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Warning: Some of the images in the Medical section section are very graphic in nature. If you cannot stand the sight of blood, it is advised that you skip these images.
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Date Range: 11/1/2005 - 11/30/2005
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Yesterday I had my one week checkup for the laser cryptology (a whole 2 days early because of the holiday). The doctor says it looks like there's no infection and that I'm healing well.
I told my doctor, "It doesn't really hurt except for..." and then he started to say nearly the same exact words, "...when you yawn big, cough and sneeze." I also told him that the funky white stuff (that's what we've been calling it here at home) is really annoying more than anything else. To which he replied, "It will be that way for awhile. It should be all better in three to four weeks."
I'm hoping it will be less than that because it sure is an annoying feeling that can get rather distracting making it hard to concentrate sometimes...
All in all I'm doing ok, better than I expected I would be. I'm able to talk as much as I'd like now, but will get sore if I talk too much still. I tried to sing yesterday and it hurt when I went to hit a higher note so no more singing for a few more days at least.
Thanks to all of you who extended your well wishes, prayers, good vibes, etc. to me. They must be helping since I'm feeling much better than I could have hoped; so far so good.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by ~Angela | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Permalink
I always feel better when I have visitors and I usually heal faster if I get out of the house. Yesterday brought both; I had visitors and I was able to get out for a little while.
Eric, Kat, and Carolyn Meyer came over to visit us. It was so nice of them to fly all the way to California just to visit me. Ok, I'm fibbing and you're gullible! They were here in California for a friend's wedding and so we planned a day together.
When this whole tonsil surgery thing came about I thought I'd be too miserable for company and thought I'd have to cancel. I'm so glad I was well enough for company.
Dan and Gaetano had never met Kat or Carolyn before yesterday. (Last month Eric was on his way to a conference and had a long layover in California, so Dan and Gaetano got to meet him then.) It was also my first time meeting Carolyn too.
When they arrived, Gaetano and I went outside to greet everyone. When Gaetano saw Carolyn he said hello to her but she didn't answer. So Gaetano made a motion with his hands that I barely caught out of the corner of my eye. Kat asked if he was trying to sign to her.
I hadn't told Gaetano that Carolyn signs, so I had to conclude that he tried simply because she didn't respond. When I wasn't able to speak the last few days, I would spell words using finger spelling. There was also a segment on Sesame Street with a little girl who learned a few signs from her deaf friend. Somehow, Gaetano must have made a connection that if someone doesn't speak try signing. Pretty amazing...
It didn't take long before the kids were running around having fun. It was so cute to see our kids play together.
We went out for sushi then for Cold Stone Creamery, my two favorite foods. So good friends, good food, good times...definitely helped me feel better.
They managed to escape without seeing the "gross white stuff on mom's tonsils" that Gaetano described for them. The night ended way too soon. It is really too bad that we don't live close enough to visit often...
My throat was a little sore from all the talking, but it was worth it. I woke up feeling even better than yesterday. My voice is doing fine now, the back of my throat just feels...grody. Yep, that's a good old-fashioned 80's word for it. Now it only hurts if I sneeze or cough, which has been about 6 or 7 times so far today. Not too bad, really...
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Friday: The most painful part of the procedure was getting my tonsils injected with Novocain. There were about 7 or 8 injections on each side.
(Warning: Gross part coming up next.) The doctor then removed the tonsolliths before the laser cryptology. The one on my right looked to be about the size of a green pea. I didn't see what he got out of the left, but he remarked that it was less than the right side. It's no wonder I've felt like I had a pill stuck in my throat for 3 weeks!
During the procedure, my tongue flinched and I got zapped by the laser! I hardly felt it since the topical anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. From that point on we used a tongue depressor to be sure I didn't move accidentally again.
Afterwards, I could speak normally up until the anesthesia wore off and then I wasn't feeling too good. Pain. Lots of pain and swelling. It was mostly pain in my ears, but also in my throat (of course).
There was so much pain that the Vicodin didn't seem to be helping at all. Lots of nausea... Only liquids for me tonight and super runny mash potatoes that I tried to eat but was only able to swallow a few teaspoonfuls.
Saturday: I was still in pain and Vicodin was still not helping. More nausea... More and more nausea....more and more...uh oh, ouch! (Yes, I did. Twice! Yes, it hurt.)
I was able to say a word or two then I'd have to whisper. A minute or two of whispering and I had to be quiet for about 30 minutes or so.
I had a mostly liquid diet, some bread soaked in broth, and a danish which required lots of chewing and drinking before swallowing.
Today (Sunday): I am still in pain, but I stopped the Vicodin. It didn't seem to be helping and I think it was causing the nausea. Today's pain has been like yesterday's (with the Vicodin) minus the nausea. I can also talk a bit more than yesterday.
This morning I could talk for about one or two minutes in a normalish voice then I'd have to whisper for awhile. So far, I've only completely lost my voice three or four times today (unlike yesterday which was probably a good 1/2 of the day.)
Tonight though? YUCK. Ouch and lots of frustration. (Warning: Another gross part coming up next.) The scab on my left tonsil is peeling off very slowly. It's driving me to insanity. It feels as bad (if not worse) than having a tonsillolith back there.
I can see it dangling and I just want to yank it off. (Thankfully Dan didn't and won't let me.) I know it'd be a stupid thing to do, but it is so tempting since it hurts where it is still attached and pulling...
I was able to talk tonight for a good 15 or 20 minutes until this dangling tonsil scab thingy started to hurt. Now I have no voice again because if I talk, it makes me feel like coughing, which makes it hurt... So no more talking tonight.
Gargling with warm salt water seems to help as does my favorite and oh so yummy Tazo chai tea latte -- more of both in store for me tonight.
I'm hopeful that tomorrow the left side's scab will fall off and I should be able to speak for longer periods. (The right side hasn't peeled up at all yet. Hopefully that one will be gone by Tuesday.)
I suspect that by Friday I'll be seemingly normal to everyone around me. I imagine that it will still be difficult to eat most foods though until I'm mostly healed and the flesh has gotten tougher.
That's it for now. I'll try to post an update tomorrow or Tuesday. If I grossed you out at all, I'm sorry. If I didn't and you were hoping that I would, I'm sorry too!
Posted by ~Angela | Comments (2) | Add Comment | Permalink
Friday morning I'll be getting my tonsils zapped with lasers. [insert cool laser sounds here] (No, they haven't given me any good drugs yet; I'm just naturally goofy.)
As fun as I just made that sound, it won't be fun at all. I've had tonsilloliths on and off for about ten years now. For most of those years it was more off than on. Lately its gotten more frequent and in the past two years my tonsils and I are at odds with each other frequently.
The problem isn't just the tonsilloliths, its that my tonsils get so irritated by them (and my constant coughing in a futile attempt to dislodge the stones) that my throat becomes infected. I've had at least 6 (if not more) throat infections and many minor sore throats in the last 2 years.
The last three weeks have been pretty miserable. The constant feeling of something stuck in my throat has made me rather irritable too. So for the sake of those who love me and my own sanity I'm finally doing something about it.
Laser cryptology is what I'm having done. Basically a laser is used to blast the crypts in my tonsils so that they're no longer tunnel-like and more bowl shaped. This should prevent the tonsilloliths as well as the sore throat and resulting throat infections.
There's no guarantee that it will be 100% effective, but I'm hopeful that it will be. Worst case scenario is I'd have to get my tonsils removed completely, which is what we're trying to avoid doing by having this procedure instead.
The recover is nearly as bad as it is for an adult tonsillectomy. Those who have their tonsils removed as adults have put the fear in me... (Thanks a lot!)
I'm expecting to be unable to speak for about a week, with three weeks to fully recover, four tops. I'll be all better just in time for Web Design World Boston.
It's outpatient and only local anaesthetic so I won't be away long. Knowing me, I'll be on the computer trying to work as much as I'm able (or as much as the pain killers will allow).
Dan and Gaetano will be taking good care of me, so try not to worry; I've got the worrying covered already.
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"The problem with humor is everyone has a different sense of it." ~Dan Short
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"I think we should write Amazon and encourage them to have an 'exposure day' once a year. That day they lift the veil and everyone gets to see who bashed you. Heck I think they'd get a ton of traffic and probably even sell a few books, the papers would report on it. Of course there'd be a brief peak in the homicide [and] suicide rates shortly afterwards, but whatever. Its all in good fun."
~Christine Conners
Author of:
From High Heels To Bunny Slippers: Surviving The Transition From Career To Home (Coming Soon!)
Lost! Is Your Child Prepared?
Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin'
Lipsmackin' Backpackin': Lightweight Trail-tested Recipes for Backcountry Trips
As an author myself, having had at least one totally bogus review that was probably made by a competitor, I think the idea of 'exposure day' is great.
I've never met Christine, having only communicated with her via email. I'd bet that her books are just as humorous and fun to read as her emails are.
Posted by ~Angela | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Permalink
Old age and treachery wins out over youth and exuberance every time. ~Lawrence Cramer
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Ok, so I'm not quite their target market since I just turned 30 in May, but still...
Dan was just reading me a an article on Slate called, "Are Gap's new clothes for boomers any good?". I had to cut him off when he got to this part, "Women over age 35 are, in the words of Forth & Towne's president, Gary Muto, "underserved." They have more income than younger women, but fewer places to shop. For most middle-aged women[...]".
"Middle Aged?!", I exclaimed. "If they want to hit their target market, they'd better stop calling us middle-aged!" Hrumph... So what if I'm just 30. I'll be 35 before I know it and I was actually looking forward to shopping there...
All kidding aside, I took a look at the slideshow and some of the clothes look alright but I'm not all that impressed. They're going to have to have some very impressive window displays to get me to walk in (and not because of the "middle-aged" thing).
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I just got some spam with the subject line, "We can cure any desease!" I guess they can't cure typlexia\bad-speller-itis...
Posted by ~Angela | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Permalink
Comment from jess on 11/16/2006
can you sing without your tonsils
Let me check... La la la la! Yep, sure can! ~Angela