Today I went to see Dr. Reyes, my "primary care provider," to borrow the vocabulary of the health insurance industry. It seemed like a logical thing to do.
After all, a few days ago Dr. Olds (radiologist) had told me she thought my night time gagging was not a result of the two swollen lymph nodes just above my Adam's apple, but rather a result of enlarged tonsils. And, she said, neither radiation nor surgical removal was a good idea (for now). Funny that she saw enlarged tonsils, but the ear, nose, throat specialist, Dr. Lee, had not, back in late December, just after the biopsy surgery.
Swell. So what do I do about reducing the size of the tonsils so I can actually breathe while sleeping (a novel idea, no)?
So this past weekend I spent a bit of time reading about tonsilitis and tonsilectomies. Come to find out, tonsils are lymph nodes, just big ones with their own name. I never knew that. Plus, tonsilitis can cause enlarged [other] lymph nodes.
One Web site said: "Infected tonsils are a result of a reduced immune system, not the cause of it," or words to that effect. And, elsewhere, there is a common connection between infected tonsils and inner ear infections/problems. Interesting. I have had a gradually worsening inner ear itch for more than a year, but hadn't paid a heck of a lot of attention to it. I had bigger fish to fry than that, I thought.
So, then, what to do about it all?
Off I went to Dr. Reyes to see if maybe he might prescribe a blast of antibiotics to clear up the tonsilitis.
"I'm not impressed with your tonsils," he said, meaning they didn't look particularly enlarged to him.
"Huh? Dr. Olds said they were, and that was only four days ago. And I'm spitting up bits of tissue when I gargle with Listerine at night, plus the inner ear thing is bothering me even more lately. Is it possible that the tube they shoved down my throat for the biopsy surgery scraped my tonsils, but they healed a bit since Dr. Olds saw them four days ago?"
"Maybe," says Dr. Reyes. "But I don't think a prescription of antibiotics is in order now."
O.K., I guess. If you say so.
So what the heck am I gagging on at night?
And since the prescription by all the doctors, for both chronic lymphoma and tonsilitis (if there is that), is to do nothing, it looks like the only course of action available to me is "nutrition, exercise, sleep (still a problem there), and boost the immune system."
More reading to do. Lots more. Time to Google "boost immune system" and try to separate fact from quackery.
Time for bed.
