Strep or Stress??

This is a GREAT story.  At least I think so.... but how to tell it?.


We moved 8/7/2010.  I noticed there was a HUGE canker on my inside lip.  So Sunday I swished with all the different medicines and tricks.  Sunday the 8th, my throat was hurting and seemed red.  After church we looked and saw a few white spots. !!!  What?  So, I just tried to ignore the throat thing, and Monday went to work.  By Tuesday morning my throat was really hurting with like 3-4 white spots on my uvula (hangy ball thing in the back) as well as a few surrounding it.  I happened to talk to a few family members on the way to work and they said - Andrea, that totally could be Strep and you are infecting everyone!!!  So, I got to work, looked at strep pictures on-line (totally gross) and decided to call my Uncle Dr. Dave.  I got his machine so then I called my doctor's office, described my throat and they suggested an urgent care and to get out of work where there are others I could infect.  So, I drove to the urgent care but Dr. Dave called as I was walking in, and decided to prescribe me some Penicillin and a canker pill for the canker that was still on my lip even!  Well, I went home, slept, etc.  My head hurt, body ached, and I needed sleep.  I watched movies and did work from home both Tuesday and Wednesday.  David and I still had active evenings - we went to the canyon and got eaten alive by bugs, and then also visited his family who was in town (penicillin had been in my system for awhile right?)...  Well Thursday came, I talked to Dr. Dave who was so sweet and concerned to check up on me.  I told him that the spots were still there, that I barely could eat and that there were more spots appearing all through my back throat!!!  Well, he said I should have someone look at it.  And honestly let me tell you it sure hurt to eat, to swallow, drink!  I tried orange juice and V8 fusion to give me some vitamin C and that stung so bad.  Even water hurt.  So food was most hard and I just tried to get it down.  I was starving but it wasn't worth it.  So, David came with me to the Urgent care that night.  They advised that since I had taken penicillin, that the strep wouldn't show up on a strep test.  I didn't care, I just needed someone to look at it - I was in pain!!!  Our Dr. came in, had me open up my mouth, and took his light shining it all around my mouth.  His only words were "Oh my gosh!!".  He proceeded after he was done to tell me that I didn't have strep... I had CANKERS!!  Like 20+ all over my throat, uvula, and moving up the roof of my mouth.  What???  Yeah I see those white spots but didn't know it was cankers.... He said he had NEVER seen that many at one time and in one location.  Yeah, that was comforting huh?  So, there's not a cure for cankers, you just have to wait them out.  But let me tell you I was done.  And my nice doctor whipped up a concoction to help - he left and brought back this pink stuff to swish around for 2 min.  David timed me and about 1 minute into it my whole mouth started getting numb.  Luckily the fluid didn't come out and I didn't swallow it - it was close - I wasn't prepared for the numbness.  Well, it worked!  I couldn't talk properly - it felt like I was just at the dentist's office - but I also couldn't feel the pain!!!  Sweet.  So he gave us a prescription that Target whipped up for us and we went and bought.  It's like a 16oz bottle and I was worried that my little tablespoons would run out since I just kept drinking it.  But I still have more than 3/4 and I don't have cankers now.  David has tried it and given it to visitors too, he just thinks the effect of numb mouth is funny, as it kind of is.  There's some chemicals that they use for numbing, can't think of them - but definitely stuff that you don't want to drink or they'll hurt your heart.  But it helped and by that weekend I was pretty much cured!! 


So really, we asked what could cause those cankers and the doctor said that besides a huge reaction to something (he doubted) - the cause was STRESS.  Yep.  Who knew?  Okay, so maybe I did know but didn't really know.  David said he knew I was stressed.  It all made sense now though my body was tired and trying to tell me to stop worrying and all that other stuff.  It was work related, moving related, and a whole lot more...  Work probably was the main cause though.
I know just a week or two ago I said work was GREAT with the stress - I finally hit my breaking point of being "Overwhelmed". I have SO many projects that I can't do my regular work. And now we're setting new goals and projects for the 2nd half of 2010. I just shut-down and couldn't contribute anymore. I came home and made a list of all that I've been doing. The trainings take about 20 hours a week, the fair we're planning takes about 10, the benefits issues take 10, new hires take about 10, database about 8, ....up to more than 60 hours per week!! No wonder I'm behind!!! I've also learned something about myself - I won't work at home! Nope, that's not for me. I'll give my 40 hours, but I just can't do more than staying late a few times. Which makes me more behind. I had a one-on-one with my boss and she said she had no idea that I was overwhelmed and that I didn't show it at all. Yeah, so we took at least one project off and now that the trainings are almost over with - I think I'm going to be a lot better. Just these last couple days I've gotten caught up a lot. Just glad that even though I felt like quitting one day - I figured out how to handle it and am doing a lot better :)

So, if you have a busy work and home life and start seeing spots in your mouth, remember that there are other options besides strep!!  Wish I had a picture of it, we tried but getting a camera to focus in a huge dark mouth hole is a bit difficult, just use your imagination I guess....