do it's bad. My head pounds, my mouth goes numb, I feel like I'll throw up, I see spots, I can't even talk right, it's kinda scary, and they last for hours at a time. :x

Last year, I had the H1N1 virus, which, in reality, was a load of crap. I don't see how it was different than the regular flu, other than I got over it faster. Instead of being out of school a week, I was out of school for three days. I wake up every morning with a headache. It's weird and kind of funny, because it's less of a headache and more like the start of one coming on. -_- But how you describe a migraine is exactly how one comes on for me.

Sea Oats wrote:

I have never once in my life had an ear infection, but I am prone to strep. Extremely prone to strep. Usually I wouldn't even have a sore throat when I went to bed, and I'd wake up with such severe pain and swelling that I could barely breathe. It hit me that fast. I used to get it multiple times a year, too. But I've since had my tonsils out and I don't have that problem anymore. I always got the shots because there was no way I was swallowing a pill (or liquid, for that matter), and the shot makes you feel better within a few hours, unlike the medication, which takes a few days to start working. It had gotten to the point though that they weren't giving me shots of penicillin in my butt anymore, they were giving me two adult doses of bicillin in my upper thigh, which had me not walking for a few days. That's when my doctor decided I needed to have my tonsils out. Other than that I've been a fairly healthy person. xD

That's usually how it happens for me. Or, I'll completely bypass the sore throat and get a rash. Mom won't let me get my tonsils out because they shrink as you age, and the shot did make me feel better. I've been up and around the house, and my throat doesn't hurt near as much, but my leg does, now. -_- Paco leaned on it when he jumped off my lap, and I almost yelped xD I hated the penicillin butt shots

But I get the bicillin in my upper thigh, because, once again, mom made me. And now my leg hurts. It won't put me off my feet, though, but it does hurt.

Cybergirl · February 2011

We can be sick together >.> I currently have an upper respiratory infection, an ear ache, and irritated red bumps on my throat. So basically, I get to feel like I have strep(on top of everything else), but I dont. I used to always get strep when I was little. And I had ear infections like they were going out of style. I also got swimmers ear all the time cause I never got out of the water. I still get that often. The past couple years Ive had the flu, but not this year. And I also get sinus drainage and infections all the time. But anyways, I hope you feel better (:

KittKattize · February 2011

I am prone to migraines. I get one at least once a week when not working or in school, but in school with stress I get them at least 4 times a week. My body has now adapted to the Tylenol and I had to switch to Advil. The Advil Liquid Gels are like heaven in a bottle! When I have a migraine I literally cannot move. I can't open my eyes, I can't have any noise and there cannot be any light at all, otherwise I get sick to my stomach which only makes the migraine worse. Once I switched over to Advil my migraines were completely gone within 15 minutes. Maybe if you switched to Advil that could at least help your migraines. Tylenol only numbs them for a bit and even so it takes 30 minutes for any kind of numbing to happen. I'm also prone to getting the flu, although I've been lucky this year so far! *knocks on wood*

SunnyDaysDontLie · February 2011

KittKattize wrote:

I am prone to migraines. I get one at least once a week when not working or in school, but in school with stress I get them at least 4 times a week. My body has now adapted to the Tylenol and I had to switch to Advil. The Advil Liquid Gels are like heaven in a bottle! When I have a migraine I literally cannot move. I can't open my eyes, I can't have any noise and there cannot be any light at all, otherwise I get sick to my stomach which only makes the migraine worse. Once I switched over to Advil my migraines were completely gone within 15 minutes. Maybe if you switched to Advil that could at least help your migraines. Tylenol only numbs them for a bit and even so it takes 30 minutes for any kind of numbing to happen. I'm also prone to getting the flu, although I've been lucky this year so far! *knocks on wood*

I'm the exact same way. I have to cover up my windows with thick blankets. My brother, who is annoyingly loud, has to be a mouse. I can't text, read, talk, I can barely swallow. No TV or any humming noise can be heard or I cringe. My parents force me to go to school with them, and it's horrible.

Excederin helps a lot with them if I take them as soon as I feel a migraine come on. Otherwise I'm screwed. If I take them in the middle, I have to live through them.

Howdy, Stranger!

Strep throat and Ear Infections.

Comments