one thing after another . . .

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This week has just been one thing after another and I am sure glad it's over. I had been on a 2-week break from work and spent a great deal of that time doin' nothin' and just kinda hangin' out. It felt good to recharge my batteries and get ready for the last term at school which is always hectic.


By the end of Monday (my first day back at school) I had no voice - yet again. The last time this happened was about 6 weeks ago. I have a bit of "silent gerd" - yes, I know this is way more info than you need. I don't get massive heartburn or anything like that. It manifests itself by allowing just enough acid to burn my larynx and enter my nasal passages resulting in  reoccurring nasal infections and laryngitis. Lucky me. BUT, in the grand scheme of things this ain't bad! So on Tuesday I called my ENT guy and got an appointment for Thursday after work (6:00pm). Cool.


Monday nite my shoulder started hurting. Only had paracetamol so started taking those in the late afternoon. It was helping but I woke up in the middle of the nite as the pill had worn off and needed to take another. Tuesday things got worse and Tuesday nite was a repeat of Monday nite except the pain was worse. This was still the trend on Wednesday so I went to the "urgent care" at a clinic near me (this is similar to but not exactly like an HMO or Private Clinic in the States). I went whimpering in as by now I was sleep-deprived (always a trauma) and in pain.Saw the ER doctor and was diagnosed with an inflamed calcium deposit on my shoulder.  Ouch!  Then I sort of begged to see an orthopedist. I had to wait a fairly long time for an orthopedist and it seems that he had already spoken with someone in depth before seeing me because he knew exactly what was wrong before looking at the x-ray. He was a bit condescending and at one point I apologized for interrupting his day. He immediately told me that he was there to help me and that I shouldn't apologize. Yeah, that's just what I wanted to remind him of. He is there to serve me, not the other way around. Anyway, he prescribed Zaldiar EFE.  The young female pharmacist raised her eyebrows at the prescription and told me that it was very strong and to make sure that I took it on a full stomach.  She looked worried as I left.  I went home, made sure I ate and  I took it as prescribed and was able to sleep through the night. Ahhhhhhh.  It felt good.


Thursday I went to work - remember I spend my day with teenagers who depend upon me.  I followed the instructions and took my meds like a good girl.  By mid afternoon, I knew something wasn't right.  I was so sleepy that I was afraid of falling asleep in class.  My mouth was completely dry and I started to leave the room for frequent glasses of water to counter-act this.  Then at 3:30 I had to excuse myself from my class of surprised kids who were trying to act like things were completely normal (because they are polite).  I raced to the ladies room and bolted myself inside. This is every teacher's nightmare and I was living it.  I stayed inside the bathroom until 5pm hoping to avoid as many students as possible.  Too sick to drive, Luís came and picked me up.  I wanted to go home and sleep but he insisted that I keep my 6pm ENT appointment.  Before leaving the school one of the other teachers suggested that I take a plastic bag with me - and she was right. Thanks, Maggie! I made good use of it.   I barfed waiting in the parking lot for the doctor, had to excuse myself from the appointment to rush to the ladies room to throw up and then again when I arrived home.


Went to the ENT appointment and for once he was on time.  Usually I bring a book and chill out for an hour or so in the waiting room. He was surprised that this drug had been prescribed because about 1 in 10 experience side effects. Evidently that's a very high percentage rate. I was one of the lucky 1 in 10 and experienced a litany of side effects all at the same time.   I remember the pharmacist saying to me that they prescribe this drug as a last resort.  I explained to her that it was the first time that I saw this particular doctor.  To make a long story short, the ENT said to discontinue Zaldiar (yeah, like I needed someone to tell me that), prescribed something to address and repair my stomach issues and told me not to take any meds  for 48 hours.  Good advice.  Tomorrow I need to start taking an antibiotic for my nasal infection . . .


Anyway, the Orthopedist told me that he would give me something for the pain and he sure did.  All the while I was puking and experiencing nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, stomach pain, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and anxiety all I could think of was my stomach and purging the Zaldiar - I wasn't focused one bit on the pain in my shoulder.  Thank you Doctor, it was a miracle cure and you are surely worth the €91 per visit you charge. . .