Gross title, I know. But apt if you were to step into my life this very day.
I've had a cough/cold/stuffy head for over two weeks now. We all know I get angry about my own (and others'!) lack of health insurance, but at times like this that anger really flares up. I am confident that this is a cold. I am not being helped much by over-the-counter medicines and, now that the cold seems to be morphing into a sinus infection, I feel that I may soon want a doctor's help/antibiotic prescription. But I won't go to the doctor for this. First off, I don't have a general practitioner anymore. Used to have one but, as per UGA policy, I can't go see her now that I'm not affiliated with the university. Alumni not welcome. Wah. Never bothered getting another GP because, well--I had no insurance and no inclination to drop a few hundred bucks to see a doctor just so I could establish a relationship with him/her.
So now I'm green-snotted and stuffy-headed. Sinus infections can be extra obnoxious for us migraineurs, as we're oft used to having stuffy heads related to migraine attacks. Stuffy heads can lead to migraines or be a side effect of certain stages of migraine. I don't want my stuffed self to turn into stuffed-and-migrainey self. So far so good, but still.
I'm so mad that I can't call up a friendly doctor and say, "Hey there, this is your patient, Janet! What's going on? Listen, I'm feeling icky and think I might have a sinus infection. Could you be old-fashioned-doc for a sec and call in a prescription for me? Oh, you can't? That's okay--how about I make a drop-in visit to your office this afternoon. Cool? Cool."
Last time I made a doctor's appointment I was told it'd be over TWO MONTHS 'til I could get in to see the doctor. That two months is almost up--I have my appointment with this guy in mid-December. Many an Athenian has told me he can work wonders with migraineurs, focusing on lifestyle changes. I love a good holistic doctor who's not a quack--this guy is supposedly the real deal. I'll drop a couple hundred with fingers crossed and get back to you. It's gotta beat the rude service and hyper-prescribing tactics I ended up encountering at my neurologist's office.
Scratch that: EX-neurologist. I think I may have forgotten to mention that I dumped him a month or two ago. Yay, me! I gave him and his office a chance to keep me, but they didn't seem to give a crap. Alas.
Anywho. The 15+ day cold isn't much aggravating my head, though a big cough can certainly give me a burst of mild head pain. Ick.
I'm off to blow my nose. Jealous?
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8 comments:
pooor baby. get some won ton soup and rest
Oh no! Have you tried a neti pot, it's icky, but seriously, anytime I get a cold, I end up with a sinus infection. The last time I was sick, I started using the neti pot twice a day and didn't end up w/ the sinus infection, but maybe you can get the infected snot out of there!!!
Katherine, you are not the first to suggest the neti pot! As weird as it may seem, I have been wanting one for a lonnngg time yet haven't bought one yet. Now I need it! Will it still help me if the sinus infection has already made a home in my head?
In any case, it's probably time for me to get one.
It may not get rid of it, but if nothing else, it'll give you some relief! Buy a kit if you can, so you get the salt and neti pot. Make sure to put the sea salt in the water or it's like getting water in your nose when you're swimming.
Although, the other day at the Dr. she told me they no longer use green snot as an infection indicator. Green snot, a lot of times, just means really old snot that has been sitting up in your sinus for a loooong time!!
Ewwww! Old snot?! Well, my head has been stuffy for months, actually--maybe I needed this cold to rid myself of the old snot that's been plaguing my very existence.
So gross.
okay,now I'm gonna pipe up here. What Katherine said about the green stuff no longer indicating a sinus infection might be true (I say this as a skeptic and as one who used that sign to discover many a sinus infection in my past). I read recently in a few places---can't remember which papers or other source. But I didn't read any "old snot" part. It seems if the quoted doctors had said that,it mighta sold more newspapers and gotten more hits on sites, don'tcha think??
Old snot, new snot, green snot, blue snot: I'm gettin' rid of that crap ASAP! Tomorrow morning I have an appointment at a local health clinic. (Fingers crossed that the whole place is as friendly, helpful, and receptive as the woman I spoke with on the phone was!)
I guess I should have phrased it better. Green snot does not always indicate an infection, allergies and colds can also give you green snot. So the Dr I saw said nowadays it's not a completely reliable symptom for a sinus infection. They won't automatically assume "sinus infection! just because you have the green stuff!
Yes, get thee to a doctor and then to a neti-pot!!!!
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