Good news - no infection! :)

I had a follow-up visit with the ENT (Dr.V) today. They tested my hearing to see if I'm experiencing chemo-induced hearing loss (which would be irreversible!), and thankfully I am NOT - hearing is good. :) Next, doc examined my ears, nose and throat again and found no new signs of infection. He said the lack of new/progressive symptoms, combined with the fact that the decongestant is helping cut down on the whooshing/waves sound I'm hearing points to this being what I had hoped for out of the three possibilities -- chemo thickens mucus and my salivary glands are swollen from the mucus, causing a backup of it into the eustachian tube/canal. As long as we can manage it with decongestants and fluids (staying hydrated should help thin out the mucus), I should be able to avoid it turning into an infection. That's a relief! :) On another happy note, Cooper finally received his H1N1 vaccine this morning so he'll be protected from that craziness within 2 weeks of receiving it. It's nice to know we both finally have some protection from that hot mess.

Update - just back from the ENT

So...the verdict is still out on whether I have an infection -- ENT doc, Dr.V (who is very cool, I might add), says that it doesn't APPEAR to be one (I only have one out of three of the signs of a typical ear infection), but he said it COULD be the start of a sinus infection based on my symptoms and the redness he observed in my ear so they're all over me like flies on....well, you know. It also could be that the mucus in my salivary glands (from the chemo, and they're still swollen) could be backing up into the eustacian tube causing these symptoms and that could also lead to an infection. And a third, yet remote, possibility is that this could be the beginning stages of hearing loss brought on by the chemo I'm on (Carboplatin in particular) b/c it's a known side effect which unfortunately would be irreversible...so just in case I have a hearing test scheduled for Wednesday -- if they detect hearing loss they'll look at modifying the dose of my last chemo or something like that -- so now the prayer list expands to include stable hearing so I can get the full current dose of chemo for the last round. If I was to guess which of the three possibilities we're dealing with - I would guess the back up into the eustacian tube - b/c I have no other sinus infection type symptoms - no congestion or runny nose, no headache issue except a very brief piercing/jarring feeling when I stand up quickly, and I also haven't noticed any hearing loss, thankfully. So what we're doing about this right now is starting me on a high powered decongestant to see if that clears things up and if I still have symptoms in a couple days they'll get me in for a CT scan of my sinuses to look for possible infection because they'll want to treat it asap if there is one there. As a bonus, the ENT said he did not feel any angry or swollen lymph glands in my neck - that only the salivary glands were swollen - loved hearing that. I was due to have a boobie inflation appointment at 4 pm at UCLA today but when I called to inform them I was heading to the ENT to investigate the ear issue they said I needed to reschedule that because they don't want to take a chance at doing the inflation while there could be an active infection in my body so now I have to go there on Friday instead. My husband often tells me I'm too chatty sometimes - often sharing more details than is necessary - but I laugh at him and tell him that my chattiness and TMI sharing habit has actually saved me numerous times - today it saved me a roundtrip to/from UCLA (that's 80 miles roundtrip during rushhour in L.A.) and a possible unnecessary new health problem. So - listen up folks - there's really no such thing as TMI when you're dealing with your health and your doctors and nurses -- tell them everything because that's the only way they can help keep you on the right path. I wonder if any of you are thinking why in the world I would go in for another inflation when I've already declared I'm not doing anymore of those. Well, I MIGHT do an inflation if the doctor looks at me and says he needs more room to work to turn these puppies into masterpieces in January...but if he doesn't need anymore room to do that then I won't do any inflating because I'm fine with their current size or smaller. I'm really going in to have him tell me what he can do to fix the divets and stuff from my scars and other imperfections during my surgery in January -- because hearing what he can fix will make it a bit easier to appreciate the discomfort and unattractive appearance of these expanders.

Ut oh....possible infection ;/

The past few days I've noticed my ears feeling pressurized. Not painful or sore at all, just strange. The past 36+ hours I've been hearing waves crashing in my head, like waves at the beach, minus the beautiful scenery haha. Again, no pain or soreness at all. Yesterday, whenever I stood up quickly from a seated position my head felt funny - like a quick headache blast that would last for just a few seconds then things would seem normal again (or normal with some beach waves swishing around LOL). This morning when I went in to get my Neupogen shot from the nurse I mentioned the orchestra of ocean waves I've been hearing and next thing I know I am being shuffled into an examination room to see the doctor. Doc looked in my right ear and said "hmmm this one is severely packed with wax"...and then he switched to the left said and said "yeahhhhh....it's red...could be infected." He started to write a prescription for antibiotics but then stopped and said he wants me to see an ENT today to have them look at it to confirm infection because if it isn't he doesn't want me on antibiotics, and to have the right ear cleaned out. He said I need to be seen today so we can catch this early before it becomes dangerous (infection during chemo = not good) and that if I can't be seen today we'd resort to antibiotics. I have an appointment with the ENT at 1 pm. Fingers crossed and prayers being said that this ear thing is no big deal. I trust all will be OK but the word "infection" is a bit scary when you're on chemo.