Sore throat lasting over 2 weeks

[Curly03]

A lil over two weeks ago I got a minor sore throat. I was out in the cold with my family so I just assumed it was dry from the cold. The next morning my throat was still hurting but was slightly worse. My son was sick as well so my boyfriend and I took him to Urgent Care. While we were there my throat was getting worse but it was only hurting on one side and I felt a lil congested and my nose was stuffy so I decided to get checked out as well before I got worse. The doctor said my throat didnt look bad and the strep test was negative so he gave me some amoxicillin for 10 days twice a day and told me to only take it if I didnt get better within a few days. Later on that night I started getting really sick. I had chills and felt nasous and my throat got a lot worse. I eventally started running a fever almost 101 with reoccuring chills. I finally was able to get out of bed and take some more ibprofan a few times during the night and the fever went away but my throat was still irritated and I still felt somewhat congested and slightly stuffy. A few days past I still was sick so I decided to take the amoxicillan. My throat would feel better on somedays but would still usually hurt in the mornings and at night and the pain would move around. I finished the antibotics Saturday and Im still sick. It seems like Im feeling worse these past few days. I have been out in the cold off and on but I have never had my throat to hurt this long except when I had mono as a teen. My throat really hurts when I swallow the pain still moves around and hurts when I talk. I have to take Ibprofan every 4 hours and sometimes it doesnt really help. Throat medicens arent really helping much either. I have a cough now at times with mucous build up and it feels like something is stuck in the back of my throat. I was wondering if its just a really bad cold or could be nasal drip. I read online about stuff but it just mainly says if a sore throat lasts more then a week or two it could be a serious illeness like Aids or throat cancer. That just really scared me so I try to stay away from the online stuff. I dont know what else to do. I tried taking allergy medicen tonight its not really helping besides making me tired and Im tired of taking ibprofan I know its not good to keep taking it. Im thinking about going to another doctor I just dont know what good it would do and Im worried about it being something serious. My mom and boyfriend have developed sore throats as well over a week ago but they seem to be getting better and Im not and I was the first one to get sick. I dont understand why its not going away. Under my chin its tender and my ears feel like their kind of hurting from fluids and it hurts to talk. Im just wanting advice on if anyone else has ever had a sore throat and similar symptoms to last over two weeks? If so what did you do about it and what caused it?

[silverfox67]

It is possible that you need another antibiotic.  Sometimes the antibiotic prescribed isn't enough to knock out the germ.  Especially with the new viruses floating around.  See your doctor and explain that the Amoxicillin didn't work.  He/she will probably give you something stronger or another bout of the Amoxicillin.  - Some of us do not take the antibiotics as prescribed and later suffer because of it as the germ goes dormant and doesn't die.  Be sure to take your meds the way the doctor says so you can get well.  I hope you get well soon.   PS  When I get sick I stay sick for a month.

[mkh9]

I disagree, it sounds like you have a bad cold or the flu and antibiotics don't work on viruses. The doctor gave you the antibiotic in cause you develop pneumonia or something in the lung. You don't have any signs or symptoms of strep throat. You need bed rest for a couple of days. Different viruses act differently on various people and also depends on your immune system and you have been running around in the cold as well. Also, there are other types of virues to watch out for that can hang around. Since this one seems to be getting worse you may want to revisit your doctor. You also don't have symptoms of mono or Eptein Barr virus .In your case the antibiotic or another one if you took that one already may benefit you because you may have a ear infection. You can try an antihistamine such as Zyrtec (daytime) or pseudofed (if you can tolerate it). Zyrtec won't make you sleepy. This will help clear out the ears and probably help some with your nasal symptoms. Let us know how you do.

[Curly03]

Hello, Thank you both for your replys. I tried just about everything from allergy meds, tylenol, throat lozengers, and gargling salt water. I was still mainly in pain the meds only helped for a few hours. Shortly after I wrote this I went and bought some dayquil it helped me and a few days later I got a lot better and my sore throat finally went away. Now my mom is currently battling a sore throat hers has been bother her off and on when I was sick. So I think we both had some kind of really bad cold/virus. Im just glad my sore throat finally went away. Its aweful always being in pain like that for a while.

[mkh9]

Glad you are feeling better. With strep throat you get a high fever, and sometimes swollen lymph nodes in the neck area but never goes to the nose throat or chest (cough). You usually can see white spots in the back of the throat but not always. So, if you have these other symptoms it is a cold or flu. The doctor was wrong not to do a throat culture on you if he suspected strep throat because the strep test is inaccurate and is supposed to be followed up by a culture. Doctors more often than not treat empirically (by symptoms) and give meds based on what could happen such as you could potentially have strep throat since he didn't do the strep culture, or you could develop pneumonia since he figured you may have a bad virus and it could get into your chese and worse. The problem with the type of treatment has been that over the years bacteria have become very resistant to antibiotics. Anyway, I just wanted you to know what I think happened.
take care,
mkh9