How to help myself recover from cavitating pneumonia?

[AlwaysWashing]

Just that really. I'm on a bucket load of medication including 3 antibiotics which are making my stomach quite sore and give me awful acid, I'm still quite anaemic and shattered. I've another 10 days of all the meds so nothing I can do about those issues. I'm taking Spatone iron supplements and resting as much as I can.
I had 3 days in CCU and nearly 3 weeks in hospital. Been home nearly 3 weeks. No pain to speak of but just feel crap.
What can I do?

Have just googled cavitating pneumonia - really shocked ,how awful .You poor thing !

I don't have much to offer ..but could you get your GP to prescibe a PPI for the acid ? Or can't you mix PPI's with antibiotics ?

I'm sure a good diet and rest will be key .Maybe a good probiotic to help your digestion ?

Wish I had more helpful advice .

definitely take some probiotics. I've been on a shedload of antibiotics recently, and one set made my stomach feel as though someone had grated it. If you can get some tablets and then add in some live yoghurt too, it really does help.

I wish I could help with some of the rest

Thank you!
I'll have to google PPI but in leui I have Omeprazole twice a day plus Gaviscon as and when around the anti biotics. I wondered about probiotics and whether they would make any difference against the tide of all the drugs? Should I take them now or wait until I'm drug free? I'm eating a small but healthy diet and drinking plenty.
I'm a Mum to 2 DS (3&5) and my poor, brilliant DH is all but a single parent atm - I'm desperate to be strong again but don't know how to get past this, well, knackeredness.

Omeprazole is a PPI so you're covered there. A nasty pneumonia can take a long time to fully recover from, so rest and eating small but nutritious meals will help but expect it to take a good while.

Sorry to hear that. I agree with everything the other posters have said. Anything you can do to improve your gut health will give you more strength. Bimuno powder is good as a prebiotic to add to hot drinks. You can drink 3/4 a day. Eat as many fresh vegetables as well as fruits as possible - frozen ones will also do the job and are easy to boil up. Eat a simple non processed diet if possible. Drinking chicken broth really does work for illnesses and gut flora. That's boiling meet bones/chicken carcasses and drinking or adding to cooking - eg using it as the water to cook rice. Even tinned chicken soup is supposed to help. Eating virgin coconut oil, eating prebiotic foods like sauerkraut (waitrose/ocado stock both). Nb start these in very small quantities as they can cause diarrhoea at first because your stomach needs to build up the ability to ingest these foods. Definitely take vitamin D, and a lot of it (again build up). I would also take vit b12, you You need to take the non synthetically produced stuff so take methylcobalamin not Cyanocobalamin, as your gut flora is poor, you will not be absorbing b12 properly. With both of these supplements, you can take far more than is recommended and I would take them long term. Not at extra high levels forever. You could probably do with a multivitamin as well. The cheap ones are packed with fillers and your body may not be able to absorb any of the vitamins anyway because they're not great quality. Try the brand nutri for example.
Regarding the probiotic, take it in between the antibiotics if you can. Yes, antibiotics do wipe out probiotics but there will always be a bit getting through. Then take plenty of them after you stop the antibiotics. Antibiotics stay in the liver for a while after stopping them as well, so consider googling liver cleansing foods ( not grapefruit on medication). I realise some of these are unrealistic right now so pick the easiest things first. Good luck.

Janecc THANK YOU!
This is what I needed. I have some probiotics that I bought just before I got ill. Funnily it was homemade chicken soup that got me through the first week in hospital when I couldn't bear the idea of food/hospital food. My Dad was boiling chicken carcasses up like a demon! I'm craving fresh stuff so that won't be hard too.
Vit D, B12 and a good multi but - I can do that too.
Great advice, many thanks.

Oh OP ,little children as well !

In case it's any help M&S do a lovely tinned chicken soup with tiny nooodles .

Is it the Gaviscon plus you've got ? They make 2 different kinds and the plus one is better as it forms a physical barrier to float on top of the stomach contents and help stops the acid refluxing .

Wishing you better .

Janecc - I'm copying and saving your post as I have digestive issues folleing surgery to stomach .

Sounds Good - I hope you soon feel better. And get someone else to do your washing ;). Don't expect too much too soon as antibiotics themselves make you tired because they're really not good for your body as I'm sure you know. Is this something you get regularly? There are natural antibiotics to help stave off infection. Bee pollen/propolis for example. I don't know if that would be of any use. I take immiflex all year round in addition to vit d in winter because I'm a chronic fatigue sufferer and I was advised to do it to fight infection. It is basically a type of vit d with "well immune" formula and it really does help me. The recommended dose is 1 daily. I take 2-4. It's cheapest from Dolphin Fitness. Roll on the summer so we can make vit d ourselves!

ginger just seen your posts. Just a word about Gaviscon. I'm no expert on any of these conditions but I just thought I'd let you know anything, which reduces stomach acid long term should be avoided if possible. I'm not trying to tell you something against your doctor so please disregard if I'm wrong in this case. What is often perceived as excess acid is actually the stomach frantically trying to make and churn acid around because the stomach is desperately low in acid. Taking Gaviscon then lowers it even more and damages the gut flora further. I don't know if you can take Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother). Get from Amazon or other online retailers. Can be taken with food or 30 mins before food to increase stomach acid. Start with a tiny amount diluted in water and rinse your mouth out after as it damages teeth. Increasing stomach acid from what I have read doesn't cause or worsen acid reflux and can actually relieve it. Wellnessmama has an interesting blog. She and a whole bunch of others have plenty to say online, which could perhaps help you both.

I can't wait for the antibiotics to be finished because although I know I needed them and that I must finish them I also know that they are just not good for me. I've never been (seriously) ill in my life before now, hardly ever had anything that needed treatment since childhood tonsillitis so this has been completely out of the blue - February run down, ear infection then sinus infection then flu and bang this. I suspect my lifestyle/food choices had a role to play in getting run down but I think only as much as any other busy parent. Nothing like nearly dying to give you a kick up the butt to make lifelong changes eh!
I'm having a glug of normal Gaviscon in the early hours most nights which does help but obviously would be very happy to knock that on the head too.

Sorry I meant to say. That's normal you need Gaviscon because of the acidity created by the antibiotics - I would be using in these circumstances. Sounds like your body was really trying to tell you something ... You listened in the end! Take it easy otherwise you'll end up with post viral fatigue and eventually chronic fatigue (ME) like me. Also don't know if you know this but I would avoid NSAIDS - ibuprofen etc. I have to take PPI's if I ever need them because they're really bad on the sensitive gut.

alwayswashing - gosh you've been through the mill ! I think antbiotics take some time to get out of your system so take care .So glad you have a St DP .

jannec - thanks for thinking of me . Mmm stomach acid ,yy to body needing it to absorb stuff .And I've also heard that taking antacids causes a rebound effect where your stomach makes more acid .

I'm not really sure what to do in my case ,I had cancer at junction of eosphageous and stomach , oesphageous whipped out ,stomach pulled up ( some of it removed ) to form new oesphageous .So no sphincters/valves to stop contents coming back up into mouth .I can cope with discomfort of reflux ( probably such coping/ignoring caused the damage which became cancer ) but am anxious that acid will cause damage to the remaining stump of my throat .

But long term PPI's tricky as well .A common problem I know ,balancing SE from a drug .

Watch out for thrush as well if you've been on a shed load of antibiotics.....if you're having problem with swallowing nystatin is a godsend

Good grief ginger. That's awful. Far beyond my knowledge. Mine is both from a fair bit of reading and from seeing a detox specialist long term, who uses her remedies amongst others. She uses kinesiology as a diagnostic tool. Interesting about Gaviscon, I hadn't read that. I going to look into it. Long term PPI's not great, I'm sure you've been made aware of the C. difficile risks anongst others. I got no answers from the NHS for me and I went down the alternative therapies route. Choosing carefully my therapist, now I'm a believer. The Drs don't have all of the answers, which is normal. No one does. I would be inclined to do some research outside mainstream medicine for help.

ginger that sounds like a nightmare, I hope all is well from now on.
janecc I can't take ibuprofen so that's at least one thing out of the equation. I will take very seriously not pushing myself too hard again - I knew for a while (6 months or more) that something was not right but didn't listen and just felt like a big failure for being so knackered all the time. Want to get it right this time so very grateful for your well researched advice.
scotsgirl64 had forgotten about thrush!!! Will be aware.

Oh Janecc and always - I'm ok ,it was ok . Good treatment etc .I'm doing fine .

I can't imagine what it must be like being so ill with a 3 and 5 year old .Hat off to you always

I've never heard anything about a C.diff risk...I'll look into that .Will read your post properly when I have time and will look at links .

The Drs don't have all of the answers, which is normal. No one does. I would be inclined to do some research outside mainstream medicine for help. I agree