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General health

Has anyone ever had pneumonia?

34 replies

tootiredtocare1111 · 31/01/2020 12:12

Around 1.5 weeks ago, my DP (40 years old) became unwell with what we thought was just a cold - runny nose, tired, run down cough etc.

He had got considerably worse since then - incredibly exhausted, hacking up phlegm, aching back, cannot get out of bed, so insisted a trip to the GP who diagnosed community acquired pneumonia.

The GP prescribed a weeks course of antibiotics on Tuesday morning just gone, and said you should be feeling much better within 48 hours , but of course take the whole course of anit-B's. It is now Friday, and for the first time today he has been out of the house, walked for around 5 mins, and has got extremely out of breath and short of breath, and coughed up a lot of phlegm with streaks of blood, and is now back in bed and feels terrible he said.

I thought he would be starting to feel better. It is the shortness of breath that scares me slightly, and the hacking up bits of blood.

Could it be something else, or is this just the infection all coming out of his body ?

I am very worried .

OP posts:
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Hawkmoth · 31/01/2020 12:14

Ring the doctor.

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billybagpuss · 31/01/2020 12:16

Do ring the gp again just to be in the safe side, dd had it a few years back and it was dreadful, it took 2 courses of antibiotics to get rid of it.

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Delatron · 31/01/2020 16:43

Sounds like he needs different antibiotics. Sometimes you need a few. Go back to the doctor.

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InMySpareTime · 31/01/2020 17:24

DH had pneumonia a decade ago, he ended up hospitalised for a month, with a chest drain for 3 months to clear the fluid.
He got it really badly though, it took 4 different courses of antibiotics to get on top of it, and he was in the HDU for a few days.
He went in a couple of days from being a reasonably fit young man to struggling to walk 10 metres, he had early stage liver failure, and jaundice.
The kids and I had a light cold the previous week but otherwise unscathed.

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Gingaaarghpussy · 31/01/2020 17:47

I ended up having 3 courses of antibiotics. It also took 3 visits to the drs to actually get a diagnosis. The first time I went, I was told I'd probably pulled a muscle at 3 am, on a mattress on the floor.
The last course of antibiotics was massive pink tablets.
Because I was inactive for the better part of a fortnight I also ended up with a dvt. I've had one in the past.

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ExplodingCarrots · 31/01/2020 17:52

DH had it last summer. He ended up in hospital for 5 days and still had to have IV antibiotics at home 3 days after that and tablet antibiotics 2 weeks following again. If he is still feeling so unwell he may need something stronger. Don't wait , just go. My DH went downhill really fast, he had all the symptoms of sepsis , it was really scary. It all started from a cold.

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AllTheWhoresOfMalta · 31/01/2020 17:52

I had it Easter three years ago. Never been so unwell and I include in that when I had anaphylactic shock as a kid. Took three lots of antibiotics to cure me - and I had to go back twice before I even got a proper diagnosis, originally it was just put down as a chest infection. I wasn’t myself for a good month afterwards. Go and see the GP again.

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Artykitty666 · 31/01/2020 17:56

Took me three courses of anti biotics and I also developed pleurisy. My own experience was just over two months of fatigue and breathlessness. I had no cold or flu symptoms before the extreme chest pain either. Hope it clears up faster than that for your dp!

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Aldilogue · 31/01/2020 20:42

Definitely go back to the doctor. A week is not that long after pneumonia, he may need another course of AB’s.
I had it last year and had 8 weeks off work and 6 of them were in bed.
I think if I’d gone to the doctor earlier it may not have been so bad.

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SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing · 31/01/2020 20:44

Yes. First round of antibiotics didn't shift it, had to go back for a 10 day course of stronger ones

Also had a inhalers and prednisone, which made a big difference.

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Aragog · 31/01/2020 20:46

If in doubt, call.

However, pneumonia can take a long time to recover from. I had a few days in hospital with ABs via a drip, and then 3 different antibiotics over a month when home. I was off work for 7 weeks and not fully recovered for a while after that. It probably took the best part of a year to be totally okay.

A week is very short recovery time for pneumonia.
The coughing and breathlessness was something else. It really was lie nothing I had experienced ever. I felt like I had aged severely within days.

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Bunnyfuller · 31/01/2020 20:49

Send him back to doc. It’s hard to shift. I was on 2 different antibiotics and steroids, still felt weak after 2 months.

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Bluntness100 · 31/01/2020 20:49

My husband also got it. Took three courses of anti biotics and he then developed asthma due to the damage it did to his lungs.

I'd advise going back to the doctors.

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MummyGoingItAlone · 31/01/2020 20:56

I currently have it. Was diagnosed with flu Christmas Day after ending up in A&E unable to breathe. They gave me tamiflu and antibiotics for my crackly chest. Started to feel better but gradually went down hill again. Got a second course of antibiotics, started feeling better then went down hill again. I had an X-ray last week and they diagnosed pneumonia on left lung and a stress rib fracture which is agony. Now on the third lot of different, stronger antibiotics with the caveat that if I’m no better by Monday I must go in for IV. I’ve been ill for 6 weeks now and I’ve had enough. Get him back to the doctors immediately if he’s getting worse again. Pneumonia is nasty and can turn serious

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Pajamagirl · 31/01/2020 20:59

Back to docs ASAP
My sis age 40 was diagnosed with sore throat , she became increasingly breathless and a friend who was ex nurse called ambulance , she was blue lighted to a and e , and immediately transferrrd to icu , she was there for a month , she had a Trachi and was out of it . She got sepsis . It was the most horrendous time . We got the talk in the family room that she may die but did pull through .
Please please follow this up
( feeling emotional writing this )
Hope he is ok

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Ahitsallover · 31/01/2020 21:10

I had it about five years ago. Also ended up with pleurisy along with the pneumonia. It began with a cold then chest infection that I was too busy to see a doctor about 🙄. It took 3 lots of antibiotics to get rid of and it was a good 6 weeks before I was back to full strength. Shortness of breath, chest pain and lethargy floored me for the first few weeks. I still get chest pain from recurring pleurisy every so often after a bad cold.

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BettyFilous · 31/01/2020 21:11

I’ve had pneumonia twice. The first time I had it with pleurisy and had been sent away by the GP initially with a diagnosis of flu, given a leaflet about measures to reduce antibiotic overprescribing for viral infections 😱 and told to get bedrest. I was significantly worse by the time I returned 4 days later unable to breathe. However, I felt much, much better after 48 hours of antibiotics, even though I was off for 3 weeks. The second time I had it, I was off for two weeks but I was less far gone when I started the antibiotics.

OP - it sounds like your husband needs different antibiotics. Definitely seek medical advice.

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TFthatsover · 31/01/2020 21:53

Definitely seek medical advice asap. I had pneumonia with empyema in 2013, hospitalised for 11 weeks, first week spent in a coma with severe sepsis. DH and parents told I was unlikely to pull through (Have never done as I'm told Grin) I caught a cold from DS and went downhill within days, no other reason. Hope DH gets better soon.

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lljkk · 31/01/2020 22:08

DH needed 3 different types to clear his pneumonia (HIb).

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obviouslymarvellous · 31/01/2020 23:10

I had it last November and am rarely ill. It floored me for 5 weeks, 3 diff types of antibiotics. I couldn't move without coughing or getting out
Of breath. I was very scared as at one point I thought I may never get better. It's only the last couple of weeks I have started to feel like me again and gone back to gym properly although I can't run still. I think it can take months to recover properly (so my doc told me) but if he's still not well or struggling for breath def seek help x

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DecemberSnow · 31/01/2020 23:30

What did you do OP?

Blood in phlegm, and the other symptoms you describe, Would be A&E in my book!!

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DragonMamma · 31/01/2020 23:41

I had pneumonia but didn’t know until I developed pleurisy. I had no symptoms aside from a dry cough for a couple of weeks prior.

I suffer with chest infections and this didn’t manifest itself in the same way at all, which is why I didn’t go to the GP.

I was off work for 6 weeks and it took me about 12 months to regain the same level of lung function

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RyvitaBrevis · 01/02/2020 00:00

I developed pneumonia at the age of 10 or 11 after having had the flu first, and the doctor signed me off school for 4 weeks immediately once there was the diagnosis of pneumonia. It does take a long time to recover.

Check with the doctor if you're worried, though.

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DillBaby · 01/02/2020 00:03

I’ve had it twice and was in an oxygen tent in hospital. I nearly died. Recovery takes a long time and you can relapse. If that was my DH I’d take him back to the doctor.

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AlunWynsKnee · 01/02/2020 00:08

I had pneumonia as a complication of bronchitis many years ago when I smoked. The antibiotics I had had to sort the bronchitis hadn't worked so I had stronger meds for the pneumonia. They did work and I didn't end up in hospital.

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