Tag Archives: urgent care

An Evening At Urgent Care (or I’m Ready To Not Be Sick)

Posted on February 10, 2023 | 1 comment

Usually when I am sick with a cold, I have a somewhat predictable pattern of how things go. It starts with a weird scratchy throat that feels more like I can’t quench a thirst than a sore throat. Then I have the typical symptoms of a cold for a few days. And finally, I start to get better. And when I’m getting better, I usually don’t have a regression of symptoms other than congestion. It can take longer for me to get over some colds than others, but I normally can tell when I’m starting to get better and am over the hump.

But this cold that I’ve been dealing with for over a week hasn’t been following the pattern that I’m used to. My sore throat was different before I had cold symptoms, so I didn’t think at first that I was getting sick. Most of my cold symptoms were gone on Tuesday, but my sore throat was getting worse every day. I was struggling to swallow anything and even drinking water was extremely painful. And I was starting to not be able to breathe as deeply as normal because my throat was really swollen. I also started to lose my voice, which was really odd. I knew this wasn’t what a normal cold is like for me, so I told myself that if I wasn’t better a week after the symptoms started, I would go to the doctor.

That one-week mark was on Wednesday and I kept calling to try to get in to see a doctor. But there were no appointments until next week, so if I wanted to try to see what was going on sooner, I had to go to urgent care. I know that going to urgent care is for stuff like what I was dealing with, but I would have preferred an appointment. But I didn’t really have an option so I went in after work on Wednesday and prepared to be there for a while.

It was pretty crowded when I got there, but I was seen about 2 hours after I arrived (a sore throat isn’t the most urgent thing in urgent care so I knew there would be a wait). I explained the timeline of my symptoms and how I thought I had a cold over the weekend but that what I was experiencing at that point didn’t feel like a cold. I knew it was very unlikely it could be strep since I don’t have tonsils, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something that needed to be treated.

The doctor I saw was very nice and he understood my concerns. And he agreed that it was the right move for me to come in just to confirm that I was doing all the right stuff to get better. I didn’t get another Covid test since I had taken a few at home and my symptoms weren’t really what you would expect with Covid. He checked my ears to make sure I didn’t have an ear infection and then ran a rapid strep test even though he knew it probably couldn’t be that. But I appreciated he wanted to confirm since some people can still get strep after having their tonsils out. But as expected, it wasn’t strep and it wasn’t anything else that I was checked for.

My diagnosis: I likely had a cold over the weekend (as I assumed) and my sore throat and laryngitis were due to inflammation in my throat and vocal cords. The inflammation could be just from the cold or I could have had another random issue at the same time such as allergies. But all my remaining issues were due to inflammation so I needed to make sure I resolved that. I was prescribed two different anti-inflammatory medications (basically Advil and Tylenol) and was told that it might take 3-5 days before I’m better.

When I went to the pharmacy, I also picked up a few over-the-counter items. I have used the throat numbing spray before when I had a sore throat, and I really should have thought about getting it when things were bad earlier in the week. But at least I got it while I was there so I had something that I knew would take some of the pain away.

I’m still dealing with a pretty sore throat and I still don’t have a voice, but I do feel a lot better than I did when I went to the hospital. I can tell some of the inflammation has gone down but I also know I have a few more days to go before I probably will be better. But to have any relief from the pain I’ve been experiencing over the past week is nice. And hopefully, by the start of next week, I’ll be feeling better and can finally get back to my normal routine again.

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Feeling Like Normal In More Ways Than One (or Getting Better)

Posted on September 11, 2014 | Comments Off on Feeling Like Normal In More Ways Than One (or Getting Better)

I’m finally starting to feel better after my throat ulcer issue. I’m still having pain while drinking water and breathing heavily while working out, but the pain is not nearly as severe as it was when I went to urgent care. The doctor there told me to give it 2 weeks to get better and I’m just past the 1 week mark. Hopefully by the end of the weekend the pain won’t be noticeable anymore.

I’m still trying to take it easy while working out. My ear issues have not gone away as quickly as the throat issues. My dad suggested that I take some decongestants to make the fluid in my ear get absorbed. I haven’t tried that yet, but I think I’m going to start. I’m still getting dizzy a lot during the day (and especially during workouts where you go from sitting or laying down to standing a lot). As long as I’m sitting, the dizziness isn’t happening. So at least I’m able to drive and work without feeling like I’m going to fall over.

And speaking of work, that’s getting better too! I’m finally getting used to my schedule for the national box office job from home. There’s a lot of down time at that job (hence the low pay), so I’m trying to find the best use of my down time. I have done some survey coding between calls and online chats for the box office job, but there haven’t been a ton of surveys to work on lately (that should change soon).

I’m also looking into some other freelance type work that I can do from home between my work for the box office. I know that I can write and blog. I just need to find some gigs that pay for me to do that! If you know of any, please feel free to let me know in the comments.

I haven’t gone back to substitute teaching yet, but that’s mainly because all of my Mondays lately have been very busy. And since I can only work on Mondays, when that day is filled up, there’s no other option for me that week. But I’m checking for work each week and hopefully soon there will be a job for me to work.

And I emailed my old box office job. They claimed that they wanted me to come back in September when the shows were starting again. I’m a little concerned that they have decided that I’m not necessary since they haven’t had me work for a while now. But I did send them an email saying that I wanted to get back to work now that the shows are coming back as well. I haven’t heard back yet, so until I do I won’t know if they are going to keep their word about me coming back this fall.

I know I say this all the time with day jobs, but it’s feeling more and more normal now. I’m used to my schedule and I’ve created routines for myself each day that fit into the new schedule better.

If only I was making enough at one day job things would be perfect. But the struggle is worth it for me. And I know that I will find a way to fit in all the jobs that are necessary for me to support myself somehow.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff, Work

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An Evening At Urgent Care (or Why Being Polite Is Always Best)

Posted on September 3, 2014 | 1 comment

Yesterday, I had to go to urgent care. Since Friday, I’ve had a sore throat and my ear was hurting. I tried to just wait it out, but since I’ll be seeing my mom and grandparents this weekend, I wanted to get checked out (none of them can afford to get sick right now).

First of all, I’ll let you all know that I’m fine. It’s a virus that caused a little sore on my throat. I just have to wait it out (like I thought). But at least I know now that I won’t get anyone sick this weekend.

I tried to schedule an appointment with my doctor first, but there were no times that wouldn’t cause me to miss work. And since it’s only my second week, I didn’t want to have to ask for time off.

So I took the chance with urgent care. You never know how long it will take, so I went in prepared to be there for several hours and had my Kindle with me.

When I checked it, I had a smile on my face and was polite to the receptionist. I know that she has to deal with sick and annoyed people all day and I figured by being nice I would at least make a little part of her day easier. I did the same thing with the second check in receptionist (who takes the payment for the appointment).

They told me that it might be an hour or so and I was fine with that. I said thank you and went to take a seat in the waiting area.

But before I could get my Kindle out and open, my name was called to go back! I was shocked that they were ready to see me so quickly!

The nurse that I met with was also very nice and friendly. She was happy that I was prepared for my appointment with all my vital information that they need (allergies, prescriptions, general stats). And she also thought it was very nice of me to let her know that my blood pressure has to be taken on the lower portion of my arm (I’m not sure why, but when it’s on my upper arm I either have very high or very low blood pressure).

I was brought back to the room and the nurse let me know that she was going to make sure that I was the next patient that the doctor would see. And no joke, a minute later the doctor walked in!

After the quick exam where the doctor determined that this was a virus and that I didn’t need a prescription, she sent me on my way. My mom had guessed that this was exactly what was wrong with me, so I was happy to have a quick diagnosis (and not needing to wait for a prescription).

As I headed to the parking garage to get my car, I realized that I only arrived there 30 minutes before! I was in and out so quickly!

I know that it wasn’t because urgent care was empty (there were lots of people in line to check in and waiting in the waiting area). And I probably wasn’t the most urgent person for them to see. The only idea that I have is because I was polite and pleasant to deal with. So everyone I encountered at the hospital wanted to help me out and make sure that I didn’t have to be there that long.

I’m happy to be polite around other people. I know how bad it feels when a customer is angry and rude to you (I’ve dealt with that at plenty of jobs). And when you are rude, things only seem to take longer. So I try to go in with a positive mindset and keep calm.

If everyone could work on being a bit more positive and polite when dealing with people, the world would seriously be such a better place.

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