streptococcus equi

don't worry, he doesn't have streptococcus equi or strep throat.  lucky horse.

no, i do not have stangles.  but for some reason (i.e. way too many college classes on this topic) whenever i hear the word "strep" my brain automatically fills in the "tococcus equi" part.  and i'm pretty sure that since i don't fall into the equine category, that's not something i really have to worry about. what i do have is strep throat.  it started yesterday with just a mild sore throat.  tons of cough syrup, throat spray, and cough drops made work manageable.  lots of nyquil and i slept pretty well from about 10:00 pm until 2:30 am when i woke up thinking it was way later than it was.  once i calmed myself down by realizing that no, i did not sleep through my alarm, i could not fall back asleep for the longest time because it hurt too much to swallow.  i tried some more nyquil, which knocked me out, and then led me to have crazy messed up dreams where i could no longer use my voice a la little mermaid style.  when i woke up, i was relieved to find out i could in fact still talk, but disappointed because it hurt like a bitch to do so.  upon palpating my neck, i found the left lymph area to be extremely sore.  for the next half hour i debated on if i should go to work or go see a doctor.  upon remember that most of my job is talking which, as stated earlier, hurt like a bitch to do, i figured going to the doctor might be my best option.  finding a doctor turned out to be a little harder.

see, up until today, i have been blessed enough to not need a doctor since i moved here.  so finding an office that took both of my insurances (i am lucky enough to have double coverage from work and a family plan), that was taking new patients, and was able to see me today took a bit of work.  i ended up having to go to one about twenty miles away that could see me as a walk in.  and apparently that means you will spend your entire day in their lobby.  and by entire day, i mean three and a half hours in the lobby, and then another thirty minutes in the exam room before being seen.  i finished off my book while i was in the lobby, and i'm pretty sure i took a nap while i was sitting in the chair in the room.  so after finally getting to talk to what i think was a nurse practitioner and being gagged with a cotton swab, it was determined that i had strep (tococcus.....no, no i'm not a horse!) throat.  i got a prescription for penicillin, which are ridiculously huge pills that i need to take four times a day.   i'm pretty sure the people who made these pills never actually had strep, because when it fucking hurts this much to swallow, i don't want a damn horse pill.  and trust me on this one, i've seen horse pills.  and i have had to use ones that are this size before on prince.

the other down side here is that i'm still in the contagious stage for the next twenty four hours or so until the meds kick in.  which means i can't go to work or be around other people because i'm nice and don't really want to get them sick.  it also means i'm fucking stuck inside for two whole days, which means i will probably be going stir crazy by thursday.  on the up side, i did get to eat a whole pint of ice cream today without feeling guilty, i spent all day in my pajamas (once i got home), and instead of working i was watching movies in bed with the fail ninja.  i have been wanting a few more "me days," i just wish i didn't have to get sick to do it.