Hi,
I caught strep two months ago from my daughter, took antibiotics and was fine after a week. Two months later I felt I had the same symptoms, nausea, sore throat, chills, achy and lethargic AND white spots on tonsils. Went to the dr and the rapid strep was negative and the culture was negative. I ended up taking ceftin (antibiotic) bc I felt so bad.
Ten days later and I feel better, BUT throat is still sore and I have swollen tonsils w white spots. Went back to dr and they pretty much blew me off.
What could this be?? I'm starting to panic.
RD
You need a new doctor. You need to be tested to find out what's wrong.
https://thelifesquare.com/causes-of-white-spots-on-tonsil...
Don't PANIC - that doesn't help. Find a doctor who wants to help you. THAT will help you.
Wow that's a long time to have those symptoms! I would go to an ENT. They can further test you. My daughter had coxacki last year with white blisters in her mouth, throat and lips! Lasted a while too and painful! Go to ENT!! Good luck! Hope you get answers and start to feel better soon!!!
Don't panic. Act. Get a second opinion. Tell your doctor you want to see an ENT and get a referral (if referrals are required by your insurance). There's no shame in that and you don't have to defend your decision to the doctor. Either the ENT will run more tests or review prior test results (or both). And you'll have a second set of eyes on your tonsils.
Lots of things besides strep can cause this. There are other infections caused by bacteria or viruses. Perhaps you have a bacterial infection that was resistant to the antibiotic you took, perhaps it's a viral infection that wouldn't be treated by antibiotics. Have you had a test for mono? I'm not clear why you took an antibiotic anyway if there was no indication, but someone prescribed it for you so hopefully it wasn't just to get rid of you.
Long lasting symptoms like the ones you name are very common with mono. FYI there are 2 tests for mono and the first one is often negative. Also, have someone palpate your belly - an enlarged spleen (like enlarged tonsils) is a sign of the body trying to fight an infection, and it often accompanies mono. My son's spleen was huge, his throat very sore, his muscles achy and so on.
I am not a doctor - but couldn't it be tonsillitis?
Added - yes to ENT. I have two kids who just had issues one after another and ENT was the way to go. Saved us many visits to the regular doctor - one stop, and they figured things out. Hope you go and feel better soon!
Go see an Ear Nose Throat doctor.
Tonsils are more bother than they are worth.
If the ENT suggests a tonsillectomy - go for it.
As an adult the recovery won't be as easy as it is for a kid but once they are gone you won't be having prolonged recurring issues like you are having now.
It's not your job to figure out what it is. That's your doctor's job. If you feel like your doctor blew you off, call back and insist they figure out what is going on. Or, find a different doctor.
You didn't go to med school. You are not supposed to do research and figure out what's going on. Your doctor DID go to med school and should be taking you seriously.
But really, try not to panic. If you didn't test positive for strep, it could be tonsillitis or any number of other infections. It could be that the most recent round of antibiotics simply wasn't enough. That happens. Sometimes infections are stronger and need more than one round.
But you really have to ask a doctor.
My son had the same thing when he had mono. He ended up getting strep too. I had your symptoms, also, when I had tonsillitis. I waited to go to the doctor because I thought it was just a bad sore throat, but it ended up being the worst pain I have had. I'd get a second opinion and more tests.
I’ve had white spots on my tonsils that weren’t strep just viral. My doctor prescribed a steroid to take the inflammation away.
I wouldn’t panic if I were you. This is highly annoying but I wouldn’t think it was anything serious.
My brother just had this last week. His tonsils were swollen with black and white spots on them. Look up tonsil stones. He had to go to the doctor 3 times before he found a medicine that worked. I've never seen my brother cry. He was in so much pain. For some reason it gave him the worst breath.
It takes a lot to gross me out. I threw up after looking in his throat. I tried calling him to get the name of the medicine that worked but hes working. Go to a different doctor. He went to 3 different walk ins before he found the right meds.
Usually the white spots signal an infection. However, my 19 year old had white spots develop and I was certain she had strep. She wasn't in any pain and didn't necessarily feel sick, which is unusual if you have strep. Turns out she did not have strep. She had tonsil stones. I had never heard of that. Look it up. It seems to be an accumulation of gunk that sits in the craters of the tonsils. My daughter has a history of tonsil issues, as one is larger than the other due to a mono infection she had when she was 8. The doctors never suggested taking them out though. Look it up. It's interesting, but kind of gross.
Tonsillitis. Normal drainage from the ears.
Sinus gunk goes down the throat directly in the back, down through the eustachian tubes, or out through the eyes. It has to get out of the sinuses somehow if they don't blow it out.
Sinus and ear gunk goes down the eustachian tubes and the area by the white spots is where they drain into the throat.
