Excruciating Ear Pain

[Eaglesfan27]

I've been sick with a mild-moderate cold for the last 3-4 days, and I've just generally been toughing it out. However, over the last 3-4 hours my ear has been becoming more "clogged" feeling and it has become progressive more painful. When I burp it feels like my ear drum is vibrating and it hurts like heck. Even if I do nothing, it just hurts. I tried laying down, but that just made it worse. I'm fairly sure I developed a sinusitis superimposed on my cold, and now think I'm developing an ear infection.

So, I'm doing something I never thought I would do. I'm ordering a prescription for myself (of Azithromycin) for my wife to pick up on her way home from work in 2 hours. I just can't imagine waiting longer than necessary to get this ear pain to start diminishing and I would feel silly going to an ER tonight for this.

[Lathum]

Is your balance off?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Is your balance off?

Very slightly. That is why I'm not just driving to the pharmacy myself.

[DaddyTorgo]

so i've always wanted to know and i'm sure i've asked some doctor before but forgot...what's the procedure on writing scrips for yourself? aren't there regulations?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

so i've always wanted to know and i'm sure i've asked some doctor before but forgot...what's the procedure on writing scrips for yourself? aren't there regulations?

It's not illegal, but it is certainly frowned upon. Tragically, one of my med school classmates treated himself with antibiotics for an abscess that progressed to a severe systemic infection and he died in his home a few months ago

However, any doctor that ever wrote for controlled substances (such as narcotics or benzodiazepenes) for himself (or his family) would be asking for trouble and it might be illegal in that case. I'm not sure because I just KNOW that I would never do that. I have had family members ask for narcotics before, and I just say no.

[DaddyTorgo]

aaaah. so it's just the controlled substances of the higher classes where it must be like...really bad. i wouldn't figure you could get in trouble for writing yourself a scrip for an antibiotic.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Isn't "Excruciating Ear Pain" what occurs every time T.O. speaks?

Sorry... Couldn't resist! Hope you feel better DOOD...

[Eaglesfan27]

This is giving me a whole new appreciation for what little kids must go through. I don't think I've ever had an ear infection since I was little, but I'm almost positive that is what this is, and it's among the worst pains I've ever had in my life. It's not the most severe, but the location makes it hard to ignore and do something else.

[21C]

Man, I just over an ear infection that lasted a month! The worst thing was that I had in both ears - 2 weeks in one and then 2 weeks in the other.

The pain was the worst at the beginning - it was painful to touch it, to eat anything or to sleep which involved lying on it. After the initial pain, it developed into just being blocked up with a dull pain.

I turned in to an old coot when the ear got blocked up - "What was that? Can you speak up?" It didn't help that I'm a teacher with 34 kids in a class all talking at once.

[Dutch]

If it makes you feel any better, you will have ear pain until you can't take it anymore. At that point you will go to the emergency room. And once you've signed your name you will find the pain has already started to dissapate. And by the time the doctor sees you, you are ready to go home because everythings just fine.

At least, that's how it works with my kids.

[DaddyTorgo]

i once had fungus growing in my ear and so i had to go to a ENT specialist, and they used what was basically a vacumn cleaner to vacumn the fungus out of my ear. It felt awesome

[finkenst]

ef27, last time i had an ear infection, i got it in both ears.

it was very painful... got eardrops for the infection... then had to call back a couple of days later to get a topical antisthetic because it was that bad...

nothing like putting drops in every 2 hours alternating antisthetic with the antibiotic..

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by finkenst

ef27, last time i had an ear infection, i got it in both ears.

it was very painful... got eardrops for the infection... then had to call back a couple of days later to get a topical antisthetic because it was that bad...

nothing like putting drops in every 2 hours alternating antisthetic with the antibiotic..

I'm hoping it doesn't get that bad. Hopefully, if I start the oral antibiotic tonight it can start working by tomorrow and start diminishing my pain. I'm just not sure how I'm going to sleep with this tonight. I can't wait til midnight when I can take some more Ibuprofen.

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm hoping it doesn't get that bad. Hopefully, if I start the oral antibiotic tonight it can start working by tomorrow and start diminishing my pain. I'm just not sure how I'm going to sleep with this tonight. I can't wait til midnight when I can take some more Ibuprofen.

been there, my friend...

usually get so wiped out during the day end up sleeping late the next morning.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm hoping it doesn't get that bad. Hopefully, if I start the oral antibiotic tonight it can start working by tomorrow and start diminishing my pain. I'm just not sure how I'm going to sleep with this tonight. I can't wait til midnight when I can take some more Ibuprofen.

Sleep Aid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[TargetPractice6]

I remember when I had an ear infection when I was kid. It was quite painful, but what I remember most is how good the ear drops felt when I put them in.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Comey

Sleep Aid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

I'm not positive what type you are talking about, but I'm on call tonight (thankfully it has been a very quiet call. Summers are usually quiet as kids tend to get in trouble mostly at school or in school related stresses at home.) Therefore, I can't use any alcohol tonight to relieve the pain.

However, I did just call and leave a message for my secretary to cancel my patients tomorrow. I can't imagine being very functional tomorrow.

Edit: Besides, mixing a macrolide (such as Azithromycin) and alcohol would be a bad idea for my liver.

[duckman]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm hoping it doesn't get that bad. Hopefully, if I start the oral antibiotic tonight it can start working by tomorrow and start diminishing my pain. I'm just not sure how I'm going to sleep with this tonight. I can't wait til midnight when I can take some more Ibuprofen.

You can do what my mother did for my ear infections. She would put warm sweet oil in my ear. It really helped with the discomfort because it would coat the inflamed areas and helped remove any water yo umay have in it. I've used it on my son when he gets ear infections.

[Glengoyne]

I don't recall ever having an ear infection of the type you describe, but I often get an infection of sorts in my Eustachian(No Way that's spelled right) tubes. An antibiotic typically clears those right up. I did a few years ago experience pain in one of my ears, and without any real alternatives at hand. I can't just write myself a script , I used Hydrogen Peroxide like drops in my ears. There was some sudsing and foaming, and I ended up not even going to the doctor on Monday. The Peroxide had done the trick. I don't know if that was an ear infection as most would describe it or some kind of exterior inflamation, but in any case the HPO took care of it.

[Psmith]

I once had my ear and all the sinuses in that side of my head infected. I was prone to ear and sinus infections, but that was something special in the way of pain.

[condors]

get well soon

[Franklinnoble]

Zithromax is good stuff. I've had nasty infections that laugh at conventional antibiotics, but Zithromax kicks the crap outta them.

It's expensive, especially if you don't have good coverage, but when you're sick as a dog, it's worth the money.

[MizzouRah]

Ear infections do hurt someting fierce.


Todd

[FrogMan]

Best of luck in getting better doc.

While I don't remember ever suffering from ear infection, both kiddos have had ear infections. I must say that Matty's last one was in December *knock on wood* and he was all right for the rest of Winter. Andrew was one last infection short of having some tubes. He was three I think at the time and, almost magically, he never had another one after that one...

FM

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i once had fungus growing in my ear and so i had to go to a ENT specialist, and they used what was basically a vacumn cleaner to vacumn the fungus out of my ear. It felt awesome

Damn.

[Fonzie]

Dola-

Hope you're feeling better, EF27!

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

Zithromax is good stuff. I've had nasty infections that laugh at conventional antibiotics, but Zithromax kicks the crap outta them.

It's expensive, especially if you don't have good coverage, but when you're sick as a dog, it's worth the money.

Exactly. I didn't play around with Amoxicillin or any of the weaker antibiotics. I went to the relatively big gun.

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, I have good news and bad news this morning.

The good news is that the pain is significantly diminished. It is a barely there pain now.

The bad news is that my balance is worse (going down the stairs was quite the challenge) and I have the most annoying case of tinnitus (ringing) in my left ear. It is loud and annoying. However, I'll gladly take this over last night's pain which kept me up til about 4:30 AM.

[terpkristin]

Is it time for the doc to see a doc?

I suppose it sounds like a fairly run-of-the mill craptastic ear infection, but it is never fun. Feel better!

/tk

[finkenst]

hey, eaglesfan27, did you say you went swimming in the hotel pool in KC?

swimming is what usually caused my ear infections.. probably why they call it swimmers ear... though come to think of it that's a fungal infection, iirc.

[Eaglesfan27]

Yeah, I swam on Saturday for a few hours and Sunday for a bit before it began storming.

The timing of it all, Cold first, sinusitis type symptoms second, and then ear infection make me strongly suspect it wasn't the pool that caused it.

[finkenst]

ef27, did you fly home afterwards?

When i went to on vacation last december, i had a cold and the landing was excruciating painful as all of the crap in lung/nose/throat got pressurized into my ears..

agony.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by finkenst

ef27, did you fly home afterwards?

When i went to on vacation last december, i had a cold and the landing was excruciating painful as all of the crap in lung/nose/throat got pressurized into my ears..

agony.

Yep, I flew home. I think that the recycled air certainly could have contributed to my catching something from someone on the plane. However, I chewed gum on all takeoffs and landings and as a resuilt it didn't bother my ears at all. If I don't chew gum, I sometimes get some painful ear popping upon landing.

[Karlifornia]

"Our bellies distended and mouths glistening from goat meat, we decided to try a little shin shi shin shi, my lover and I."

[INDalltheway]

I am the king of ear problems. I have had 3.5 sets of tubes and one major surgery to repair my ear drum, which has failed miserably. It worked for like 3 months, then my hearing went to hell again.

I remember those ear infections as a kid. It was the worst pain I ever went through. I always remember laying on the ear that hurt, because the pressure made it not hurt as bad. Sleeping was the best thing to do, but when you woke up the pain was seemingly worse.