QUOTE(CharlotteWebb @ Sat 30th January 2010, 3:23am)
QUOTE(Milton Roe @ Sat 30th January 2010, 2:37am)
I have to admit you do remind me of one other ass-shot thingy, though, which is that there does exist a category of antibiotic called a "late generation cephalosporin," which is too large and thick a shot to be given IM easily any place else other than a glute, and which isn't well absorbed in a pill. So conceivably, you could have gotten one of those (ceftriaxone or cefepime or cefa-something-else). Not that there's a great deal of evidence that they're better than one of the many, many oral combos available for a middle ear infection, especially an untreated one.
Hmm, that could be what it was. I tried to ask what was in the shot but by then they were more interested in shooing me out the door. I do know the pills were amoxicillin. Doubtless I could have picked that up without a prescription by describing a fictitious pet (o por hablando un poquito de español, al supermercado local del barrio), if only I knew what the hell I'd be shopping for.
Most Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas have amoxicillin over-the-counter. You don't need to describe anything-- just ask for the stuff.
Amoxicillin is a very "old" and cheap drug, with so many bacteria resistant to it by now that it's used as a placebo (mostly for mothers with kids who have earaches, which usually do start to go away about 24 hours after they hurt maximally, even if you do nothing). A much more likely-to-be effective oral drug is a combo of amoxicillin and an inhibitor of penicillinase, called amoxicillin-clavulinate. It is called Clavamox or generic Augmentin in the US; probably Clavamox or something like it in Mexico, too. It used to be expensive, but now that it's generic, it has come down to reasonable prices also. It's very funny that you got the weak verson if it, while getting a shot, too.
So now you've really got me wondering what the shot was. There's a shot version of Clavamox called Unisyn, but it's very expensive, and reconsituting a whole IV bottle of it for an IM dose for one patient (wasting the rest, which is meant to be used in a much larger IV dose) reminds me of the old joke about the guy who wants elephant ear sandwich, at the restaurant-that-has-anything. They tell him the problem is not the order, but the problem is that it's late, and cooks don't want to start on a fresh elephant.
So I really doubt they did that for you-- not for $160. And pointless anyway, as it only saves you a couple of hours in getting the antibiotic and hurts like hell.
Cheap oral pills suggest a cheap antibiotic shot. Penicillin G??
Gads, what a crappy clinic. Don't go back!