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

From my experience, if you had pneumonia you wouldn't have the energy to pick up a tablet and post on mumsnet.
You do sound quite ill though.

Utter, utter, utter exhaustion and sleeping this weird “black” sleep where I didn’t dream or even move.

More snot that I would have ever dreamed possible. Unbelievable sinus pain.

Get well soon OP💐

At first I thought it was just bronchitis, which I get nearly every winter.

But:
Holding a conversation made me out of breath and dizzy
Every time I lay down the wheeze and cough became so bad that I couldn't breathe.
The difficulty breathing got so bad that it scared me.

Can I ask what is it that happens to make flu turn into pneumonia. I thought flu was a virus, and pneumonia a bacterial infection. So how does the flu affect your lungs with bacteria?

My aunt had a cough.
Doctors told her viral etc ..rest,painkillers.
She couldn’t walk up her stairs,vomiting etc.
Uncle after 4 days drove her to hospital.
She had pneumonia and a partial collapsed lung.
If she hadn’t of went she could of died.
Not wanting to scare you but push and push for doctor to investigate properly.
Get well soon

I only knew because I had a chest x Ray when a nasty chest infection didn't go away. It's horrible. Took months to recover. Wish you better OP

I didn't. In hindsight the coughing so much I couldn't sleep, super high temperature, generally feeling like shit and feeling like I couldn't breathe (particularly one night when I wondered if I should go and try and find some oxygen) should have alerted me. I assumed was just a bad cough and kept working in a very physical job I really shouldn't have been doing. When I finally when to doctors and got x-rays they were quite incredulous I'd only just come in. Left lower lobe pneumonia only though so some people on here will have had far worse. Can you tell I'm not very good at accepting I am ill?!

As usual, some posters have popped up to pronounce confidently and, in some cases, sneeringly that OP cannot possibly have x, y, or z condition because they are posting on MN.

Such pronouncements are dangerous and I can guarantee that none of these posters are health care professionals, because their advice is wrong, wrong, wrong. It is entirely possible that OP, who described some very worrying symptoms, might not be here this morning, had she heeded this advice.

Pneumonia, like many other conditions, has degrees of severity, from mild to life-threatening, depending on how much lung tissue is involved. It can also lead to sepsis, as some posters have said. OP described symptoms of severe illness THAT WERE RAPIDLY GETTING WORSE. She needed urgent medical assessment and, thankfully, she got it. I hope she is feeling better this morning.

Information about pneumonia

I so agree that some of these pronouncements are horribly dangerous. It’s clear from the experiences of many posters that pneumonia can affect people with varying degrees of severity.

And surely picking up a phone and posting a message on mumsnet is no different to picking up a phone, punching in a number and making a phone call.

Some people are just fuckwits.

They are DANGEROUS fuckwits Deux. I despair sometimes.

Take care op. Hope you're feeling better this morning and I'm glad you went to hospital last night

Copied from clicky link

Pneumonia is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs. It's usually caused by a bacterial infection.
At the end of the breathing tubes in your lungs are clusters of tiny air sacs. If you have pneumonia, these tiny sacs become inflamed and fill up with fluid.
Symptoms of pneumonia
The symptoms of pneumonia can develop suddenly over 24 to 48 hours, or they may come on more slowly over several days.
Common symptoms of pneumonia include:
a cough – which may be dry, or produce thick yellow, green, brown or blood-stained mucus (phlegm)
difficulty breathing – your breathing may be rapid and shallow, and you may feel breathless, even when resting
rapid heartbeat
fever
feeling generally unwell
sweating and shivering
loss of appetite
chest pain – which gets worse when breathing or coughing

Less common symptoms include:
coughing up blood (haemoptysis)
headaches
fatigue
nausea or vomiting
wheezing
joint and muscle pain
feeling confused and disorientated, particularly in elderly people

When to see your GP
See your GP if you feel unwell and you have typical symptoms of pneumonia.

Seek urgent medical attention if you're experiencing severe symptoms, such as rapid breathing, chest pain or confusion

Hope they sorted you at hospital and are feeling better.

Can I ask what is it that happens to make flu turn into pneumonia. I thought flu was a virus, and pneumonia a bacterial infection. So how does the flu affect your lungs with bacteria?

I think flu lowers your resistance, so bacterial infections like pneumonia can infect you more easily.

When I had pneumonia, I felt as if someone was sitting on my chest as I was trying to breathe, and there was a rattling noise. When the GP told me to breathe deeply in and out whilst he was checking me over, I stumbled and fell over with the effort.

When I was at uni we had a doc call at the door wanting to see my flatmate urgently. He was out playing football. We all reckoned he had an sti, turns out he had double pneumonia. Presentation can vary widely, depending on the patient and where the infection has lodged.

I got admitted last night, turns out I have pleurisy, and then when I got to hospital my lung collapsed it fucking hurts!

Wow... you still hospital?

Well you're in the best place now. Sounds like just in time too. Hope they're giving you good painkillers and family/friends will give good support

Yes still in hospital looking like I'll be here for a while. But if anything I'm happier because it means my manager can pop over and see how shitty I look.

I knew it would be something nasty, what you described sounded horrific.

If something affects your breathing then it should always be taken seriously.

Get well soon

You're in the right place. Hope you feel better soon.

ha! That's how I felt when I went into hospital for 5 days (so obvs. quite ill). It was a nice break from demands of ordinary life, actually.

Oh I said thats how I felt when I had pleurisy you poor thing! I hope you feel better soon - in my case the antibiotics kicked in quite quickly x

Oh my god. You poor thing. Sending lots of and for when you're feeling up to it

So glad you're in hospital. Take care.