And the saga continues...

Today I went to the ENT for my stupid ear. (I'm so glad that Clayton can't read. I can only imagine the chastisement that I would get for using the word "stupid.")

It was a long appointment filled with him saying a lot of "how interesting" and "that ear really does have a lot of fluid." He took a thorough history and then told me that I would probably need to have a tube put in that ear. The good news is that it would provide immediate relief. The bad news is that it would fall out in 8-12 months and the problem could come back. Lovely.

At the conclusion of that discussion, he decided to drop a huge bomb on me. He starts with, "I don't want to frighten you, but..." It's never good when a doctor leads with that.

He continues to say that there is a chance that I may have a nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Apparently, that type of cancer usually presents with persistent fluid in one ear.

Excuse me? What's that? I come in with an earache and now you are telling me that I could have a cancerous tumor???? Seriously?

My mind immediately started racing and fearing the worst. (I've never really been a "glass half full" type of girl!) I was completely freaking out!

He went and got this scope thing to look in my nose and see if he could visualize a tumor.

As this contraption is in my nose, he says, "how interesting..." I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, "What do you see? Am I dying?!??!" But I held my tongue and waited respectfully for him to elaborate.

He said that he could see that I have a sinus infection. His theory is that all of this ear stuff started with a sinus infection that snowballed. The sinus infection caused inflammation to my eustachian tube, which then restricted the fluid in my ear from draining. He thinks that the sinus infection was resistant to the last two antibiotics and that I need a "big gun" antibiotic.

So the plan is to complete a two week course of yet another antibiotic. He also wanted me to schedule the tube placement for two weeks from now. If the antibiotic cures my sinus infection and releases the pressure in my ear, then I can cancel the procedure. So, long story long, I am on another antibiotic and may or may not get a tube put in on March 12th.

That concludes my dissertation on my stupid ear. Was it everything you thought it would be and so much more? :)