I did not have rheumatic fever.

But I just remembered how I got started on antibiotics. The perio doc asked my primary care doc if I needed antibiotics. The primary said "no." I told the perio my doctor didn't know what he was talking about. I said that because so many doctors had given me bad information about post radiation care, and I was worried about infection. Later, a new primary doctor explained more about the reasons. I told her about post-radiation risk, and she said it didn't matter. So I stopped.

The thing is though, I have gotten lots of bad guidance from doctors. My original treatment team told me zero about post treatment follow-up. The only reason I went to see an ENT post treatment is a nurse elsewhere suggested it to me. The ENT said I didn't have to see him for another year, and this was immediately post treatment. This is not consistent with guidelines. The cancer maxillofacial doctor told me to never get a perio cleaning for the rest of my life. This turned out to be outdated information.

I could go on and on, but the net result is I have no sense of confidence with anyone involved with my post cancer care, except for the ENT I started with about a year ago.