To be a bit pissed off at how alot of us have this "Oh I don't think he/she is really that ill" type of attitude

[nobodyspecial]

I've been guilty of this in the past.

I have a terrible chest infection. So bad I'm on two antibiotics and have been told that if it hasn't cleared by Tuesday then I need to have a chest x-ray incase I have something more serious.

My husband last night was pissed off at me for handing our 6 week old baby over to him at 12am so I could have a hot shower to help relieve the coughing and wheezing.

I drove myself to the out of hours doctor (not angry at him about this, as we have 2 children at home and couldn't have taken them with us) at 2am. Turns out I had a temp of 39 degrees along with the cough and the doctor seemed quite worried and told me to take it easy and keep taking paracetemol and ibuprofen for the raised temperature.

I came back at 3.30 and he didn't even ask me how I was or what happened. So I said to him "don't you want to know what thE doctor said" His reply? "No one's ever died of a cough".....

I am SO angry at him I can't even face looking at him. Instead of taking a day off work today to help lookafter the children (I keep getting a fever every few hours) he pissed off to work at 6am this morning after changing DS's nappy.

I've noticed on alot of threads here that if someone is ill, the general consensus is that they're either lying or just want attention and that's how I felt DH felt about my breathing problems last night.

He's never done this before, because I've never reacted so badly to a chest infection before. I had a similar thing about 3 years ago, and even with the coughing, I coped. Maybe because I've had a baby recently and my immune system is really down I can't combat this crap thing, so he thinks I'm overreacting...I don't know.

Sometimes what we perceive as a sniffle, may not be a sniffle at all. It might be something really painful for the person suffering. Like yesterday, if the doctor hadn't taken my temp, I would never had known I was in a fever as my head and face felt cold and I was shivering.

Very long post. I know I am not being unreasonable. Please people, have a heart.

I've got a few tips for coughers that I learned during my bout of pneumonia.

The only "holistic" treatment the NHS recommended to me and they kept recommending it over and over is steam/humidifier. I had one for my daughter so I had that on in the room. Its a good thing to have when you have a persistant cough. You can get cold steam ones and it can make a huge difference.

In terms of remedies, there are a couple of things you can use to suppress a cough at night. You might think suppression is a bad thing as it has to come up, and that is true to an extent, but you have all day to cough, yet annoyingly a cough often becomes overactive at night when you need to rest. And if you are quite sick you DO need to rest. This rest can make a hell of a difference to recovery. So its not a bad idea to dose up at night if you can.

Over the counter - there is a very effective cough medicine called Benelyn Dry Coughs Original. This is over the counter only, not on the shop floor, so you have to go to the pharmacy counter. It has 2 ingredients. One is diphenhydramine which is the "sedative" (in actual fact an antihistamine) that is in Medised. This gives you a "window" of drowsiness which helps you get off to sleep. It can help with coughs as well. But the main ingredient is dextromethorphan which helps to suppress the cough mechanism.

Another one to consider, and this can be taken as well as with the Benelyn for a mega punch is Paracodal. Codeine is a known cough suppressant. Don't take for more than 3 days on the trot, it can be addictive, though I did take it for longer and didn't get addicted, but I'd only take it at night.

A 3rd thing which I don't think you can get over the counter but your doctor should be able to give you a script for if appropriate is Ventolin inhaler - I found a couple of puffs of this would open the airway and be less likely to catch and cause coughing. When I was at my worst I'd dose myself up on all 3 (which is okay to do) and it gave me the best chance at quality sleep, which ultimately is the big factor in recovery.

This is probably no use to the OP if she is breastfeeding however if anyone else is desperate and suffering prolonged coughing that is counterproductive and hindering their recovery due to lack of sleep, it might be worth knowing.

Just to add I ended up with pleurisy, which made the original cough seem almost piss-weak because the pain of that I can't even describe, and I ended up with a hernia too which I had surgery for a few weeks back. So it can just lead to all sorts of problems including scar tissue in the lungs, etc - generally not, of course, these were flu complications resulting from pneumonia.

Poor you! It is a shock the first time you get really ill. I have only had flu once but I was shocked at how ill I felt. I tried to walk to the shops and thought I was going to die! So I know what you mean.

Other people can't always tell how ill you are. Your DH is probably sleep deprived and can't think straight.

Your baby doesn't mind if you are coughing. Take baby and your child to bed and try and rest. Hope you feel better soon. It is hard when you have a young baby.

A funny thing a colleague said to me is the way to find out if someone has flu is to ask them if they would go out in the back garden to get a ten pound note. If you have flu you wouldn't do it. Lol. Still makes me laugh. get well soon

I had a serious chest infection and I could hardly move except to cough phlem up. Even breathing was difficult. All in all it took a month from start to finish to recover and I had lots of support. Thank goodness for antibiotics.

Its true about the 10 pound note, sort of. When I had my flu I neeed something (nurofen/paracetamol or whatever) to bring down my fever overnight, I was shivering and aching like nothing else, it was keeping me awake, but I just couldn't fathom going downstairs to get the nurofen and getting even colder and I felt so pathetic. So rather than wake my husband and ask him nicely if he would get the nurofen, I just started sobbing to myself like a total knob and he woke up and said "what's the matter" and I spluttered something incoherent about needing pain relief/fever medication. He dutifully went downstairs and got them but we still joke about how useless and pathetic I felt!!!

Nobodyspecial I hope you get well soon.

I've been hit with a horrible chest infection (and I'll raise you a conjunctivitus ) that's absolutely floored me for a good few weeks. I soldiered on for 4 weeks before finally admitting defeat and going to the GP as I am always concerned about making a sniffle seem like the black death. I was stubborn and a bit of a martyr, plodding on wheezing and gasping wherever I went and started to resemble those bloody stupid, irritating women from teh Boots advert (go to bed wimmin!) .

I'm on week 2 of anti-biotics with suspected pneumonia (on the mend now so if it was, it was mild) and LUCKILY have a DH who's not working much and who has been quite stern about me having lots of rest (which has been absolutely key to me feeling better quicker in my very humble opinion).

Most people have been very lovely, telling me to rest... these have mostly been those who've had it, and one that never did follow drs orders and never was right again.

SOME people have dismissed it as a sniffle, well meh. Let them think what they like.

There's been loads of nasty chest and eye infections in our area this year, and people seem very reticent to actually rest and get well (or simply can't because their partners are dismissive) and its shit.

I hope you get better soon, it sucks. Try and rest as much as you can, snuggle with baby lots, take it really easy, as easy as you can and let DH see to himself. You have my upmost sympathy.

I've found all of what Tatty has mentioned to be really useful.

I've also been necking metatone tonice (full of b vits and minerals) and schlurping live yoghurt/activia type things...

In addition to that, echannacea (sp) and zinc (having to hold off on the zinc until these anti-b's are done) and LOADS of fluid, dehydration really makes you feel shocking.

My husband has been guilty of that.

I had cystitis a couple of years ago. It was BLOODY painful that time. Even when I wasn't peeing it was burning there. I've had it a couple fo times before but never like that. It waxed and waned a bit though. Some days it was murder, other it was fine so I kept thinking it was clearing up. After 10 days I went to the GP and got antibiotics which helped a little but it wasn't clearing it up completely. My DH's attitude was "so what" women and their bloody waterworks was his attitude. He just told me I was find and told me to drink some cranberry juice. A week later when the antibiotics had been finished but hadn't worked I was thinking of going back to the GP for more. That night my back became painful. Next day worse, DH not bothered still. later that day I get a sky high fever out of nowhere, searing back pain, lose the ability to stand up straight and collapsed. I was out doing the shopping. Ended up in A&E with a rip roaring kidney infection and spent 2 days in hospital with a drip of antibiotics and then a 14 day course at home. DH was very shocked at how badly and quickly I deteriorated.

Fevers in adults are rare and a temperature of 39 in an adult is not something to take lightly. Things can develop into something nasty fast and he should've shown you a bit more sympathy. You've also just had a baby and are still recovering from that.

Thanks for all your well wishes...I am feeling a little better in myself today. First day I have woken up in a week not feeling like my head will explode. The coughing has calmed down a bit, so the second batch of antibiotics are actually doing something!! I am glad I went to the doctor, as I don't think I would have coped otherwise.

All your stories are horrific. This is why I think you should never take any illness lightly. My mum used to always complain about pain in her right side and put it down to indigestion for about 20 years and then ended up dying of liver cancer.

To me a temperature of 39 is the body's way of saying "you want to slow down now unless you want to see what really dramatic looks like". I have ignored that kind of symptom with a cough twice. On both occasions I ended up with pleurisy, delirious and unable to move, causing a lot of trouble to everybody around. These days I am more considerate: I go to bed and rest until I am better.

Oh I had 'a little cough' over Christmas.
Dragged on for six weeks.
At one point I was on 2 courses of antibiotics because what started as a chest infection had gone to bronchitis and the main concern was that it wasn't responding - they were worried it may become pneumonia.

I was given 2 days for antibiotics to do anything or I'd have had to be admitted for IV antibiotics. I was taking oral steroids, inhaled steroids, ventolin and 2 types of antibiotics.

The pain was incredible.

So yes.... these things can be serious and can worsen so easily.

OP you have my sympathy.

But antibiotics have been prescribed altinkum....she DOES have a chest infection.

Your point about your DH might have had more force if you hadn't accused him of 'selfishly' going off to work at 6am (having evidently been woken by you at 2am and again at 3:30am).

YABU.

Haven't read full thread yet, but actually postnatal women HAVE died of the very same infection that causes a cough/ sore throat. So you OH is wrong about that.

This has happened to me when ill with flu (proper flu), it was bloody awful. I told my DH that I couldnt cope with the dcs, couldn't change a nappy, walk, fetch food out of the cupboard, dress myself or get from one side of the room to the other . . . and he still went to work.

I also had a fever straight after having a baby and no one took any notice My dr said I could have died!

YANBU I put it in bold as so true You sound really poorly and have a young baby and another child. Your DH is being a knob.

I hate it to when I read things on here like, I just get on with it, well bully for you martyr

The only thing I would say in defence of DH, prehaps he can't take time off work very easily? I know my Dh will take time off as a very very last resort but it is not something he can do easily. Its shit.

Is there anyone like your family who can help? How old is your other child, OP? Have a (((((hug)))) and look after yourself.

This had made me quite cross actually! the women has a 6 week old baby. I know I have mentioned doulas on another thread, but a doula may be a god send right now OP.

I was in bed for over a week at christmas with 'just a chest infection'

I have to say i am suprised to hear so many people say that a temp of 39 isnt that high , it would certainly be a cause for concern if you were a patient in hospital, but then what do Dr's and nurses know eh?

I would also say that not many malingerers can be bothered to drive themself to the out of hours dr at 2am in the morning , i say not many , obviously you get the odd frequent flying candidate. So i think on those grounds alone you are probably feeling fairly bloody rough . Add to that you are six weeks post partum (sp?) and are already on antibiotic for a diagnosed chest infection and i would come to the conclusion that you might need a little tlc.

Good tip for getting rid of all the plegm on your chest :

take a deep breath in and hold for 5-10 seconds , then slowly exhale through your mouth until there is no more breath coming out , should induce a good productive cough , bleurgh ! Do it standing or sitting up straight.

Hope you feel better soon.

Was he being unreasonable? Probably. However I have learned that when there is a newborn it's perfectly reasonable to be unreasonable. So try to just be nice to each other as much as is humanly possible. And forgive. It will pass.

It might be worth going back to your GP and giving a sputum sample , if the antibiotics arnt having any effect , they could send it off and see if your antibiotics need changing .

Hope you feel better soon

I had proper flu when pregnant and yes I did get out of bed because erm, I had a 3 and 6 year old to sort out. instruct on making peanut butter butties Sometimes there is no choice hence why Op drover herslf to OOD.

I draw the line at doing the school run while shitting water and puking