The unexpected diet plan.

It started Monday afternoon. Not a "sore throat", really - no rough, scratchy, burning. It just hurt to swallow - like the muscles hurt. Tuesday, I took Tylenol all day, because it really hurt to swallow. But only to swallow - I was otherwise fine, no fever, able to eat, etc. Just a wee bit of swelling, only on one side.

Sometime in the night, the gloves came off, until I found myself getting up repeatedly to spit - because even saliva didn't want to go down - before finally launching out of bed at 5:15, feeling like even my windpipe was going to close. I showered, dropped off the laundry, and tried to eat breakfast. For future reference, if you are having swallowing issues... you really cannot swallow Asiago cheese bagel, I don't care how much butter to liquifey it with. I went and picked up the laundry, dragged it home, and scooted off to work, including a pit stop for a milkshake.

Have I mentioned I don't do well with dairy?

It's just as well - all I could taste was sugar and it hurt too bad to even try pulling it through the straw. For lunch, I spent way too much for a small container of cream of broccoli soup, only to feel like I had broccoli stuck in my throat for the rest of the afternoon. I mostly spent the day at my desk, whimpering piteously and trying to stay conscious, until it was time to go see the lovely people at my doctor's office. The test for strep throat showed a "faint positive" - they could have sent it to the lab for confirmation, but it wouldn't have changed the treatment plan. Picked up antibiotics and more Tylenol on the way home, along with soup, ginger ale, and such.

I tried over-cooked mac and cheese for dinner - a combination of comfort food and high mushability. The swelling has reached the point that I can no longer open my mouth all the way, and my upper and lower teeth have become misaligned to the degree that excludes chewing. So I aimed for smooshie food. I missed, ending up with a stomach ache that rivals the ache in my lower jaw. Maybe I'll get it right tomorrow night.

I do need to get a new thermometer. Despite mine's insistence that I was safely just below "normal", by the time I got to the doctor's office I was over 99 - unusual for me. I've somehow managed to nod off at least twice in the typing of this post. And I might be delerious, as I seem to have discovered a song by Lady Gaga that I actually like. [I'm blaming you, Mr. Underwood!] Might be time for bed...