Where, oh Where, Has Kat Been?... Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson! Lots of medical stuff in this post!!

A very good question.  Saw the Fill-in on Tuesday and she said, "I'd be happier if we had an MRI (that took three tries to type btw) both with and w/out contrast if your insurance will pay for it.  As luck would have it, the insurance said, "No MRI with contrast without more documentation for need"  ::rolls eyes::  So I got a call-back saying that I had an appointment for Thursday at 12 for the MRI.  Okay.  Now mind you, during all of this I started having three to four cats whenever I got up on the bed.  Some of it was "Mom needs us" and some of it was "You know, I think Mom has treats.  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm treeeeeeaaaaattttttsssss".

So Wednesday at 4ish I'm picking my son up from Chess Club (I have this 13 yo who is massively into chess), when suddenly it feels like someone is stabbing me in the neck.  I put my hand up and there was what felt like a blood blister pulsing in time to my pulse.  At this point I've got boychild in the car and am heading home (takes about 5 minutes to get there from his school).  I just so happen to have a bluetooth on at all (okay nearly all) times that I'm in the car.  Sorry, Charlie, but if you're going to call my cell phone while I'm driving I am not going to be fumbling for my phone and if things get busy, I'll just Talk To You Later™.  You'll live.  Trust me.

Not being an idiot, I have my doctor's all on voice call.  Given the amount of meds I'm taking, this is a duh.  I also have my husband's cell number both under his name and 911 so that if someone finds me unconscious they can contact him.  That's if they don't run across one of the four med/allergy/contact sheets that I keep in my purse (three different compartments and one in my wallet... why, yes I am a Girl Scout, why do you ask?).  Anyway, I call up the office and they say, "Go to the ER, go directly to the ER, do not pass GO, do not collect $200, and DO NOT DRIVE."

At the point I have to find someone to drive me.  My daughter doesn't even have a learner's permit.  My husband had left for Nashvegas already to go to see his mom, take too long to turn around.  ::sigh::  I finally get ahold of someone who could pick me and my daughter up and drop us at the ER.  Yes, I took the responsible 16 yo daughter & left the 13 yo son at home playing chess on the computer.  "Do you mind if I leave you here alone?"  "Huh?  Okay.  See you later."  "Answer the phone, take messages,don't let the Huns in, and whatever you do, do not sack Rome!"  "Okay, Mom, later."

Short version of ER...
ER receptionist - Why are you here?
Me - My doctor sent me in for a stabbing pain in my neck with a throbbing pustule which has resolved into a wider area, concurrent with a headache which is not a migraine.  My doctor has been treating me for some confusion typing and dropping things since Monday and has an MRI ordered for tomorrow.
ER receptionist - Okay, Triage will call your number later.
half an hour later or more after calling back to the ER several patients with Swine Flu symptoms, I am called to Triage
Triage - Why are you here?
Me - My doctor sent me in for a stabbing pain in my neck with a throbbing pustule which has resolved into a wider area, concurrent with a headache which is not a migraine.  I have notes on the symptoms as they have changed over my wait time here in the ER including both the stinging and sharp pains in my left shoulder.  My doctor has been treating me for some confusion typing and dropping things since Monday and has an MRI ordered for tomorrow.  [they take temp & bp which are normal]  I have fibromyalgia and have migraines and know these symptoms do not feel like the symptoms I am experiencing now.
Triage - Okay, we'll call your number later.
an hour after that... two car wreck victims go back... expected... flu victims bitch & moan whereupon I roll my eyes because I would never go to the ER unless someone was in obvious need or my doctor sent me... more suspected Swine Flu patients go back... my number is called (oh yeah, some of them were ticked because the numbers weren't sequential, they hadn't figured out that the numbers are not given out sequentially... oh and the asst. rector stopped by and made arrangements to get pizza to my son so that he'd stop playing chess long enough to eat)
ER nurse - Why are you here?
Me - My doctor sent me in for a stabbing pain in my neck with a throbbing pustule which has resolved into a wider area, concurrent with a headache which is not a migraine.    I have fibromyalgia and have migraines and know these symptoms do not feel like the symptoms I am experiencing now.  My doctor has been treating me for some confusion typing and dropping things since Monday and has an MRI ordered for tomorrow. I have notes on the symptoms as they have changed over my wait time here in the ER including both the stinging and sharp pains in my left shoulder.
ER nurse - Oh he won't care about that.
Me - Oooookay.
ER doc - Why are you here?
Me - I called my doctor who told me to come here because of a stabbing pain in my neck with a throbbing pustule which has resolved into a wider area, concurrent with a headache which is not a migraine.    I have fibromyalgia and have migraines.  I was treated for migraines and know these symptoms do not feel like the symptoms I am experiencing now.  My doctor has been treating me for some confusion typing and dropping things since Monday and has an MRI ordered for tomorrow. I have notes on the symptoms as they have changed over my wait time here in the ER including both the stinging and sharp pains in my left shoulder.  I do know that I've had a stroke before but don't know when it occurred.
ER doc - [obviously pissed off - while feeling my neck (and not very well I might say, having had many many many... make that many... lymph node checks in my life... used to get strep three times a year as a child)]  I don't have time to look at that!  I have 30 patients in here!
Me - Ooooookay. [suspicions are raised that he hasn't even listened to a word I've said... iow he's not really paying full attention to what he's doing... this is not a Good Thing™ btw]
ER doc - I'm going to give you something for the pain and have a CAT scan done.
Me - Ooooookay. [I'm not in here for the pain.  I'd like to know why my neck is now swollen up like mumps... although I have to admit it wasn't as swollen as it had been because I'd been laying down which lowered the swelling & pain.]
get taken to CAT scan by lovely tech who appreciated the fact that "gee, you must have done this before" because I happened to have a sleep mask in my purse.  Hello!  I said that I was familiar with migraines, right?  Anyway, we had a loverly hour while I meditated and he ran the machine.  Back to my bed.
ER doc - Your CAT scan is normal, it only shows the one stroke, so  I'm giving you a referral to a Rapid Access neurologist.  They'll work you in in a day or two.
Me - Oooooookay.
ER nurse - Here are your discharge papers.

I call the Rapid Access Neuro clinic & have an appointment with their nurse practitioner for Tuesday.

Thursday morning I get up, go to my MRI where I find that my neck is still swelling when I sit up for an extended period of time.  I discovered this because the MRI was about a 45 minute drive from my house.  So I called my pcp's office to see if they had an appt open.  (I had a pediatrician who trained me well.  He said, you know your body better than anyone else.  Trust your instinct.  If something doesn't feel right, call your doctor.  Be an active part of your medical team.)  They didn't have anything open Thursday but did on Friday with her nurse practitioner (who also kicks butt & takes names).

I get up in the morning and put together the symptom list from the ER visit (because I know they'll want to see it!) and the other papers from the ER  I notice something strange.  The papers show me as having gone in for a migraine.  ::head:desk::  I get to my doc's office.  Everyone goes "Hi Kat!  How're you doing?  What's up?" "Now, why are you here again so soon?" etc.  My temp is taken, I'm backed into a room (I was in my chair), and the nurse does blood pressure (and tells me what it is because I always want to know), and takes detailed notes on what is going on with me.  How do I know?  Because she did it where I could see it, duh.  She also double-checked it with me verbally to make sure that nothing was left out.  Hello?  Remember, my pediatrician trained me well.  I have very high standards for docs.

Upshot.  After 21 day round of 2xdaily penicillin , one week off, 7 day round of 1xdaily penicillin, I still show signs of a sinus infection.  "Tell me, did they do a CBC at the ER?"  ::snort::  "Why, no, they did not"  ::astonished look::  "I think we should run a CBC." "I agree, that's an excellent idea!"  Viral load is normal.  Bacterial load is 71 and normal end range is 76.  My last dose had been Wednesday and this was Friday.  We looked at each other.  "I'd like to put you on one of the heaviest antibiotics out there... and I just so happen to have samples."  Yaaaaay samples!  "Do you mind taking steroids?"  Well, I don't like them butttttttt.  So I'm on steroids and if the neck doesn't resolve by Monday we're doing an ultrasound on my neck... wheeeeee!

So that's where Kat's been.