And the diagnosis is...

[torquill]

It's flu.

It's been so long since I've had a lingering bout of it that I couldn't tell for sure... besides, I didn't get the usual signs of onset. Given that my tonsils sat it out until yesterday, then turned into raw meat again, I suspect the lack of warning was a sign of my currently dysfunctional immune system. Sigh. I also don't remember hurting this badly.

I went up to school today, partly to get checked out, partly so that I wouldn't miss the entire week of plant biotech (and finals review sessions for the other two classes). Dr. Kono heard me out, checked my temperature history (still at 99.5, down from 103 a couple of days ago), pronounced that it was probably flu, and told me "go home before you infect anyone else". She managed to delay me long enough that I missed plant biotech anyway -- given how stern she was about how I shouldn't be out among the general population while still contagious, I can't rule out that she did it deliberately.

I told her that if it weren't for the pain, I'd be okay. She didn't seem to take that seriously until I asked her whether I could take Aleve opposite Tylenol, because I was hitting the limits on Tylenol dosage and it sometimes wasn't quite enough.* She suggested some other OTC painkillers as well, and when I said that most of them don't work for me, she replied that all she had to offer were narcotics. Once I told her those was on the table, we had a little chat. It seems that she's sensitive to codeine as well (hallelujah!) and she has a much better grasp of the relationships between the opiate narcotics than I do. She had found her sensitivity to codeine/Vicodin when she had her wisdom teeth out, and said that throwing up when you have holes in your mouth is no fun. When I told her I needed something in case my tonsillectomy was painful, she visibly flinched at the thought of going through the experience with holes in your throat.

So in the interest of getting me to sleep a little better right now, and test-driving a possible backup painkiller for July, she gave me a scrip for Tramadol, the only non-regulated opiate narcotic. Apparently it doesn't have enough of an addiction potential to worry the government. She also suggested I look into Toradol, which is not an opiate at all, but needs an initial injection before the patient can switch to pills. (She doesn't know why either.)

I took a half-pill of Tramadol almost two hours ago, and I feel okay. My brain is kind of slow, which I expect from a narcotic, but I haven't had a trace of the horrible vertigo I get from codeine. The half-strength dose has taken the edge off my remaining aches... it remains to be seen whether it'll be potent enough to be worthwhile, but I'm tentatively ruling out the worst-case scenario with this one. I suspect the worst outcome I'll have now is that it simply might not work. Feeling drowsy is fine, as I want it mainly for sleeping... and if I'm in enough pain during the day to need more than Tylenol, I probably need to rest quietly anyway.

I brewed some bitter but potent herbal cough syrup yesterday, which worked well last night -- I had to take a second dose around 0100, but it did keep me from hacking up a lung while I was trying to sleep. Between that and the Tramadol, which makes me about as drowsy as Benadryl, maybe I'll actually get a decent night's sleep for the first time this week.

* Answer: naproxen is a cousin of ibuprofen, and either one is fine in combination with acetaminophen.


Whether I'll make it to class tomorrow is anyone's guess. I'm almost tempted to say "in for a penny" and write off the rest of the week, since I need to catch up anyway. Biotech's final review is Monday, and I need to do my own in the other two classes... and I need to rest in so many ways. Not sure I could justify going out to the Exploratorium for Pi day on Friday if I skive off, though. :)

I'll be going up Tuesday afternoon, I think, to catch the history TA's office hours and talk to a prospective advisor. No classes that day.

Comments

[catnip13.livejournal.com]

They gave me toradol in the hospital postpartum. It was very, very effective for me, and did not affect awareness at all. It's a NSAID, like ibuprofen, but much more potent.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

Makes me wonder what it would do for me, then. Ibuprofen works fine in its capacity as an anti-inflammatory (for swelling and such), but it really doesn't do much at all for my pain. Toradol might be different.

[foogod.livejournal.com]

Hmm.. I may need to look into Tramadol. I didn't know there were any non-regulated opiate-based painkillers out there. Might be useful if I run out of Vicodin at some point (or my supply gets old enough that it stops working, which is probably more likely to happen).

I haven't been looking forward to the point where I would need to go in to a doctor's office and ask for more Vicodin "just in case I need it" (yeah, that'd probably go over well), but given that no OTC stuff I've ever found has done anything, I do like to have some on hand for emergencies..

[amanda-nye.livejournal.com]

icky all around, though a viable pain alternative is certainly not a horrible thing... especially with the tonsils looming. I do hope you get better soon... It's been too long since you were feeling genuinely good