Clarithromycin.. chest infection for 6 weeks.. advice please

[cluelessgirly]

Hi all,

So I got a chesty cough end of November. Went doctors who prescribed a 5 day course of doxycycline.
I started to feel better but it didn't fully get rid of my symptoms, but once I come off the tablets was a bit up and down until Boxing Day.

It hit me like a ton of bricks, terrible chesty cough again, rather than 'just a bit of a wet cough' coughing up yellow mucus, Seems worse when I have to move, not as bad over night
Wrenching/nearly throwing up/Breathless at times, Chest pain, Headaches, Decreased appetite, Very tired, Feel generally really unwell and weak.

Went back to doctor who prescribed brown and blue inhaler on the 27th December. They didn't help.
I couldn't cope anymore so I took myself up the hospital yesterday and was seen by a doctor.

Stats:
Oxygen was 96 sometimes 100 so that's good.
Blood pressure was high 148/96. I don't usually suffer with high blood pressure?
And my heart rate was over 100. Temp 37.4 had paracetamol that day.

Listened to my chest and back and I told my symptoms. They've now prescribed a week course of Clarithromycin and said if I don't feel better I need a chest xray.

Can anyone help with when I should start to see improvements? And feel better? I've felt like crap for so long now 😭
I'm so scared they will help me improve a bit and I'll go downhill again.

I don't think I've ever felt so ill. I'm so fed up of coughing and sometimes nearly throwing up from coughing. I have a 3 year old I currently feel like I'm letting down cos I've been a terrible version of myself for weeks now.

Just some advice on getting better and what to look out for?
Like should my cough be gone after the week? Or at least not coughing up yellow mucus?

I can also blow my nose and tons of yellow snot comes out. I feel so crap 😭 im surprised ive only been given a weeks worth of antibiotics considering this has been going on so long?

I get health anxiety so im trying not to worry myself. Im only two tablets into my antibiotics so its early days but any advice welcome

Giving you a handhold as I’m 6 weeks into almost exactly the same symptoms.

Your new antibiotic is for atypical pneumonia as A&E wanted to give this to me too but didn’t after a clear chest X-ray.

It is probably a virus and a lot of people are suffering with it at the moment. It messes with your heart too.

Steroids helped with the the cough but mess
with your heart even more. I would insist on chest X-ray and watch out for myocarditis. A lot of people told me to rest, rest and rest to avoid getting post viral fatigue.

Thank you for your response.

I'm holding to see an improvement with the antibiotics but I guess we will see. But I didn't actually know what they were prescribed for so I assumed still a chest infection.

I've been resting all day today, haven't done a thing other than make some toast.

If I don't feel an improvement maybe by the end of tomorrow (even a slight improvement) I'm going to push for a chest xray with my gp I guess?!

I have heard there is a horrendous virus going round. Maybe it is that! Just honestly doesn't feel like it's getting better, only worse this last week.

I hope you start to feel better soon!

There really are some horrible respiritory viruses around including RSV which often makes children ill but is also nasty in adults.
Did you test for covid initially? That can lead to pneumonia but really any lingering chest infection can end up as pneumonia and those are the ABs they would give.

I'm on Clarithomycin a the moment for cellulitis. I've got the most vile taste in my mouth, I feel sick nearly all the time and generally feel rubbish. I will finish the course, I've still got 8 tablets to take, but I'll be glad when the last one is done. Anyone else had these side effects from this antibiotic.

I was on this for pneumonia/sepsis. It's a hardcore antibiotic, I had it intravenously and it felt like it was burning my vein. It worked though in conjunction with 2 other antibiotics.

Please push for an x-ray if you don't improve or if your temperature is spiking and you have chills or muscle pains. I was seriously ill after a cold turned into a chest infection which didn't respond to amoxycillin.

I think I'm going to ask for an xray tomorrow.

I'm sorry to hear you were unwell.
Please do you remember how soon you started to feel better?

I feel generally better in myself but my chest is not clearing. It's full of mucus that I can't always bring up and I'm still coughing.

I'm so concerned I have fluid on my lungs and I have no idea how far into antibiotics this should improve/stop?

I started with a cough end of oct and it hasn't completely gone away - I wonder if it's a long covid type thing or lung damage. Anyway, I had doxycycline first which didn't fully clear it so then had clarithromycin and I asked the doctor how long it would take to work - the answer was 48 hrs to kick in after which I should notice a difference it was bacterial and not viral. I definitely did notice a difference in the amount and how hard I was coughing and heart palpitations stopped.

Basically mine started viral probably turned bacterial, was cleared with antibiotics but is taking some time for every symptom to completely disappear.

Thank you for your comment! Really appreciate that and glad to hear you're at least on the mend.

Sounds similar to what happened to me.
Did you have a mucus sounding cough/coughing up mucus at times at all?

Mine is quite a productive cough I'd say. Sometimes it's just a really hard deep cough and other times I'm like catching my breath and coughing up a bit of mucus or at least trying too?

I'm so anxious I'm going to get to the end of this course of antibiotics and rapidly go down hill.
Like doxycycline was like I felt a small improvement then got worse. Then these ones I've felt a small improvement so is it only enough that it's keeping this infection at bay?

I'm so anxious, apologies :(

It took a long time. I was on a double dose of 3 different antibiotics for 6 weeks and wasn't really back to normal for 3 months. The cough was really bad even after I was discharged from hospital and the antibiotics were working.

If you are worried definitely see your GP or call 111 for advice.

Yes my cough was productive, sounded awful, almost like I was barking trying to cough stuff up. Was coughing thick yellow stuff up. I waited 5 weeks before going to the doc initially so they couldn't just say well it's viral.

Definitely noticed a difference after 2-3 days of the second antibiotics and at the end of 7 days was certain it had improved substantially. Since then (end of nov) it's got gradually better. Still sounds wet when I cough but much less frequency and not deep like I'm coughing my guts up.

It's not uncommon for it take a while to totally resolve after a chest infection. I've been saying to friends and family I wonder if it will take until spring until it's totally gone.

Also if the infection is gone then the mucus should be thinner, clearer and maybe taste a bit salty. That would be the lungs clearing and just irritation from the lungs needing to settle down.

My pharmacist said that if there is no improvement after 72 hours - so 3 days - on antibiotics, then get back in touch with your doctor.

I spent over a week in hospital with pneumonia earlier this year being pumped full of IV antibiotics and when I was discharged I was given Clarithromycin to take in tablet form. Sorry to hear you're feeling so unwell and it does sound like a chest x-Ray would be helpful.

Pneumonia can turn bad quickly. I would ask for a chest x ray.

@ringmybe11 can I ask if your palpitation only happened when coughing or at other times too as I seem to now also have viral infection that became bacterial so taking antibiotics and hoping it will clear palpitations also.

@cluelessgirly sorry you are still feeling bad, my consultant also said 72hrs if no improvement to come back

Palpitations randomly throughout the day. At the time I didn't realise how much they'd escalated as I get them occasionally anyway. Easier to see with hindsight that it was absolutely a symptom of the chest infection and resolved after the antibiotics. I suddenly realised one day when I had one that I hadn't had any for several days.
I should also add that after the antibiotics I started exercising again and was still getting out of breath but this also has gradually improved and a month on I feel like myself again.

Have you had a chest X-ray?

This was me last march.

Took myself A&E 4am on a Monday for an X-ray
I had pneumonia for the 3rd time.

Clarithromycin are quite strong so I'd expect to start feeling better after about 3 or 4 days on them.

Hey. I can almost mimic your experience.
I had a cough 8 weeks ago. Went to GP after maybe a fortnight. Got amoxicillin 500mg for a week. Took those, no improvement and really high temp. Went back, got another 5 days worth of 500mg amoxicillin.
Then Xmas eve felt so so unwell so visited gp again who said it'd turned into bronchitis and gave me 7 days of clarithromycin and 7 days of prednisolone with a blue inhaler. No improvement.
I called 111 last Sunday eve as heart rate was 137, I was dizzy, cold sweats and coughing up lumps of green, foul tasting phlegm and very fatigued/breathless.
A&e said possible pneumonia.
Given a week of doxycycline and 5 days more steroids.
I finished those 5 days ago and I'm still coughing up green phlegm, really breathless doing very little and still exhausted.
I really don't know what's going on or why it's taking so long to clear but I really have felt terribly poorly.
Really hope you feel better soon OP. I'm concerned mine isn't clearing, I don't feel much better considering all the antibiotics I've had, I've also got oral thrush because of it.
Feeling super miserable.

Also, I had vomiting twice when I attended a&e. I honestly felt like I could've crawled up and died.

We had it in early December and DH is still coughing even with an inhaler (he gets post viral asthma). I'm feeling better than I did but still bringing mucus up when I'm out walking and get a bit breathless. We're still feeling under par though and not fully recovered. The doxycycline didn't touch the sides - I had same symptoms, sky high blood pressure and raised temperature but SATS were OK.

We're both taking berocca daily and a probiotic, just in case. And avoiding contact with anyone with a cold!

I am on it at the moment and it is all I can taste. It is an extended dose 😩😩😩

Yes me. I finished my dose yesterday thank goodness.
I'm on my 7th week of chest infections. I had the upper respiratory one, then pleurisy and then managed to catch another infection in top of the pleurisy.
I've been sent to A&E 3 times due to a high heart beat and lung pain.

What a strange illness that's going round. I've just been in hospital with pneumonia, on week 3 of recovery now... still coughing, chest and back pain. Started with IV antibiotics and sent home with pills. Hoping I'm over the worst but still ropey !

How are you doing now OP?

I had what sounds like the same thing, all the same symptoms. 2 different lots of antibiotics , 3 trips to gp, 4 weeks off work and I've only recently started to feel better.