My ENT follow-up

I went back to see my ENT (ear nose throat) today as a follow-up from a month ago and to get the results of my sinus CT. For those of you who do not know my saga...I have had swollen lymph nodes for 2 years and had strep 10 times for the 1st year, so I have been on a quest to find the underlying cause - been to my primary dr, an oncologist/hematologist, an infectious disease dr and the ENT. This was my last hope....everything else has come back negative which is GOOD actually except for the fact that I still have very tangible 'symptoms' with no explanation (I have said all along, that I want something to be found to be wrong with me but I want it to be really minor!).

Well, lots of good and bad news from today. My sinus CT was completely unremarkable meaning nothing unusual. He was very surprised that I wasn't going to be needing sinus surgery because that is what he thought it was. So, he examined me...my swelling (I had significant swelling in my throat down to my vocal cords) is mostly gone...and, I have been feeling better since the meds he gave me (an antibiotic that I had not been on before and prednisone for swelling)....I have been able to swallow more normally and just felt better and believe it or not, I decided to see if I could feel my ever-present lymph nodes this morning, and I can't! The dr said he could still feel them, but they do seem smaller. So, now that the swelling is gone, he can see what he now things is the problem! My lingual tonsils!!!!!

That's right, I still have tonsils. Not the traditional tonsils that are at the back of the throat which were near-completely removed in my case when I was 5 (although, the dr did show me where I still have some remnants on the left side)...the issue with tonsils is that they are not clearly defined from the surrounding tissues/tongue, so they get what they can without digging into the other tissue too much. Well, apparently I have ALL my lingual tonsils which are down my throat near the base of my tongue and mine are 3X's the normal size. No other dr has found them because you have to actually look down the throat with a mirror or scope.

I feel a bit like I am on an epic quest and the illusive prize is always just out of my reach. In this case, the dr now feels like *THIS* is actually it....which I might share his confidence if I hadn't heard that and had that hope many times before....OR if the fix were easier. My only option is to have them surgically removed through an VERY painful, outpatient, laser procedure that 'peels' (his word not mine) the tonsils away from the very sensitive back of the tongue layer by layer - sounds fun right! The alternative is to wait and see and/or live with the issues if they return or worsen.

I do feel like it sheds alot of light on alot of issues - back when I was having strep, it isn't so mysterious now....they kept wondering how it was recurring since I had not tonsils for it to live in...well, voila, now we know where the strep set up shop, so to speak.

At this point in time, I feel pretty good and am a full year+ past my last strep occurrence, so in all likely hood, I will not endure (and put my family through) the procedure. There is no urgency, so I think a wait-and-see approach is wisest.

On to other things - my car battery is dying - when I go to start the car it is very slow to turn over....so, I am going to try to make it to Autozone today (thanks to Heather who just went through the same thing, so I know I won't be taking it to the dealer).

David is in Philly but just for two days...comes back tomorrow evening and is home the rest of this week. I have 'girl-evening' plans on Tuesday and Wednesday, with another mom from pre-school and my neighborhood ladies, respectively. I also have a class at the BeadHive on Thursday morning and lunch plans on Wednesday - oh, and plans with a couple of girlfriends on Friday night...wow, didn't realize I had so much 'me time' this week. I am also scheduled to donate platelets on Friday but may have to reschedule. I am also hoping to fit in a visit with dad this week. As usual, it will be a busy week. We have Ashley to help out though which is so nice because the boys really love spending time with her!

I have officially booked Ethan's birthday party - it will be at Pump It Up. I wasn't crazy about doing it there because that it the only place it seems we ever go for parties...but he really wanted it (and he is old enough now to have a definite opinion about what he wants, so I feel I should try to honor it)...and it is easy...all you do is pay and show up. They pretty much take care of everything for us! He is excited. We will also be celebrating with D's family on the Friday before his b-day by watching E.T. in the park. The boys have never seen E.T., and I think they will like it....and the timing was perfect that East Cobb Park was screening it that night - now if the weather will hold out!