To ask if you've had Pneumonia, how did you know it wasn't 'just a cough'

[Christmastits]

Had a cough since Tuesday, I've called in sick for the weekend. I'm not starting to feel any better.

I have a temp of 39.5 and my sputum is now brown, it's really hard to cough up anything but it's always there. Lots of vomiting caused by the coughing, I feel bloody awful.

Drs on Thursday said it was viral but I'm not so sure now, I feel like I have the flu, I also have a uti which I'm on antibiotics for but they won't treat a chest infection.

Is it time to go back to OOH tomorrow? Or tonight? I all of a sudden feel really unwell. I'll have to wake DH up to take me but I don't feel like this is just a cough any more

Hi just checking in. Lots of sleeping still being done. I'm ashamed to say I've been asleep for 90% of the time. DH doesn't mind if I sleep when he's here but it's so hard to stay awake ! I have made a complaint though

Stop being ashamed! You've no more reason for that than the babies you usually look after.
You need to rest and recover from an illness that is not your fault.

Thanks :) DH has said the same thing. They've put the implant in now so I dont have to worry about accidentally getting pregnant before I'm ready.

We want to go on some big holidays and I need to get better.

Thank you so much

Yeah you need the sleep, body's way of healing etc - you know that. Nothing to be ashamed of. I'm glad you complained, hope that bitchy HCA gets what's coming to her.
Where are you thinking for the holidays? Me and DH did a mega blow out for our honeymoon in Cancun, would definitely recommend it!

Christmastits - just found your thread via the other one you have about the HCA. I strongly recommend you get your manager down from SCBU and have a chat to her as well, as you are currently not in a position to do much yourself, despite your DH being able and willing. She can maybe help by sorting stuff "on the inside", as it were - and for heaven's sake, that HCA needs to be taken off ward ASAP as she's a fucking health hazard!! It's not "being precious" to want hands and instruments washed between patients/use, it's fucking STANDARD HYGIENE practice and if she doesn't know that then she shouldn't be anywhere fucking near patients, especially ones like you with 2 concomitant infections and fairly recently post-chemo with a possibly still compromised immune system!!

Get your manager down - name and shame the HCA and get her out of your ward if you can. Best of luck and I really hope your care is better now, as this HCA sounds like a total fucking liability.

All that sleeping!!! Hopefully you'll start to recover and be able to look at a discharge date

Christmas, I posted right after your first post telling you to be seen but only just seen your update. What an awful time you have had. Recovery is going to be long and you need to be kind to yourself. I'm also a HCP and I think that you just know when something is not right. I was admitted last year with signs of sepsis from a UTI. Fortunately I was treated in time and although I was poorly it was nowhere near how unwell you have been.

You have done the right thing with your complaint. There is no excuse for that sort of poor care and lack of respect. My experience of hospital care was excellent fortunately; I emailed PALS with my thanks.

I didn’t for quite a while. It started with a gastro type bug. After about 8 days I was still vomiting and barely eating or drinking so my mum took me to the doctor. I was given some medication to ease nausea and they listed to my chest and did all the usual checks. Another 2 days and I still wasn’t really much better. So back to the doctor. They again listened to my breathing (I had no cough and hadn’t realised I was short of breathe as I was basically laying in bed all day and felt pretty weak from lack of food). Was sent for a chest X-ray just to rule out anything and told doctor would call in a couple of days with the X-ray result. Got the X-ray and the guy doing it asked when I was going back to the doctors. I said I wasn’t at this point, he said I needed to back immediately. I did and the X-ray showed one lung 3/4 full of stuff and the other about 1/4. I was given antibiotics and then the cough started to kick in and I was coughing up stuff, but I still didn’t cough that much. I was close to going to hospital and had a couple of relapses requiring more antibiotics. But im fine now. So for me, having a cough isn’t really indicative of pneumonia!

@twoshades when that many people have replied don't you think it might be useful to RTFT?

Glad you are sleeping as others have said it's a way of the body healing

Oooo holiday sounds nice!
Any where in particular??

We're thinking of going to Boston again and Seattle and California.

I want to go back to NZ as I lived there a while before I met DH. He'd like to see the F1 at Monaco think they're all bucket dreams but it's good to have them!

Sounds really nice!
I've not been on holiday for nearly 3yrs!
And that wasn't a bloody holiday was a family wedding 😐😐

How are you feeling today

I'm glad to hear you're getting lots of sleep, definitely no need to feel ashamed about that! Your DH sounds lovely and a fantastic support :)

I live in NZ so would definitely recommend visiting again

I can recommend Northern California, you can get off the beaten track. My favourite places are Larsen National Park and Mendocino (book well in advance but its lovely to stay there and seems so unspoilt).

@LelouchviBritanniacommandsyou oh wow! Where do you live? I used to work in Auckland for a bit running meningitis vaccination clinics in the really really poor areas. In shopping centres of all places!

Little update! I asked a lovely nurse to try and get my IVs sorted so I could go home for 12 hours.. and she's done it for the foreseeable! I could have kissed her! So 7am and 7pm I have IVs, the day is mine to do what I want but I have to stay in at night but I get to go home for 12 hours a day.

Aiming to be home properly by next week maybe :)

Yay!

Been lurking.

That's good news! I'm sure your dog will be pleased to see you
I lived in Christchurch until last week when we moved to Wellington :)

Yay so pleased you get to go home for a bit! I've been following and cheering you on from the sidelines. I was in for four weeks with empyema and the constant 'we'll send you for a scan on Friday and of that's ok you might be able to go home .. ... Oh they were too busy today, you'll have to have it on Monday' drove me nuts.

Amazing news @Christmastits! I didn't even know that was possible. Hopefully some new scenery and some decent, non hospital food will speed up your recovery even more. So pleased for you.

Oh that’s lovely. It might feel a bit odd, too-it’s amazing how quickly you become institutionalised in hospital! Hope you have a chilled day. And don’t try to do too much!!!

Fantastic news!!! So glad you are on the mend

Awesome news!! Have a lovely day.
I hear is rather good for helping recovery....well that's what I'm going with anyway

Take care

So pleased for you Christmas

Hurrah! Day release and then escape!