Hi. Need help please.

I woke up with a sore throat last Thursday. Got significantly worse every day. By Saturday night, I couldn't swallow without wanting to cry. No other symptoms -- no fever, no nausea, no cold, nothing. On Sunday I went to Solantic clinic and they diagnosed me with strep. Ok. I've been taking penicilin ever since Sunday afternoon and I don't see an improvement. Maybe 10% easier to swallow and the pain has shifted more to the left side, but I can't talk, move my neck or swallow without cringing. I can't sleep. I've missed two days of work already and probably won't go back tomorrow.

I remember YEARS ago I got this and had to go back to the doctor to get stronger medication. Is it possible that penicilin just doesn't work for me? Should I go back to the doc tomorrow or give it time? Right now my neck feels 12" thick and the pain is radiating from my throat just sitting here. Help me, please, before I chop my head off.

TIA.

Did the doctor take a throat swab before prescribing the medicine?

It's possible the results are not in and you got a half measure to try and make you feel better.

No, I am definitely not a doctor but I did have strep once. Didn't know what it was at the time and only went to the hospital when I could not speak or swallow.

I just tried to sneeze but I couldn't. I think I was too scared it would hurt so my body just fought the sneeze off.

Yes, they swabbed and said it was positive for strep.

I'm gonna try to get some rest now. But this is unbearable! Don't know why I posted on here. All the medical peeps are probably busy saving lives rather than posting on a message board.

Whatever you do... do not drink anything like orange juice or other citrus related drinks.

Your tonsils are inflamed. Gargle with a solution of warm water with some salt added. Don't put too much salt into the water.

I hope you feel better. Good Luck.

Kill the bacteria, I'll be over with a couple bottles of hard alcohol. Just trying to cheer you up. Hope you feel better!

Midnight -
I am an RN. You need to get seen again. The ABX that you were prescribed should have already helped.

Here'a a resource:
Treatment

If you or your child has strep throat, your doctor will likely prescribe an oral antibiotic such as penicillin, amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox), azithromycin (Zithromax), clarithromycin (Biaxin), clindamycin (Cleocin) or a brand of cephalosporin (Keflex, Ceclor). Penicillin may be given by injection in some cases — such as if you have a young child who is having a hard time swallowing or is vomiting from strep throat.

These antibiotics reduce the duration and severity of symptoms, as well as the risk of complications and the likelihood that infection will spread to classmates or family members.

Once treatment begins, you or your child should start feeling better in just a day or two. Call your doctor if you or your child doesn't feel better after taking antibiotics for 24 to 48 hours. If children on antibiotic therapy feel well and don't have a fever, they often can return to school or child care when they're no longer contagious — usually 24 hours after beginning treatment. But be sure to finish the entire course of medicine. Stopping medication early may lead to recurrences and serious complications, such as rheumatic fever or kidney inflammation.

In addition to antibiotics, your doctor may suggest ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to relieve throat pain and reduce fever. Because of the risk of Reye's syndrome, a potentially life-threatening illness, don't give aspirin to young children. Be careful with acetaminophen, too. Taken in large doses, it can cause serious problems. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions.
Strep Treatment - Mayo Clinic

You may just need a different antibiotic. Fore some reason Zithromax (some prescribe a "Z Pak") always works better on me.

What concerns me about your description is an obstructed airway. If you feel like you are beginning to have more difficulty breathing, go to your closest ER.

My wicked stepmother used to make me hot toddies too, but you may (or may not ) like those!

Hang in there.
OrganDonor

One other thing - if they try and give you an injection of rocephin (vitamin R in the business), make sure they mix it with lidocaine. It'll hurt like heck if they don't!

Mono.

Drink a fifth of liquor of your choice (nothing less than 80 proof) to kill it right away. If it doesn't work then at least you won't notice it due to your hangover.

Axle

Agree with Master Donor. Also a C&S should have been performed. If you had similar infection and pour initial results from tx, your body may have developed immunity from the tx. See your doc ASAP. Good luck as well.

I'm back. I can't sleep.

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll go see my doc first thing in the morning. I can still breathe OK. So far.

Hi Liz, hope you're feeling better!

The "Z Pak" that OrganDonor mentioned was the only medicene that provided me with relief.

I would also reccomend NY Madman's salt water remedy. I've used that for years, and that too works nicely!

Agree with the Donor. It seems with the way ABX. are thrown at every ailment without proper diagnoses its to the point that PCN. is an antiquated antibiotic (for some things). So it is possible that you may need to "rev" up the ABX. As Donor said and CAN NOT be stressed enough airway could be an issue, although unlikely. Go back to the Doc and bring him/her up to speed.

Just got over the same thing. And I'm allergic to penecillin and other such drugs to boot. It's been three weeks since it started and it's just now getting better. Strep is a pain it the ass! A week ago I was spitting into a cup so I didn't have to swallow! Anyway, a z-pack and a crapload of nyquil seemed to do the trick.

Yep, I threw away two "spittoons" yesterday. Sunday and Monday were horrifyingly painful.

Went to my normal doc this morning. He said keep taking the penicilin and if it's not better by Friday to take Z-Pak. He also prescribed me some Motrin. I feel OK today. Ears still hurt. Neck still hurts. But throat is 40% better. He thinks by tomorrow I should be OK. He also listened to my lungs and said they don't sound good. I have to take my albuterol inhaler again and he wants to see me next week. He thinks I have allergies/asthma. Yay!

Apparently strep is going around. He thinks all the smoke from the wildfires last week may have been a contributor. It was heavy for about three days. Looked like fog. Couldn't see a mile ahead. And we were all breathing it every time we stepped outside.

Thanks again for all the advice. I hope I never get strep throat again. And I hope I get some sleep tonight. Last night = 2 hours.

Now that you mention it, I was in Jacksonville and surrounding areas for a couple of days last week and it was pretty damn smokey. Not as bad as it gets out west during bad wildfire seasons, but still pretty bad.

Hope you feel better soon.

Plain old penicillin is still the antibiotic of choice for Stretococcus pyogenes infection, which your rapid strep test is showing is likely the cause of your problem. S. pyogenes, kind of unusually for this day and age, still shows no sign of developing resistance to penicillin. Problem is, if you wait more than 24-48 hours to begin antibiotic treatment of strep throat, the antibiotic won't shorten the duration of the symptoms any, so you're stuck. However, you should still take the drug to prevent more serious streptococcal syndromes elsewhere in the body, keep you from spreading the bug to others, and prevent immune-mediated problems like rheumatic fever--a heart-valve problem. Hope you're feeling better!

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that I am feeling MUCH better tonight. I am actually doing laundry and washing my sheets and blankets and throwing out my toothbrush and disinfecting my condo. I am downloading music. I am talking on the phone! I am even gonna go through the stack of mail sitting on my table that's been piling up for weeks. There's probably bills in there.

My throat still hurts but I am not even noticing it now. The swelling in my neck has gone down. I'm THRILLED!

I filled the prescription for Z-Pack tonight. I don't trust penicilin. I found a hive on my leg earlier and I'm just scared of it. Z-Pack always works for me and it's so much easier to take.

Thanks again for all the well-wishes and advice. Compared to last night, I feel 100% better!