Why I Don't Do What I'm Told
This is why I wait.
They say you are supposed to go to the doctor if you aren't well 7-10 days after your symptoms start. For just about everything. When Kara was little, I used to wait a really long time, like 4 weeks. I was just so wrapped up in her life that I didn't realize how long I had been sick. (And I really was hoping I would just get well already on my own.) Of course, things got much worse when I did that. Several bouts of nasty tonsillitis that almost had them removing my tonsils as an adult, bronchitis that turned into pneumonia, and who can forget that abscess in my ear? Oh my. Never mind all the ear infections and sinus infections. That stuff just doesn't go away - it only makes things worse. At least mine did!
Anyway, after waiting so long for all those things, I got lecture after lecture of never, ever going more than 10 days again. For anything.
So, it seems like now that I go that soon, all I hear is, "it's probably a virus." Which is a fabulous way to spend a day - already feeling terribly, I have been for well over a week, take time to shower, dress, drive to the doctor, sit in the waiting room, pay my copay, wait, get weighed, wait, see a doctor, tell her my woes, just to hear, "I'm not doing anything. Thanks for coming in."
This round of bronchitis was just like that. 9 days in, I went to the doctor because my week was busy and it was the best time for me to go. By 9 days, I was feeling pretty miserable, I had to sleep sitting up, and the wheezing was getting nasty. So, I drove to the doctor (which will be much closer to our new house), waited around, and was seen by a sweet nurse practitioner who knew her stuff and kind of reminded me of one of my aunts. She explained to me that MOST cases of bronchitis are viral and she thought mine was too, so she wasn't going to give me any antibiotics. Well, I certainly don't want to take them if I don't need them, but wouldn't the virus be getting better at all by 9 days? I even asked her, "when should I be coming in for these things?" And she said 7-10 days, so I did it right. Okey dokey. She gave me cough medicine (that didn't help me - it just disturbed my sleep).
I got so much worse that evening. And so, so much worse the next day. And just two days later on day 11 I was absolutely decided I can't live like this. I needed help. Please. I beg of you. I was crying on the way to the appointment ready to absolutely beg them for something, anything that could help. I sat in the room waiting for the doctor to come in, I prayed that God would make it obvious to the doctor that it was bacterial and I needed antibiotics, or heal me quickly so this virus would pass. Either way, tell the doctor and tell me what it is. Well, God saw fit to ask the doctor for antibiotics. Every time I spoke, I couldn't catch my breath. My lungs were so irritated, this is how it had been for a while, but it was so bad while talking to him that it even made him chuckle. :-)
He gave me two shots, sent a prescription for steroids, antibiotics, and two more cough medicine options to the pharmacy that were ready for me to pick up by the time I arrived at the pharmacy. Bless you, doctor!
(And I woke up the NEXT DAY feeling so much better.)
And, like I said, THIS is why I wait. When I go to the doctor as things are getting bad, it just seems like a virus. The symptoms aren't bad enough. (This is no way the doctor's fault. They are doing their job right. A cold does not need serious antibiotics. I don't need to preach about the over-antibiotics issue and why it's bad for you.) But when I wait until my lungs are practically strangling me, I finally get results. Meaning, it is really, really not just a virus. I don't have to waste their time, or mine, or my money on a virus appointment.
They say you are supposed to go to the doctor if you aren't well 7-10 days after your symptoms start. For just about everything. When Kara was little, I used to wait a really long time, like 4 weeks. I was just so wrapped up in her life that I didn't realize how long I had been sick. (And I really was hoping I would just get well already on my own.) Of course, things got much worse when I did that. Several bouts of nasty tonsillitis that almost had them removing my tonsils as an adult, bronchitis that turned into pneumonia, and who can forget that abscess in my ear? Oh my. Never mind all the ear infections and sinus infections. That stuff just doesn't go away - it only makes things worse. At least mine did!
Anyway, after waiting so long for all those things, I got lecture after lecture of never, ever going more than 10 days again. For anything.
So, it seems like now that I go that soon, all I hear is, "it's probably a virus." Which is a fabulous way to spend a day - already feeling terribly, I have been for well over a week, take time to shower, dress, drive to the doctor, sit in the waiting room, pay my copay, wait, get weighed, wait, see a doctor, tell her my woes, just to hear, "I'm not doing anything. Thanks for coming in."
This round of bronchitis was just like that. 9 days in, I went to the doctor because my week was busy and it was the best time for me to go. By 9 days, I was feeling pretty miserable, I had to sleep sitting up, and the wheezing was getting nasty. So, I drove to the doctor (which will be much closer to our new house), waited around, and was seen by a sweet nurse practitioner who knew her stuff and kind of reminded me of one of my aunts. She explained to me that MOST cases of bronchitis are viral and she thought mine was too, so she wasn't going to give me any antibiotics. Well, I certainly don't want to take them if I don't need them, but wouldn't the virus be getting better at all by 9 days? I even asked her, "when should I be coming in for these things?" And she said 7-10 days, so I did it right. Okey dokey. She gave me cough medicine (that didn't help me - it just disturbed my sleep).
I got so much worse that evening. And so, so much worse the next day. And just two days later on day 11 I was absolutely decided I can't live like this. I needed help. Please. I beg of you. I was crying on the way to the appointment ready to absolutely beg them for something, anything that could help. I sat in the room waiting for the doctor to come in, I prayed that God would make it obvious to the doctor that it was bacterial and I needed antibiotics, or heal me quickly so this virus would pass. Either way, tell the doctor and tell me what it is. Well, God saw fit to ask the doctor for antibiotics. Every time I spoke, I couldn't catch my breath. My lungs were so irritated, this is how it had been for a while, but it was so bad while talking to him that it even made him chuckle. :-)
He gave me two shots, sent a prescription for steroids, antibiotics, and two more cough medicine options to the pharmacy that were ready for me to pick up by the time I arrived at the pharmacy. Bless you, doctor!
(And I woke up the NEXT DAY feeling so much better.)
And, like I said, THIS is why I wait. When I go to the doctor as things are getting bad, it just seems like a virus. The symptoms aren't bad enough. (This is no way the doctor's fault. They are doing their job right. A cold does not need serious antibiotics. I don't need to preach about the over-antibiotics issue and why it's bad for you.) But when I wait until my lungs are practically strangling me, I finally get results. Meaning, it is really, really not just a virus. I don't have to waste their time, or mine, or my money on a virus appointment.
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