Ear fungus is not FUN.

The first week of May, I realized I had an ear infection. I'm usually one to hop right down to the doctor whenever I don't feel good. But this one time, I decided I'd just suffer through it and let it run its course. Besides that was a very busy week - an RWA meeting, I was graduating on from the Junior College I'd been attending, Mother's Day was Sunday.

But the ear ache didn't get better and I was draining fluid, so on Saturday morning, after getting through graduation (with Honors, btw) I went to the clinic at my doctor's office. The physician's assistant looked into my ear and said, "Oh, you have something growing in your ear." That wasn't the response I expected.

Well, for the next month, I went back and forth to my doctor, taking ear drops and antibiotics. One of the antibiotics was Bactrim. I'm sure that I've taken that before, it's a familiar name, but I can't say for sure. At any rate, I took it and a Vicadin for pain as soon as I got home from the pharmacy. Within minutes, I was itching from head to foot. I called my doctor's office, who told me that I should take some benydril. I don't have benydril in my house, so I grabbed the 6-month-old granddaughter and rushed off to the phramacy. With welts now forming on my arms and legs, I bought the benydril and a bottle of water. At the counter I ripped open the package and opened two pill pods. The pharmacist stared at me, and then said "are you going straight home?" I said, "yes." "Well you should, because those will make you drowsy."

I just stared at the woman. I'm breaking out in hives, I'm itiching from head to foot (literally, the soles of my feet itched) and this woman wants me to WAIT until I get home to take the pills? Yeah, right. Besides, I'd be more worried about the Vicadin I'd taken 45 minutes before, but she didn't know about those....

Okay, we learned I'm allergic to sulpha drugs...first thing I've ever been allergic to in my life.

So, after a month and the infection/fungus not getting any better, I asked to go to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. He confirmed the fungus and the fact I had a big hole in my eardrum. He filled my canal with cream and told me to come back in a week. I did. He said it was looking good and to come back in a month to check the progess of the hole in the eardrum.

Less than a week later, the fungus was back. He filled my ear canal with cream again. Today I returned for him to check the progress. It's better, but the problem two weeks ago was the hole in the eardrum. Usually he gives drops for a week, too. But the drops burn when they pass through the hole in the eardrum, so he didn't give them to me. But since the fungus came back, he removed the cream today and put wicks in my ear canal. The hope is that the wick will hold the drops and fight the infection and not let the medicine pass through the eardrum, where it'll burn.

Yep, ear fungus is not fun!

I'll keep you posted on the results.

~Anna Kathryn