The Doctor

So I hate to go to the doctor. I hate waiting in the waiting room, only to wait once they lead you back to the other room. I hate that I never feel like I get to ask the questions that I have, and I hate it when I have to take medication. Scott and I are so different in this manner. Probably because I have never been prescribed medication that is vital to my life that I take like he has. But either way... I hate taking meds. I don't take them on time, and I rarely remember to take antibiotics long enough to finish the "10-day" or "14-day" cycle. I have probably screwed with my immune system so much.

Well, here's the deal. About three weeks ago i came home on Friday after a mediocre conference. I had a raging headache, probably because of the sinus preassure I was feeling. Great. A sinus infection. I went to bed early, toughed it out, and within in a couple of days, I was okay except for an awful sore throat. Here it is three weeks later, and my throat is still so sore that it really hurts to swallow. I hate complaining about "hurts" or "aches" but this is really a nuisance. All the while, the past three weeks I have been asking myself back and forth, "When DO I suck it up and go to the doctor?" Does one ever really know? So I finally made an appt. for this Monday at 3:30 pm. I am already dreading it because I will have to race over from work, and go through all of the steps I already complained about before. But then what? What do I tell her? "uh... I have a really bad sore throat." How lame is that? Do you ever go to the doctor for a sore throat? But does one ever last this bad for three weeks? Yeah, I hate the entire deal with medical care, doctors, sickness. And in light of Emily's constant ear infections, and the threat of possible ear tubes, I constantly wonder what in the heck did they do a hundred years ago when people got sick? Did a "really bad sore throat" ever lead to anything that killed somebody? And if it didn't, then should I REALLY be going to the doctor, or would it just be another wasted trip that an over-precautious American took advantage of only to add to the problems with health care? But that's a whole other issue.