For the past three to four weeks I've been struggling with pneumonia. Although not at the request of my GP, I've managed to stay at home, but it really hasn't been easy. I've been on horse pill antibiotics, which seem to start doing their thing, then the course finishes and the infection decides to make a come-back. I finished the most recent course at midnight on Wednesday, but I already feel the heaviness in my chest returning and the sweet taste of infection coming back. I've been permanently exhausted, but then you expect that with pneumonia, but I'm getting a bit fed up with it all now. Of course the whole thing has been playing havoc with my asthma, and my peak flows have been 150 at best. Okay, so they've been much worse than that before (and at times during this too), but everything is hard work when breathing is hard work. It's getting me down a bit. I'm okay ... I'm just fed up ... and I guess I'm a bit lonely too, because while I'm poorly like this then I can't go out much. I have been out a bit (only in Taz though), but not for long and it's mostly been on my own, although I did see a friend on Tuesday and one yesterday.
I went to an out patient appointment with my asthma consultant yesterday. No new break-throughs in the treatment of brittle asthma, of course, just another chat about where things are up to at the minute, but he did listen to my lungs. Despite having finished the antibiotics there are still crackles in my lungs, but he didn't give me any more antibiotics - just said to see how things go, keep a close eye on things, and go straight back to my GP at the first sign of things going downhill.
So that's where I'm up to. Breathing's a bit of a struggle; I'm a bit fed up; and the pneumonia is a bit of a bore. I'm just hoping that I can shake it off soon and also manage to stay out of hospital.
1 comment:
I've been feeling the same way recently, lonely and low, though I have nothing to put my finger on and say "that's the reason I'm feeling this way."
Sorry to hear you're suffering so badly right now, had pneumonia more times than I care to remember and it sucks, especially the kind that takes weeks worth of antibiotics and steriods to get rid of..
Maybe you should do what I do and discuss with your GP about the possibility of having a few courses of antibiotics at home so that if you think you're getting infection and begin to feel run down and generally unwell with it and are pretty sure that it's an infection then you can start antibiotics without having to wait to get an appointment and it get worse while you're waiting for the appointment...I only have four weeks worth at a time so my GP can gauge how I'm using them and I can't get them on repeat, I have to go to him to get them, again so he knows how long it is between me asking for more and how quickly they've gone...it's hard to get a quick appointment with the right doctor at my surgery so I do that and then see my GP for a review and when I need more antibiotics. We decided on Clarithomycin because I'm allergic to Penicilin and it works best with my chest infections, just a thought that might help you in future, it has saved me from going in three times and they also treat skin infections when I get them from my line so that means I can use them when that happens too.
Hope that helps..sending hugs, prayers and healing thoughts your way
Joey
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