Maybe There's a Scratch in the Vinyl

I was just a day or two back from China in early June and back at work.  It had to have been within days that I started to notice that my hearing was diminishing in my left ear.  No pain... I just couldn't HEAR!  While checking people in, I would have to lean FAR over the front desk, offering my right ear just so I could hear the person speaking across from me!

Also, like usual, my allergies were acting up, and I was SO congested.  I was a total mouth breather!  Ewwww... haha.  But it's true.  I couldn't breathe out of my nose at all.  

Honestly, I thought I just had water on my ear drum?  Or maybe I was having some problems acclimating after the long plane trip from China?  

But when I began to feel an aching pain deep within my ear and the hearing in my right ear started to diminish as well, I knew it was time to see a doctor.  This was kind of a tough decision for me to make because I didn't have insurance.  And as a college student, that $50 charge took a big hit!  But my parents really convinced me that it was time to go.  So I quickly made an appointment with the doctor in town.  

A little more background info:
I am from the VERY small East Texas town of Frankston.  Population = just over 1,200 (but that may include livestock).  One doctor, one pharmacy, a tiny town square, and a Dairy Queen.  You're not a real ETX town unless you have a Dairy Queen!  Haha...  

So I get taken back to the exam room and see the doc.  I give her a rundown of my symptoms.  Some of them were pretty usual with the allergy problems I had seemed to have been plagued with.  Growing up, I was in her office a couple times a year with my usual severe case of strep throat.  My tonsils are the ugliest pair I have ever seen!  Every time a doc looks in my throat now, they tell me how strange my tonsils look.  
She grabs the otoscope and takes one peek in my left ear, and whaddaya know!  "Lauren! This ear is totally infected!"  
What?!?!  My ear is infected?  Well, crap.  That sucks.  Turns out my right one was also pretty infected.  

"Ok doc, what are you going to prescribe?"  And I leave with a prescription for an antibiotic called Amoxicillin and a low dose of a corticosteroid called Prednisone.  I go about my business and return to work and hope that this antibiotic kicks in fast!

And guess what!  I was feeling great!  Through the 10 days of taking my prescriptions, the pain was gone!  Still couldn't hear though.  I figured I could address that later though, as long as I could function at work with no pain.  

And then... my antibiotics ran out and BAM!  WHERE IN THE HELL DID THIS PAIN COME FROM?!?  I mean, I was feeling better.  What happened?!?  This deep aching pain returned, now in both ears, and worse.  

I scheduled another appointment and whimpered when another $50 left my account.  She grabs the otoscope again and almost jumps back the moment she sees the inside of my ear.  "Lauren!  This has to be the WORST ear infection I have EVER seen!"  Ok, I'm concerned.  But hey, I've always had severe strep.  I was used to shocking the doctor.  And I knew that z-packs didn't work on me anymore after the many years of strep.  Maybe I just needed a stronger drug?  So I picked up my prescription for Augmentin, and again, Prednisone.  

So I'm feeling better again.  Ok!  This regimen is working!  Woohoo!  
Guess again.  
As soon as my meds run out, the pain returns.  Worse than last time!  
The pain is too bad and now interfering with my performance at work.  I call the doc to find out what I should do.  There was quite a bit of concern in her voice now as she told me that this had gotten too far out of her range.  I would need to see an ENT.  

Do you know how much it costs for just an initial consultation with an ENT if you don't have insurance?  Well, if not, let me tell you.  

About $300!
And that's not including any tests or meds.  That is simply the fee to TALK to someone.
AND... good luck getting an appointment if you are a "new patient".  Every ENT office in a 50 mile radius told me the earliest opening was AUGUST.  C'mon!  It was still the beginning of JUNE!     

So I decided to see another primary care doctor instead.  Hey, maybe I just needed a different prescription?  I made an appointment with a doctor in a town about 15 minutes away.  I walked out with a prescription for Levaquin and (you guessed it!) more Prednisone!  

I got to Sam's Club to fill my prescriptions, and the Levaquin was going to cost a couple hundred dollars because I had no insurance!  At this point, I was so overwhelmed an emotional.  The pharmacy called the doc to find out if there was a generic he could recommend.  The doctor ended up calling me directly.  I explained that I didn't have insurance.  But Levaquin was the only option, there was no generic.  What was I going to do?  After a few moments of silence, the doctor told me to come back to the clinic and that he would take care of it.  Confused, I obeyed and returned to the clinic.  I walked in to the clinic, and he met me at the door with a brown paper sack.  Inside, there were enough individual samples of Levaquin to make an entire prescription's worth.  I realize now, that the medical field needs more people with compassion just like this.  It makes all the difference.  

Maybe by now you are catching on to a trend?  If so, you could also probably guess that I felt just fine during this medication regimen.  And immediately when I was finished, I FELT AWFUL!  Again.  

Would this ever end?