Oh, what a night!

So I spent last weekend curled up in pain dealing with what I assumed was a migraine, but wasn't quite like other migraines I'd had.

And I was exhausted all week. But exhaustion is normal for my life.

Then yesterday morning I wake up with full-body pain. the pads on the bottoms of my toes burned. I've had fibromyalgia for fifteen years, so I figured I was in for another round of pain.

At the end of my work day, I began to get cold. Shivery cold. My workplace is often ridiculously cold, but I soon realized that no one else was shivering despite having on a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, a coat and a blanket.

I head home.

With the heater full-blast, I finally stop shivering. I don't really remember much about driving home and, in retrospect, shouldn't have done that. I sat out in the warm car in the driveway and napped a bit after getting home.

Eventually, I made it to the couch. The kids covered me with blankets and Dowlan took them off to play. Doctor Melody returned for awhile to take my blood pressure, my temperature and write thorough notes on a clipboard that pertained to my allergies and what I'd most recently eaten. After Doctor Dixie gave me a shot and drew a picture for me, Dowlan took them all out for 'chicken and a playground'.

In that time, I was pretty delirious. I am not sure if I was hallucinating or having really vivid dreams, but apparently Dowlan found me really out of it when he got home. Muttering and shivering. Fever at 104.8

Theraflu, Motrin, Tylenol and a cool bath later, things made a bit more sense. I felt a bit more human. The dreams were still strange, but at least I knew they were dreams. In the middle of the night, I awoke feeling like there was something covering my nose because i couldn't breathe in. No runny nose, no sneezing. Just like there wasn't enough space in there.

This morning, the body-pain was gone and the throat pain had begun. I called in for a doctor appointment at a low-cost clinic and was in and out all day. Every time I woke up, I woke up startled and freaking out that I'd overslept and missed my appointment.

Then I head for my appointment. It's in a town ten miles north of here that I'm not as familiar with. I get lost twice and am freaking out that I will be late and they will not see me.

The wait may have been long, but I slept through most of it. I think I fell asleep twice while they were checking me in. I remember startling to and looking up at the lady who awaited an answer.

The doctor is perhaps the nicest doctor I've ever had. He gave me the good once-over, asked the pertinent questions and diagnosed me with an ear infection, a sinus infection and what he referred to as 'raging strep' before writing me an antibiotic prescription. I wish he'd done a flu test, given how badly I felt yesterday, but the strep could also explain that.

I was surprised to have strep, as my throat only began hurting today. But considering I feel like I'm swallowing razor blades, it isn't that surprising.

I was surprised to have a sinus infection, as I have no sneezing or drainage. He said everything is swollen in there and I have polyps. I'll have to google that. No wonder it felt like their wasn't room to breathe.

I am pleased to report, however, that the antibiotics are working and that I am definitely on the upward path.