ill

[Blueintheface]

I'm in the same boat. Check out these boulders:

Yep, mine are nearly identical. I gag just thinking about them back there.

[wuapinmon]

Yep, mine are nearly identical. I gag just thinking about them back there.

Don't ever get fat. You'll have to have a CPAP machine for sleep apnea.

[Blueintheface]

Don't ever get fat. You'll have to have a CPAP machine for sleep apnea.

My wife has been sleeping with one now for 2 months. When it slips off of her face in the middle of the night I begin dreaming that the Big Bad Wolf is trying to blow my house down.

[RobinFinderson]

Wow, that's the shortest uvula I've ever seen. The teeth are very nice though. Could be worse:

Thanks for the compliment on the teeth! Regarding the short uvula, like, I KNOW! If I ever get my tonsils pulled, I'm thinking of getting a uvulal implant at the same time. I don't care that some people say it is pure vanity, but a man should feel comfortable in his own skin, and if a uvulal implant is all that stands between a man and his inner peace, then I figure they might as well take care of that while they're working under the hood.

And btw, that thing they say about the length of a man's uvula? Not true in the least. Maybe even the opposite.

[TripletDaddy]

Yes, I was exaggerating, but only a little:

http://www.sdl.academic.chula.ac.th/Sore%20Throat/Antibiotics%20for%20sore%20throat.htm

Compare that to the 25-hour decrease in duration afforded by dexamethasone:

http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/18468831

Maybe that's why DDD's doc has to give out movie tickets to get patients...

I thought of your post when I was talking to the doc. He offered me two choices...pill form (amox) or injection (penicillin). Since there is no way I will voluntarily choose a needle, I went with the pills. When I asked if I could have the med you suggested, he said a codeine type pill would do the trick. I didn't press the issue because I didn't want him to think I was a Utah pill junkie looking for a specific drug (although the positive strep test would likely give me a littl cred).

Was he up in the night for offering me those choices for a positive strep test? I went with the amox for the next 10 days. I took the codeine and some Advil and the pain went away VERY quickly. At least I was able to eat some food finally.

[Donuthole]

I thought of your post when I was talking to the doc. He offered me two choices...pill form (amox) or injection (penicillin). Since there is no way I will voluntarily choose a needle, I went with the pills. When I asked if I could have the med you suggested, he said a codeine type pill would do the trick. I didn't press the issue because I didn't want him to think I was a Utah pill junkie looking for a specific drug (although the positive strep test would likely give me a littl cred).

Was he up in the night for offering me those choices for a positive strep test? I went with the amox for the next 10 days. I took the codeine and some Advil and the pain went away VERY quickly. At least I was able to eat some food finally.

I'll take a penicillin shot any time over taking pills for 10 days. 5 seconds of discomfort and (maybe) a little soreness are definitely worth not having to remember to take pills for 10 days.

[TripletDaddy]

I'll take a penicillin shot any time over taking pills for 10 days. 5 seconds of discomfort and (maybe) a little soreness are definitely worth not having to remember to take pills for 10 days.

I'm terrified of needles. I'm not as scared of pills although you could make an argument that flintstones vitamins are kind of freaky looking.

[ERCougar]

I thought of your post when I was talking to the doc. He offered me two choices...pill form (amox) or injection (penicillin). Since there is no way I will voluntarily choose a needle, I went with the pills. When I asked if I could have the med you suggested, he said a codeine type pill would do the trick. I didn't press the issue because I didn't want him to think I was a Utah pill junkie looking for a specific drug (although the positive strep test would likely give me a littl cred).

Was he up in the night for offering me those choices for a positive strep test? I went with the amox for the next 10 days. I took the codeine and some Advil and the pain went away VERY quickly. At least I was able to eat some food finally.

No, those are good choices. At least he didn't give you a Z-pack--that irritates me to no end.

I was going to be a smarta$$ and respond to your other post about pain killers working with this:
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/165/9/1203.full.pdf
or this:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/716389_2

or bunches of others.

To save you the reading, Tylenol 3 works about as well as ibuprofen, only with more nausea and vomiting, and the occasional death due to being a hyper-metabolizer (codeine is converted to morphine by the liver--some people do this really well, and then die). In sum, it's a terrible drug--it doesn't work that well, it's occasionally (albeit rarely) dangerous, and it causes more nausea than either Lortab or Percocet.

No, T3's are not a substitute for steroid. Sort of funny that he would even say that. I guess he was just saying the steroid was for pain control only?

Anyway, after all that--hope you're feeling better.

[mtnbiker]

No, those are good choices. At least he didn't give you a Z-pack--that irritates me to no end.

So, out of curiosity, what do you dislike about a z-pack? Is it useful for anything? I've had pneumonia a couple of times in the past couple of years, and the doc has given me a z-pack. Didn't seem to knock the pneumonia down very fast; took until the last day of the series, if I remember correctly.

[hostile]

So, out of curiosity, what do you dislike about a z-pack? Is it useful for anything? I've had pneumonia a couple of times in the past couple of years, and the doc has given me a z-pack. Didn't seem to knock the pneumonia down very fast; took until the last day of the series, if I remember correctly.

Pneumonia does not equal strep throat. Strep throat is exactly what it says it is - infection caused by Streptococcus bacteria. When you know the bacteria and that it is uniformly susceptible to a generic antibiotic that will kill the bug there is no need to use a "shotgun" approach with the z-pac. Pneumonia is a lung infection that is usually treated with antibiotics to cover the most common organisms, since you don't have a definitive culture diagnosis. Since there are more than one potential organisms, a wider-spectrum antibiotic is used. (ER - if I missed this feel free to correct and make fun; it's been a very long time since I treated either of these)

[Jarid in Cedar]

Pneumonia does not equal strep throat. Strep throat is exactly what it says it is - infection caused by Streptococcus bacteria. When you know the bacteria and that it is uniformly susceptible to a generic antibiotic that will kill the bug there is no need to use a "shotgun" approach with the z-pac. Pneumonia is a lung infection that is usually treated with antibiotics to cover the most common organisms, since you don't have a definitive culture diagnosis. Since there are more than one potential organisms, a wider-spectrum antibiotic is used. (ER - if I missed this feel free to correct and make fun; it's been a very long time since I treated either of these)

You hit the major points

[myboynoah]

Nope, I'm not sick this week.

Thank you for asking.

[ERCougar]

So, out of curiosity, what do you dislike about a z-pack? Is it useful for anything? I've had pneumonia a couple of times in the past couple of years, and the doc has given me a z-pack. Didn't seem to knock the pneumonia down very fast; took until the last day of the series, if I remember correctly.

hostile has it right, but just to go a step further, Strep throat is caused by Group A Strep, which must be the wimpiest/least creative bacterium alive because it's still completely susceptible to penicillin.

Z-pack is an appropriate choice for pneumonia. It's not for strep throat. (nor is it for bronchitis or sinusitis, neither of which require antibiotics in the vast majority of cases, but we'll save that for the next public health discussion...)

[BlueHair]

Don't want to toot my own horn, but my body's immune system ROCKS! I have a few little sniffles...but I have been sick 2 times in the past 15 years. 11 years ago, I had the flu for 2 days. 6 years ago, I was out for 2 days with flu-like symptoms. Other than that, a fine well tuned (and oiled) machine.

Sorry about your throat. I have no words of advice.

I'm the same way. I haven't puked since July 3, 1987, and that was from drinking everclear straight. I'm starting to wonder if I have a weak immune system, though. I've had doctors and dentists ask me if I have a sore throat because it is so red and raw, but it never hurts. Maybe I get sick, but my body doesn't let me know.

[hostile]

hostile has it right, but just to go a step further, Strep throat is caused by Group A Strep, which must be the wimpiest/least creative bacterium alive because it's still completely susceptible to penicillin.

Except for when it causes Necrotizing Fasciitis.