Ouch.

Life never really does things in halves does it.  Warning, this post will probably include a bit of girly stuff.

In my case, and certainly in the last year, I've had some of the oddest things happen to me medically and I'm getting a bit sick of it all.

What's the latest?  Well a lump on my breast would be the short answer there.  And the chills, and a fever to accompany it which has been just a blast this weekend.

I've kinda ignored it for the most part, but I got to a point on Sunday night where I was burning up, my nose was running, my eyes were running, I was sneezing my head off and then I'd get the chills and have to wrap up in all my winter gear.  And repeat and rinse...

Sounds like the flu or a headcold doesn't it?  That's what I thought except for this bloody painful lump on my breast that is just not going away.  Initially I just thought it was hormones which is why it took me a little while to wonder about it.

I'm one of those women whose hormones go crazy for one week every month and my breasts normally swell up an extra size and are as hard and tender as if I was breastfeeding.  Bloody annoying let me tell you.  So okay, the timing was right and I didn't think much more on it.  And yep, I've been freezing the last few days but I also didn't think much on that, it has chilled down slightly, only 23'c now during the day.

It was when the painful breast thing wasn't easing off that I had a closer look and found this lump.  (Shattering the myth there that women play with their breasts - sorry guys.)  Now to me, the lump is on the outside and it's not one of the internal ones that you feel, I thought it was probably easily explained but I didn't want to be too lax so I got myself to the doctor.

She gave me a thorough breast exam, found no other lumps and decided it was more likely external inflammation, eczema actually, and has put me on antibiotics and steroids.  The fever and chills are part of the infection and I was the third women she's seen with the same symptoms apparently, albeit the only one not breastfeeding.

Okay.  So, you can get inflamed eczema, even if you don't really suffer from eczema.  Great.  The plan now is to take the medicine and wait for the lump to go away and if it doesn't then I need to have a further checkup.

The fact that I am running a fever as well is actually kind of comforting as it backs up the infection diagnosis.  These damn pills I have to take every four hours is annoying though.  I'm waking up twice through the night to take my medicine and then this morning I wake completely disoriented and covered in sweat.  Apparently I should be a lot better today but this fever thing quite likes me.

I'm sure my work must think I'm a handful to say the least.  I don't ring in for the flu or a cold.  No, I take days off for chest pains or breast lumps.  None of these wishy-washy problems for me.

My kingdom for a headcold anyone?