DD has Pleurisy - can anyone talk to me about it?

[Katymac]

I know I have been particularity needy atm wrt DD (12); but I guess I am just lost with all the minor illnesses since September and now her asthma is out of control.

The latest (causing a 6th week off school) is pleurisy

What can I expect?

She has been very poorly since Saturday evening & it was diagnosed at A&E yesterday about 11pm

She is regularly crying with pain despite lots of paracetamol & ibuprofen

Poor poppet - I feel so sorry for her

I would ask if there are other pain management options for her. I have had pleurisy and it really is incredibly painful. Poor girl. I hope she gets better very soon.

oh goodness, your poor DD. My sister had it years ago and I could see it really hurt her. IIRC it needs codiene or a more heavy duty pain killer.

They are giving her adult doses of the painkillers & she is only tiny (5st 7lbs; is that 35kgs?)

Does it last long?

I think my sister was off work for about 3 weeks when she was 27, she was pretty fit too, not someone who keeled over at the slightest little bug.

Poor sausage

I guess her dance comp on the 4th is a no go then

Blimey the school will be pleased with this......I wonder if she could manage part days as she gets better

She was really low already after all the other bugs

Oh well we are off to see her consultant tomorrow so hopefully he will sort something out

I thought it was a much shorter illness than that

Poor little thing . I've had it twice and really, it's the most painful thing ever until the antibiotics kick in, far far worse than giving birth. I was sobbing with pain and I'm just not a person who does that.

The good bit was that the antibiotics did have an effect pretty soon, and I started feeling better within 24 hours. Having said that, I was ill in bed for over a week, very tired for a long time afterwards and left with a bad cough. Breathing was painful for a long time too.

One thing to be said for it is that the school will have to understand the seriousness of it. Pleurisy is the kind of thing that young healthy people died from or took months to recover from in pre-antibiotics days; they will know that.

Thankfully, we've got the stuff now- but I would say any dancing competition within the next month is almost certainly off. And she is asthmatic too, so you want to be extra careful.

I'd say you're probably looking at several weeks off school and then a gradual return. I did half days when I had had pneumonia in secondary (yes, I am a little prone to these lung things). She will probably feel too ill to do any school work in the first week, but you could suggest that the school sends home work once she starts to recover- don't overdo it though. This is not the time to be worrying about work- she needs to get her strength back.

Oh and do send her all our good wishes!

P.S. It can be a fairly short illness in terms of time actually in bed with a temperature- if the antibiotics take effect quickly- but it pulls you down. And by the sounds of it, she wasn't very strong before it started. Wishing I could send you both off to some lovely warm island where she could lie in the sun and recover.

Thanks - the consultant decided it might not be pleurisy

Apparently it is 'just' the tail end of a chest infection - causing 'mild' pain (which DD is crying from)

The 'mild' pain is causing her to breath shallowly which is causing her heart to race which is inducing 'a bit' of panic which is causing her to breath more shallowly, which is.......

The prednisilone is being tailed off (after 14 day - thank goodness) she is to go back to school tomorrow - which I am a bit dubious about tbh) and she will be 'fine' by the weekend.

I wonder if the prednisilone could be causing her problems somehow affecting her mood or causing anxiety as my little girl really isn't like this (the perpetual cry of the ineffective mother)

Prednisolone can affect your mood (I am also asthmatic and have been on it quite a few times). It can make you feel a bit weird, spaced out and buzzy (which is a bit like the anxiety thing I think) and also sleepless/restless at night. Personally, I would be worried about sending her back to school tomorrow if she is feeling anxious and is in pain. I don't think a few days off would do any harm. Even if it isn't pleurisy, it sounds like it still hurts a lot so if you don't have any worries about who will look after her etc then definitely let her have a day or two to get a bit more back to normal. She may well be absolutely fine by the weekend, though, as antibiotics can work really fast.

Maybe you could ask the school for some stuff for her to do at home so she will still be keeping up with schoolwork? And actually, having something else to think about can be very beneficial when you feel like your daughter probably does. It helps with the breathing and with coping with the pain.

Sounds like she is still under the weather- I'd keep her home for a couple of days. All very well for the consultant to say it's mild pain: he doesn't have to live with it. She is crying with it, she has had a very stressful time, she must be worn out, poor little thing. And even non-pleurisy chest infections can be very painful.

Sorry everyone I carried on (as it became not pleuricy) over here

Many apologies & thanks for your input