Hi doctor,
I am a female aged 22. My height is 5'1, and I weigh 160 pounds. I take Levothyroxine. Last year a guy's saliva went into my throat, and I noticed a sore throat the following day. A week later, I started feeling tired and weak. Eventually, the lymph nodes on my neck swollen up, then a month later I got pleurisy. They did a bacterial culture test on my throat, saying "negative." I tried different antibiotics. First, I tried Doxycycline for 14 days but did not feel a difference. Then, months later, I tried Azithromycin, and my throat still hurt, so I tried Augmentin for 14 days, but it still was the same. Finally, I had to burn my throat with hot tea or salt water to numb the pain. That helped the most. I have gotten bacterial throat infections about five times in my life. But the antibiotics that I tried did nothing this time. So I went to remove my tonsils, and they found many tonsil stones inside my tonsils. They cultured my tonsils and found filamentous actinomyces. I waited about eight weeks after my surgery and felt like my throat was still irritated, so I went back to the ENT, and they swabbed my throat and said only two came up. Proteus Mirabilis and beta-hemolytic strep. But they said they were "low" and gave me Ciprofloxacin. Still, I decided not to take it because I had already taken different antibiotics, and my kidney or liver was hurting. A month later, I went to see my primary doctor, who gave me Cephalexin as a liquid mixed with a steroid. I would swish it around my throat and then swallow it and I did notice a difference. The irritation settled a bit, and my lymph nodes went down while I used it. But I am not sure if the Cephalexin helped. Also when I eat any food bananas, bread, or salsa, the lymph nodes on my neck swell up while I am eating, then they go down when I finish. Also, mouth wash makes my lymph nodes swell up. Also, when I exercise or breathe faster, it irritates the inside of my throat, and the lymph nodes on my neck swell up. I have tried different allergy medications, which did not remove the pain in my throat or the inflammation. However, I only have a burning throat, and removing my tonsils helped. Also, aloe vera seems to help. So I am not sure what is causing the irritation and inflammation since I have tried various antibiotics and allergy medications. The only thing that made a difference was the Cephalexin mixed with the steroid. Is not filamentous actinomyces resistant to a lot of antibiotics? Should not the antibiotics that I have taken have removed the infection? Is my throat just chronically inflamed and irritated due to an infection I could have had? Unfortunately, I do not know if my throat has an infection or if it is just inflamed. Should I take the Ciprofloxacin that was prescribed? Or should I wait a while? Thank you.