day 5: i had a relapse of strep

All day I could feel it coming on like demons scraping the back of my throat with a nail file.

“It’s the strep again,” I told my boyfriend. “Either I have PTSD, or it’s coming back.”

“It’s probably allergies,” he said. “Just take some Zyrtec.”

Turns out my Zyrtec is expired, but the real reason it didn’t work is because it isn’t allergies. As evidenced by my swollen glands and tonsils, the strep is back for round two.

And my defenses are down, because round one was brutal – after a five-day dance with Amoxicillin, the strep looked at the pitiful antibiotics, laughed and got stronger. The second doctor I saw suggested the strep was probably penicillin-resistant and prescribed a cephalosporin, aka super pills that he believed would knock it out cold.  

And finally, after seven days of whimpering every time I so much as took a drink of water, the strep began to retreat just in time for my trip to Vegas.

But now it’s back with considerably less force than last time, though I suspect that’s because I began bombing it with super pills before it had a chance to finish regrouping.

So for now I’m grateful that clouds and rain have delayed the spring, as I don’t feel I’m missing out when I opt to spend the evening watching Law & Order and Family Guy while my body goes for the TKO.