Finally Saw The ENT

[BrokenBladder]

Well I finally got to see the ENT today and boy was I ever a mess by the time I got to him.:(
It turns out that I did rupture my ear drum, but he said it is a small tear. He changed my antibiotics, put me on steriods, and Nasacort. So now I have more medications to add to my army that I already have.:rolleyes:
Anyway he said that I should start to feel some relief in about 3-5 days, but that it will take a couple of months for my body to repair the tear in my ear drum.
I want to thank all of you for your support and good advice. The last week of my life has been **** to say the least, but all of you made it seem bearable.

[Pamster]

Oh Lisa I am so glad you got in to see the ENT and that he's given you things to deal with it. I am sure it was excruciating and it's probalby not much better today, but in a few more days it will be better I bet. I am so glad you went in and got seen. Good luck with the meds you're on, I hope they help big time. :)

[Mark N]

Girl, you need to get in earlier to see the ENT! At least these meds are temporary and there will come a time that your body is healed. I know the discomfort and pain that you have gone through, thankfully I don't get this any more, and it is more than you need to do. Don't you have enough pain and discomfort:D or do you need to add more just to feel alive lol. I am glad you got in and have the meds to help you feel better.

[Kathi49]

Lisa,

I am so glad you got to the ENT today. :)

Based on your other post and the description, I pretty much figured it was a ruptured eardrum. Normal earaches don't feel that way I know!! And everything your ENT said and did was pretty much what my ENT said and did. And I also had a small tear. He probably told you not to get water into it either.

Sooooooo...

That is why I suggested getting those little waxy disc things that you can mold to fit your outer ear. You don't push them all the way in; just mold enough to fit the outer ear while you shower. You can find them at the drugstore where the "Swimmer's Ear" stuff is.

It took my ear about 3 months to heal over. I could still get in a pool but I didn't as I didn't want to risk any water getting in there.

I hope you can get some relief soon and I think here shortly you will begin to. :)

[BrokenBladder]

Kathi you're right he said no water in my ear. I took your advice from your earlier post and already got the wax things to put in my ear when I shower. Thanks for the tip.
Mark so glad to see you're back and posting. Hope everything went well with your PCP. Yeah I guess I needed a little more pain to add to my problems. :)
Pamster thanks for your words of encouragement. The last week has been a challenge for me for sure. I had no idea how difficult it would be just to get into to see an ENT!! Anyway now I'm on the correct meds and hoping my weekend improves.
Here's something to make everyone laugh. The ENT I saw is also an ENT at the ER that I went to. He told me to throw away everything they gave me as it wouldn't do a bit of good. Go figure!!

[Mark N]

Lisa, things went well with my PCP as he is on board with my disability claim. The bad news is that he verified my problem with my abdomen as just getting fat. Great, what I need now that I can do very little activity. I guess a starvation diet is the only thing left that can take the pounds off lol.

Kati is right about avoiding water in your years until the ear drum heals up. be careful with showering and if you do any swimming.

[Kathi49]

BB,

You sound like me! When I ruptured my eardrum and told my friends, they just busted out laughing...as in, "What's next???!!!" And, see, there I was trying do gentle water aerobics for the spinal issues; trying to do something positive anyway. And what do I get? LOL And you're right. What else could I do to add some more pain? :) Now I am dealing with a shoulder impingement of sorts and from doing housework. I just give up LOL! The only positive note is at least this time around it is NOT coming from my neck.

But, boy, I know what you mean by the pain. The ENT asked, "You only went under in 5 feet of water and came up and blew out your ear?" Uh, yeah, evidently. That's when he said I had to have had either an infection or blocked tubes. I just didn't know it. I guess the symptoms weren't bad enough yet for me to even notice.

Mark,

Please don't starve yourself. :eek: Back in the day, when I was pregnant and was a gestational diabetic, I didn't gain all that much weight. However, the baby was getting big. So, I was put on a diabetic diet. I was eating 2400 calories a day and losing weight...not big time. But in two weeks I lost 7 lbs. That hospital was bringing me so much food to eat that I thought I would pop! And I mean snacks in between meals where I would almost pass out after eating. And the weight loss was because it was not all empty calories. I am sure they do things differently now because of the change in the food pyramid. Oh, and, yes, I was very inactive being on bed rest for two months; only allowed to get up to use the bathroom. Anyway, my point being that on that type of diet I could pretty much eat what I want; just had to do the exchanges. It was kind of a pain to figure it all out but after awhile I got used to it. And, well, since I was on bedrest my mother took care of me while my husband worked. But she stuck to the letter on that diet when she cooked for me.

And, go figure, 6 months to a year after she was born I went the other way and turned hypogylcemic and dropped to 90 lbs.! Geez, that is when the doc told me to put the weight back on and get out there and eat cheeseburgers and milkshakes! LOL Finally, I got the blood sugar under control with his help.

[BrokenBladder]

Kathi you and I seem to have alot of the same problems!! To tell you the truth I don't know how I busted my ear drum!! I also had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, both times (the last time being 16 years ago), and now the weight is just falling off of me with no explanation!! Down to 96 pounds and counting!!

Mark please don't starve yourself. I'll tell you what my secret was for my first husband when his weight got out of control. I counted fat grams!! I allowed him to have 50 fat grams in a day. It really worked and he was never an active fellow, mainly sat at the computer all day and night!! I know there are alot more fancy diets out there now, but recently he started it again and is losing weight again. Of course he had to call me for some pointers!! If you're interested I'll PM some of the details.

[Kathi49]

Lisa,

You seem better already! Have the meds taken hold? :)

Regarding Gestational Diabetes. I am certain you were also told that as we age we need to watch it. Along with periodic testing, I sometimes ask my PCP to run an A1C. Evidently, I have been keeping the blood sugar under control. Also, I bought a meter. Not that I really need one. But sometimes I just want to check it especially for a few days after I get a steroid injection. That way I can adjust what I am eating. Watch that weight loss girl! But, gee, sometimes I WISH were 96 lbs. LOL! Just kidding. If I can lose just 5 to 6 more lbs., I will be where I want to and should be.

[BrokenBladder]

I do feel better!!!! My energy level is still really low, but what else is new? I'm 5'2" tall so I should be at about 110 pounds. Right now I look like a stick!! Not good!! The last time I weighed this was when I was about 14 years old so I'm not happy at all about this weight loss. I have been eating all kinds of fattening foods, but so far nothing.
I'm always a positive person,well most of the time, so I figure things have got to improve!! The glass is always half full, right??

[Pamster]

I am really glad you're feeling better today Lisa! That is awesome that the meds helped already. I hope you can get your weight back up to your normal level soon, it's not good to weigh less then what you should and it sounds like you are doing the right things to get well. ;) Glad to hear you're a glass half full thinker, that is great. :D

Mark, I really hope you don't starve yourself, that's not healthy and it can make you gian weight believe it or not. The body goes into starvation mode and holds onto whatever you eat because it knows you're starving yourself. Have you tried using the Low Carb Diet? I lost over 60 pounds a couple years ago using it and its a pretty fast weight loss diet if you follow it properly. I wish you luck in your weight loss journey and hope you go about it the right way. :)