SCARED, STILL HAVE PNEUMONIA

~*schnauzermom*~ · Post by **~*schnauzermom*~** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 7:55 am

I went to the ER Arpil 2, 2006 and was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia.

Took my 10 days worth of Biaxin and inhaler. My last Biaxin pill was April 12th.

I still was coughing up green goobers (sorry

) and saw my doctor yesterday for a follow up cause when I cough, there is a pain in my left mid-back. I had a temp of 99.3, have no appetite, have a headache, feel tired and needless to say now my anxiety has been flaring up. She gave me a script for Zithromax, which I filled yesterday, took my 2 pills as directed and had a volcanic eruption of my lower half, OMG I felt so sick

.

I am so scared that this will not go away

, which I know is causing some anxiety. I already missed a week of class and do not want to miss anymore as it will affect my grades. Is this ever going to go away? I have never had pneumonia and would never, ever wish it on anyone.

Anyone gone through this? I am scared that this is not going to go away! My temp is 99.0!!! GO figure, I used to smoke like a chimney until 4 years ago, never, ever had pneumonia! Now as a non-smoker-BAM!

Any encouraging words would be appreciated.
Thank you and God Bless YOU! LizB

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:28 am

I diffenenlty went through the same thing they prescribed me the wrong antibiotic, but it sounds like they finnaly gave you the right one,
the five day antibiotic is what you needed inthe first place, that will kick out an pneumonia, this for me took a while to heal as well but once i was on that 5 day antibiotic its started working and i was on my wayto recovery you should feel better soon i will pray for you right now, blessings

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:34 pm

sherybery,

Thanks much for your kind response and prayer. I am glad that the Zithromax worked for you and that you feel better. I do hope it works for me as well. I did call my professor and told her that I would not be in class tomorrow if my temp does not go down. I hated doing this as I already missed 2 of her classes and she is such a great lecturer and teacher.

Thanks again for your response. Well wishes and blessings to you as well. Take care, God Bless! LizB

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:56 am

Liz,
I had a terrible time getting rid of that stuff too. It lasted 6 weeks and the Dr. kind of questioned if I was using my inhaler the way it was prescribed...I was, I couldn't breathe without it!! You may want to try and get some yogurt with active cultures for your explosions. When we are on antibiotics, it destroys the natural bacteria, the good stuff, in our intestines and that leads to diareeha. If you don't like yogurt, you can get another form of PROBIOTIC called oscillium (sp) at your local pharmacy or health food store...it is over the counter.
You will be okay...you know that your anxiety is heightened right now because your body is fighting infection. (Don't forget that those inhalers can pump us up with anxietey and shaking.) Sometimes it takes time to find the right combo of meds to knock a stubborn infection out of the body. Keep drinking lots and lots of purified water...it will thin the secretions and help make your cough more productive.

Many Hugs,
Diane

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:19 am

Hey there Liz, sorry to hear that youre still not feeling better

. Had pneumonia a lonnngggg time ago but i remember that it took me like 4-5 weeks before i got better

. You just need to rest and always remember that you are getting the best care, use the skills you've learn to control your anxiety....you'll be in my prayers and hope that you get well soon

((((Liz))))

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:07 am

Diane and Susan,

Thanks much for replying. I really appreciate your words of comfort.

Diane, I picked up this "Activa" yogurt up this past weekend, is has lots of good bacteria so hopefully it helps

. Thanks. You are not kidding with the inhaler

. Yesterday afternoon for some reason, the anxiety really spiked and although I knew what it was from, I still did not like it :p. I just hope this antibiotic will kick it out.

Thanks much!

Ms Susan!
Thanks for prayers and your response as well. It seems like this stuff is just not leaving.

. This am I could not get out of bed, the headache from the Zithromax was just

! I took a acetominophen (500mg) and hope that it goes away soon, it is just pounding! I will take it slower. I did not go to class this am

, but my temp is still above 99.0, so the doc said to stay home until it drops, even though I wanted to go.

Thank you both. I will take your advice and like anxiety, this too shall pass. Just takes time! Bless you both! LizB

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:18 am

Liz,
Hi first I'm so sorry that you have been sick

No fun at all. However let me tell you that my son just had pneumonia back in November and it took two round of antibiotics too. It is really tough to beat. Please think positive and try not to let your anxiety get the best of you. The thing that helped my son the very most was rest! He rested and slept often and drank tons of water. It really runs you down. Also by the 2nd set of antibiotics his stomach was a real mess (as you described) do the yogurt, plenty of water, and small meals even if your appetite isn't there as this will help not having the meds on an empty stomach. Gatorade also really helped him. I know it has a lot of sugar, salt but it really helped his upset stomach. I really hope you get your health back real soon. I know it is a bummer missing classes but just remember the sooner you get your health back the sooner you'll be back on track. Rest, rest, rest

Your in my prayers

Take care

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:29 am

hi there,
i know how anxiety producing illness can be - esp for people like us!

i have had pneumonia before and it takes awhile before you are feeling better. even tho your body might be fighting stuff off already, you will still feel really badly because all that stuff that was sitting in your lungs/bronchii is coming up and so you are hacking up stuff and feeling bad. but it's part of the recovery process.

i agree that the yogurt will settle your GI down, and i know that i've been nebulized (sp?) when i was in the hospital w/pneumonia to aid in my breathing but the stuff made my heart race and made me suuuuper anxious. i don't know if inhalers are the same or not, but yeah, what a ride that was

anyway, looks like a lot of us on here have had pneumonia and we all recovered. it's been done before - you will be just fine. try and remind yourself of this when you get scared/frustrated.
hope that helps

get better soon!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:07 am

How are you feeling today Schnauzermom?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:10 am

P.s if you cont to have sx they should culture your sputum to make sure the bacteria is not resistant to the atb there giving you. i work with inf dis\internist drs.