06 August 2007 Monday

Ear unhappiness, part 3

[part 1]
[part 2]

So, I did finally see a doctor on Thursday, who told me what we all knew already: water in the ear —> infection.
He prescribed me ear drops: Cipro HC otic (ciprofloxacin 0.2% HCI and hydrocortisone 1% otic suspension) 10mL..
Also, he prescribed me a few pills of Vicodin for the pain.

The Advil had been the only useful thing in the past week, for dulling the pain.. though it takes a while to kick in..
By the way, someone had given me the genius advice that I should be drinking alcohol, rather than taking Advil, to quelch the pain. …. yeah… so that was one of the most painful things EVER. Where the pain had been steady and usually bearable, the alcohol (before I could drink enough to feel any positive effects of it) was pumping through my blood and pulsing in my ear.. I could feel the blood pumping in my ear.. and the pain was so heightened and throbbing and not manageable. With really no other option (can’t mix Vicodin with alcohol.. and no telling how long it would take to kick in anyway (Advil seemed to take 20-30 minutes), I went ahead and ordered more vodka and downed a glass and a half, pushing across the pain threshold and entering happy no-sense-of-balance land.
That was Thursday.

I’ve been taking the eardrops medication since then, and while the discomfort/feeling that my ear is not 100% and occasional (generally duller) pain have not gone away, I have not had any new episodes of extreme pain, and I’ve been able to eat without much trouble and sleep without unusual interruptions of ouching.

I’ll update again when 100% better.