Symptomatic

April 15, 2009 4:35 AM

YANMD: After two days lying in bed, the fever has stopped, I no longer have chills, and I think I can get up and walk around. But now I have searing pain in the back of my throat - much worse than it was before. What's going on?
posted by puckish to health & fitness (16 answers total)

have you gone to a doctor?
posted by Flood at 4:49 AM on April 15, 2009

You're still sick. Get back in bed. And force fluids -- if you don't have to pee every ten minutes you're not drinking enough.
posted by jjg at 4:53 AM on April 15, 2009

And force fluids -- if you don't have to pee every ten minutes you're not drinking enough.

Okay well that's wrong and potentially incredibly dangerous.
posted by gramcracker at 5:01 AM on April 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

I had something similar a few months ago and it turned out to be an abscess in my throat which required antibiotics. You should see a doctor.
posted by gfrobe at 5:31 AM on April 15, 2009

High fever/chills indicates some type of infection. Could be a severe case of strep but also could be a tonsils infection.In any event pls. go to the doctor. I had a tonsils infections a few years back after a long flight, I tried to tough it out for two days seeing I was in a foreign country. I ended up going to the doctor since I barely could swallow. By the next day after taking antibiotics I was 100% better.
posted by carlsdad at 5:46 AM on April 15, 2009

the information you've given could be any or a combo of: strep, mono or a throat abscess. Each requires different care. Go to a doctor, the internets can't help you iwth this.
posted by lonefrontranger at 6:14 AM on April 15, 2009

Agree with all of the above; basically, almost any disease can leave you vulnerable to others. Your throat is a good point of entry. Get thee to a doctor.
posted by Coobeastie at 6:37 AM on April 15, 2009

Sounds like when I had mono. I wound up going to the emergency room because of the fever and pain, where the doctor tried to convince me that I might have HIV, because the infection symptoms are similar. I'm not trying to freak you out or anything, I just want you to be prepared: if you go to the doctor they may explore a whole range of possibilities, some very unpleasant. But you should still go!
posted by hermitosis at 6:38 AM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

If it's strep and you don't get antibiotics, you might end up with heart damage from rheumatic fever after the throat pain goes away. Severe throat pain always calls for a trip to the doctor for a strep test, if nothing else.

The rapid tests for strep are handy, but not always accurate. Always get the slow test if the result of the rapid one is negative. I had a bad experience with a false negative rapid strep test, but the results of the culture several days later got me the treatment I needed.
posted by Ery at 7:22 AM on April 15, 2009

Your description matches my symptoms when I had strep. Started out as a bad cold/flu, developed into horrific throat pain. Go to the doctor ASAP.
posted by Kimberly at 7:30 AM on April 15, 2009

This is what my mono was like, too. The sore throat lasted much longer than the fever. Then the sore throat went away and I slept 16 hours a day for 3 weeks.
posted by peep at 8:29 AM on April 15, 2009

I have very similar symptoms right now!
yeah, basically the answer is you're not better, and should probably see a doctor as it might be strep/mono/etc. I did, and after a negative quick-strep, they said it was "most likely a non-strep very similar bacterial infection, or strep but it didn't show up, or something similar but viral, and here, anyway, take these antibiotics because it can't hurt." and then they did a culture.
that was yesterday.
I feel better now, but not 100%.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 8:58 AM on April 15, 2009

This happened to me recently, and it turned out to be a freaking canker sore in my throat. It was agony, and I was making it worse with my usual sick-in-bed diet of spicy and acidic foods. Once I laid off the hot lemonade and Sichuan braised beef, it went away in a couple days.
posted by jillsy_sloper at 9:01 AM on April 15, 2009

GO TO A DOCTOR NOW.

I had strep a couple of months ago, and your symptoms sound like mine.

GO TO A DOCTOR NOW NOW NOW.
posted by magstheaxe at 9:35 AM on April 15, 2009

Yep, had this, couldn't even swallow my own spit. I don't go to doctors for nothing, but I went to the doctor. Day and a half after starting antibiotics I was almost back to normal. Go go go.
posted by zadcat at 9:39 AM on April 15, 2009

Mono started that way for me. Also I recently had a kidney infection diagnosed with a very very very sore throat as a big clue. A quick lab test at your local doc in a box can tell you what you have.
posted by FergieBelle at 11:33 AM on April 18, 2009