Help! I Think I Have Strep Throat!

[MamaTrain]

Hey guys! I woke up a little sick on Turkey Day and then started feeling really bad when I was shopping on Black Friday. I thought I was getting something but by the afternoon I was MISERABLE and in bed! My first thought was H1N1 but then I looked in my throat and saw I had some white spots forming. Today it is very VERY sore! I have a fever of 101 but I'm taking pain relievers. My question is have any of you had any negative experiences to antibiotics? I know they will say I have to take them if it's strep! Help me 'Thankful' I need a professional opinion!!! LOL!

KC

[juliegee]

Sorry KC- What a way to spend the holiday weekend :-( Unless you're allergic you should do fine with antibiotics. Some folks even feel better on them. Let us know what you find out.

Julie

[Maxine]

Do you have an urgent care facility where you can get a throat culture? I had strep throat last year on Christmas Day. We had to go to an ER to get a throat culture, and it was positive for strep throat. On Christmas Eve I felt terrible, but went to our family gathering anyway thinking I was getting over whatever it was I had. I didn't have the fever anymore, and just felt weak. Thankfully no one got it, as I didn't get close to anyone.

When they did the throat culture I could see the swab and I knew it would be positive for strep. My throat wasn't that sore to begin with, so I wasn't sure I had strep. I did have a high fever, and my body hurt so bad all over, I thought my spine was splitting. I was in a lot more pain then my usual, and it began so suddenly. During the day I was baking christmas cookies with my nieces and nephews, and I thought maybe I over did it. Then in the middle of the night I woke up with a fever and a racing heart. Christmas day I had a glass of orange juice, and it felt like I was swollowing razor blades----even though my throat wasn't that sore to begin with. It must have been raw for the orange juice to hurt it so badly. This is what helped me make the decision to go get the throat culture.

I was able to tolerate ceftin antibiotics-----250mgs twice a day with no noticable side affects.

I hope you feel better soon! Take care of yourself. I know what a bummer it is to be sick on the holidays.

HUGS,

Maxine :0)

[potsgirl]

I've taken a couple of different antibiotics, and actually felt better while taking them.

Cheers, and hope you feel better soon,

Jana

[MamaTrain]

Thank you guys sooooo much! I am going to go see my doc on Monday. He works at the urgent care here in town on Mon/Wed so I'd rather wait to see him since he knows what is up with me. It's too late to go now anyway. I thought my body would freak out dealing with this fever but it really isnt so bad. I notice when the medicine wears off I can feel my heart racing/palpitating more but then it settles down when I take another round of meds! I appreciate your guys' input....I would have gone completely crazy if I hadnt found this site!

KC :-)

[scarfgirl]

Antibiotics are practically a necessity for me

[Stormie74]

I wish I didn't have so many allergic reactions to antibiotics! It seems like no matter which one I take, I get a reaction to it. I'm a strep carrier, so I get strep problems all the time. Feel better!!!

Caron

[icthus]

My doctor wanted to put me on a low-dose antibiotic because there are some who actually respond really well to this treatment. I'm one of those. Every time I go on an antibiotic for another reason, I have a few good weeks that follow. The same holds true for goldenseal tea - I usually have a good night if I drink that tea.

BUT... I've been told that the goldenseal tea can only be taken moderately, and then it even must be stopped for a period of time. Also, I declined the low-dose antibiotic because there are other side effects that made it not a viable option.

That said, if your doctor does put you on the antibiotic, you might consider seeing how your symptoms are during the next few weeks after you stop the meds - if there is improvement or not. Just a thought.

Hope you get well soon.

[MamaTrain]

Hey all! Thanks for your thoughts. It's interesting to me that some would feel better on antibiotics. I saw the doc and it's strep and tonsillitis! He said I need to a round on antibiotics and I told him I usually only take Zithromax but it had been quite awhile since I had taken them and certainly not since all this started. He gave me that oh stop worrying about everythink you take look and said it should be fine if you've done well on it before. I really HATE it when people do that. They have NO IDEA what this is like and I would cut off my left arm to never go back to how I felt last December! I'll let you guys know how I do on the med.

Thanks again!

KC

[Sunfish]

glad you saw your doc & hope you're soon feeling better.

while it's a bit after-the-fact now, the "official" answer re: dysautonomia & antibiotics is that there is no more chance of any negative reaction than there is in the general population. as you've seen already there are of course individuals with experiences that range from A to Z (and everywhere in between).

personally i would have died years ago without hard-core, intravenous antibiotics (many times over) but i am certainly the exception rather than the norm. that said, antibiotics certainly have there time & place when used appropriately and generally speaking anyone with a chronic &/or serious underlying illness will be worse off if an underlying illness goes untreated (as long as it is an illness that requires/ responds to antibiotics in the first place, i.e. NOT a virus!!). this doesn't preclude the rare reaction but fear of such a reaction is certainly no reason to not take something when genuinely indicated. and a "negative" reaction does not even always mean an abx is off limits....depending on the specific circumstance. (for instance, i do react allergically to one particular antibiotic, but the allergy isn't life-threatening & the bacterial infection it helped kill of was, so carefully monitored i'm still much better off with it than without.)

at the other end of the spectrum antibiotics are very much OVERutilized this day & age so it's important to only take them when indicated by positive cultures, etc and not "just" feeling ill, mild fever, etc......even for those with underlying illnesses that make being sick more of an issue than the general population. it is no exaggeration to say that overusing antibiotics will directly increase the chances that they will not work when you do need them...not only on the global spectrum but for each person individually.

hope this helps, & feel better soon!!!

melissa

[MamaTrain]

Thanks for your reply Sunfish! I think this was the right call on the antibiotics as the strep virus can do damage to other parts if left untreated. Only time will tell how I will feel when this is all said and done. After my initial dose yesterday I felt "odd" for about 30mins and then it was fine. I really struggled with racing heart yesterday. The fever makes it really race. Anytime I get hot it just goes crazy so I guess that is to be expected. Does anyone else have the racing heart when they get hot thing? I mean like even a heating pad on your back can set you off type of thing!

KC