Glerg

I couldn't think of a better way to describe how I have felt the last few days. Tired. Congested. Little to no voice. Just gross.

I woke up Friday morning with no voice, so I emailed in sick. Monday and Tuesday I sucked it up and went back to work. Tuesday night I get home and notice that the left side of my face is a little puffy. It was a subtle puffiness, so I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or if it really was puffy. For long-time readers of this blog, I haven't had good luck when my faces swells up. But unlike last time, It didn't hurt, it isn't throbbing, getting worse, or hot. Basically, it didn't feel like an infection. So... I went to bed.

I woke up this morning with even less of a voice. I haven't been sleeping well due to all of this crap, so I was exhausted. I emailed in sick and went back to sleep. When I woke up I checked my face. It wasn't any worse, but I decided to call my dentist anyway. Since the last time my face got puffy I ended up in the ER and eventually had a root canal, it seemed like a good place to start. Plus, I really like my dentist. I was told to come in at 2:30 and she would take a look.

As soon as I walked in the door she looked at me and said, "Are you swollen?" I told her I thought I was but it was fairly subtle. Then she did the same thing I had been doing since last night. Well, maybe.. or maybe not...... But, she decided to take a couple of xrays to be on the safe side and take a look. She tapped on my teeth and poked around. All was good. She said there was no evidence of any infection or anything. And since I had just been in two weeks ago for a check-up and she said the same thing, I felt pretty good about it.

So, from there I drove out to one of the urgent care clinics in town. I swear, the PA who saw me must've been about twelve years old. But, after some fairly minor tests, he said, "Allergies. Bad ones." No sign of a sinus infection, yet. I asked about the slight puffiness and he said it isn't unusual, but that it was good I went to the dentist to rule that out.

We talked about my options and I decided to try a different type of allergy medicine (Allegra instead of Claritin). He gave me some samples of Cingulair (which I took while in Mississippi), a sample of a stronger type of nasal spray, and a new inhaler. I'll see how that goes for the next couple of weeks. If it doesn't do much to help I'm going to consider a steroid shot.

I'm not a fan of getting a steroid shot, but he said one shot would not give me the main side affect I was worried about: weight gain. I've never gone that route for allergies, but I know a few people who have and they said it was like magic. After suffering through these allergies for a second year in a row, I may give it a try. Since this wasn't my regular doctor's office, I'll probably call my doctor to get her opinion before I go any further.

As I was having my prescriptions filled I realized I hadn't had any coffee yet. As a someone who drinks more coffee than I should, this would explain part of the throbbing headache. And, seriously, y'all, a couple sips of black coffee and my world got just a little bit better. The sign of a true addict.

As I was leaving the pharmacy, a woman was asking people to sign a couple of petitions. One of them I was willing to sign, the other I wasn't. When I finished she asked me if I was familiar with Obama's healthcare. Yes, I said. Was I interested in repealing it? No, I told her. As I began to walk away and she began to turn around, she stopped and turned back towards me and said, in a tone of voice that sounded like she was trying to justify what she was doing, "I'm just doing my job." I nodded and said, "I know."

For some reason, that little interaction made my day.