In my last post I mentioned that I've been sick since the weekend. I'm still in pretty rough shape. On Tuesday, I went to the doctor and was tested for strep (I'd tested negative for COVID on Sunday and again on Monday). The rapid strep test came back negative, but the doctor looked at my throat and decided to go ahead and treat me for it anyway because I had white sores all over the place. She also said she wasn't going to bother sending a culture to the lab.
The next morning, I woke up with more white sores all over my tongue, gums, and roof of my mouth. There are also several places where my gums and roof of my mouth are swollen, and one spot where there's a hole in my gums. So it began to seem that it really might not be strep, but I gave the antibiotics another 24 hours to see if there was any improvement.
This morning I woke up with more sores in my mouth, and the hole in my gums had gotten bigger, so I decided I better check in with my dentist.
I did my hair and make-up for the first time in a week (and I totally looked like a supermodel - that's the exciting aspect of letting myself go for so long - I highly recommend it), numbed my mouth with Orajel (I'm an addict and overdoser at this point), and headed to the dentist.
What I thought would most likely happen: they would tell me I have a virus and that I just have to suck it up.
What I hoped would actually happen: they would tell me about their exciting new laser treatment for mouth sores that would be covered by my insurance and offer immediate relief. I would get lasered. My mouth would feel great. They would send me home with a complimentary tank of nitrous oxide so I could gas myself into a happy place to make up for the last several days of misery and pain.
Of course, it was the former.
The hygienist asked, "Do you ever get cold sores?"
And from then I knew what was coming... they were going to tell me it's herpes. Damn.
The dentist came in, took a look at my sores, and said, "This is a very typical 'herpetic outbreak,'" and then he carried on with "herpetic virus this and that" and "the same virus that causes cold sores" and "you're just going to have to suffer for a while."
But he wouldn't say "herpes." It was all "herpetic" and "virus."
How cute.
And typical? I'm pretty sure it's not "typical" at all. In fact, I think it's very special. If I'm gonna have herpes, I'm gonna have special herpes! None of the typical stuff!
Since I've already gone through a full-fledged outbreak, it's too late for an antiviral. And gosh darnnit, that's too bad because I have a stash of Valtrex in my medicine cabinet for all my herpes-infested family members. Scotty, Nicky, and Daisy all have the cold sore curse. Meanwhile, I've never had one.
So, to my dismay, I got sent out of the dentist's office with no relief, but I guess it's good to know that I'm part of the herpes club now. Ugh.
Like I said, I’ve never had any cold sores. While it's caused by the same "herpetic" virus, I've had a completely different reaction. I had headaches, swollen lymph nodes, body aches and chills, and a sore throat. My gums started off sore and swollen, but I thought that was from my dental cleaning on Friday. The first white ulcer I found was in my throat, so that led to to think it was strep. Then my mouth just bloomed! And believe me, if I ever feel anything remotely like this happening in my mouth again, I'm taking care of it right away. It's been so painful. I haven't been able to eat because my mouth is so sore, and I have to say, I've never wanted a cheap, crappy McDonald's cheeseburger so bad in my life! I'm living off Sprite and chocolate milk, and I can hardly stand to have either of those in my mouth. I think my relationship with Tru Moo may suffer.
I have cried real tears over food. I never realized how much food is on TV until I spent three days straight in bed with a mouth full of sores!
The dentist gave me a prescription for a lidocaine mouth rinse. I don't have high hopes for it, as I've already been using a mouth wash for mouth sores, and it's done diddly squat other than burn me into oblivion with menthol. I went to the pharmacy to pick it up, and they were out of stock. Figures. I ran into my friend Christie in the parking lot and approached her with my tongue out to say, "Chrithtie, look at thith! I have herpethe!" I only let her see one sore, though. Just enough to make her feel bad for me, but not enough to send her running to her car screaming. Sadly, this is a woe that can't be cured with Cafe Rio, and Christie and I are far overdue!
The dentist said that I've most likely reached the peak of the virus, and things should start improving shortly but to plan on at least another week. Yuck. Fortunately, the head & body aches, chills, and fatigue have subsided. I just have tender lymph nodes and the mouth/throat sores to battle. I can handle the lymph nodes. The mouth sores, on the other hand, are making me a drama queen, so thanks for enduring the show!
No comments:
Post a Comment