First of this year, I had pleurisy for 2 months. I experienced the fevers, sweating, etc. What I remember the most about my pleurisy was the pain that went with it. It was very painful. My doctor put me on antibiotics but it still took me 2 months to recover. I remember not even being able to touch the area where the pleurisy was. And I was rather swollen in that area as well. I understand what you are going through. I never want pleurisy again. But, for your pleurisy to last so long and then to re-occur. Well, I am not certain about that. So, I cannot advise you on that. I have lung disease called COPD, so I am certain I may have future bouts with the pleurisy. Hopefully, someone else on this forum can help you better and further. This is a great forum for answers. Best of luck to you.
You can have your life back much sooner.Start doing this today, twice a day(you have time).You will notice a difference from day 9.Come back to report progress, so someone else can benefit.You will gain your health back and live a normal life.Do not give this up.I will answer any questions/comments.I want you to get better.
You need to help your body to build up your immune system.The breathing exercises - pranayam is a holistic approach creating extra oxygen supply in the body and will slowly help with the health problem.Do the pranayam to see the benefits.Build up your timing slowly and after two weeks at the suggested duration you will start to notice benefits.
Bhastrika - Take a long deep breath into the lungs(chest not tummy) via the nose and then completely breathe out through the nose.Duration upto 5 minutes.
Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for upto 30 minutes twice a day.(Max 60 min/day) Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
Anulom Vilom - Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril
then -keeping the left nostril closed deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day(maximum 60 minutes in one day).
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.
Bhramri Pranayam -Close eyes. Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three fingers on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in through nose. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee.
Duration : 5 to 10 times
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Only by doing you will benefit and will feel good that you can do something to help the body.Copy and print this to master the technique.This is simplified pranayam for everyone and you do not have to go to classes to learn. This is for life unlike short term classes where you do it in the class then stop when classes are over.
Lynn, Thank you for the response. You said your pleurisy lasted 2 months. Did your fever continue after you completed the antibiotics? How long did you take them? Did you take just one medication? Did you do anything else? I took Keflex (Cephalexin) - the only antibiotic I am not allergic to (rather, less allergic than to others). I took it for 2 weeks but the fever still continued after that. Because it didn't help, my Dr. concluded my pleurisy was viral.
I am glad you recovered completely. It's a nasty thing. Yes, there is a lot of pain. But I could live with the pain. The worst part for me is unbelievable exhaustion (though my t isn't very high, it feels like 105F), drenching sweats and extreme sensitivity to the slightest draughts - Even the tiny draft from the computer fan causes more pain, chills and a sick feeling you usually get when the temp. is rising.
Take care.
Thank you so much for the recommendations.
Extra O2 always helps, I'm all for it. HOWEVER, every breath (i.e. mechanical movement of the chest) causes a lot of pain. Several breaths in a row seem to aggravate my condition. I have PLEURISY (not bronchitis or pneumonia). I don't have any respiratory complaints (no cough, etc) other than sharp burning pain in the lungs (back, sides, front of chest) and, as a result, superficial breathing. Pleura is the outer sac holding the lung. When it is inflamed, every movement is agonizing. Actually, if too much friction occurs, fluid can start building up in the chest - this is how inflamed pleura protects itself from the mechanical damage of friction (the fluid being a lubricant). That would be a serious complication. I don't want it.
These breathing exercises sound really good. I am sure they are of great help in asthma, cronic bronchitis or COPD. But in my case.... It's like asking a person with inflamed knees to do jogging. I have copied and saved these exercises. I should start doing them when (and if) I recover.
I wonder if for now I try only some of them (alternate nostrils and the "humming") with regular, not deep inhalations - will they help?? I just tried Kapabhati. Couldn't do more than 6-7 intense exhalations. The pain gets unbearable. It seems inflamed pleura needs complete rest to recover.
Thank you again, Stay healthy!
You described the PLEURISY and symptoms very well.
Yes - do bhastrika, anulom vilom and bhramri with normal breathing and eyes closed.Once you can do anulom vilom for 15 minutes, then start kapalbhati with 3 strokes and increase very gradually.
Always stop if painful or uncomfortable.
The extra breathing energises the cells to help the body fight.You will notice very gradual benefits.Keep posting your observations as others are benefiting and i am learning more and more about the body functions.
Press the middle of the palm of both hands about 50 times, to stimulate the kidney, as the breathing creates waste while the cells do the healing.Drink warm water.
You are most welcome. Seems there is good advice from others on how to cope with your pleursy. I am not certain what type antiobiotic doctor prescribed me. The type of antibiotic you take once daily for 5 days. It really did me little good. Still took 2 months or so to recover from the pleurisy. The sweats, fever, fatigue and pain continued even after the regiment of antibiotics. I never went back to the doctor. I am not much of a doctor going type person. I figured it would pass with time. And time it did take. I even had pneumonia and bronchitis with the pleurisy. The pleurisy was the worse of the three. Of course as I stated, I have lung disease. So, these illnesses will be a part of my life now. Try what the others have posted to you. I am even going to remember the techniques mentioned. I know that pleurisy will once again return in time. I get sick a lot in the winter months now with this lung disease. But, I agree pleurisy is awful. Wish you the very best on this. If I can further help, then let me know. This is a wonderful forum with wonderful people on it.
I can't believe you were on antibiotics for 2 months. It's off limits for me. I am allergic to everything. Summer is the worst for me. In winter you can dress warmly, etc. In summer you suffocate without air conditioning, yet you can't have it. This is what caused my pleurisy. This morning, after sleeping with a slightly open window, my temperature shot up again and the inflammation and pain are worse than ever (this is after 2 days without fever when I thought I was recovering). You become extremely sensitive to the slightest draft (both in- and outdoors). It can start you feeling cold, more stitching pain etc, tempreature rises, you sweat and catch more cold. So you have to dress warmer. But if you do -- you start sweating and catch a cold as a result. I have to wash and change my clothes every hour or more often. This low grade fever (99.4)makes me feel like I have 107F - totl exhaustion, can't lift my head from the pillow. It's difficult to do every day things - constant laundry, cooking. My husband brings groceries. Last year it lasted 4.5 months!! With this sudden turn for the worse (after 2 days without temp.) I feel frustrated. Couldn't help crying. Are there any Drs. out there who could help???
Take care and beware of air conditioners and fans.
I was just on antibiotics for 5 days, during the 2 months I had pleurisy. They were suppose to be a very strong antibiotic. I might as well have taken sugar pills. The antibiotic did not work. After this regiment of the 5 day antibiotic, the pleurisy lasted several months more. I probably had pleurisy about 2-3 weeks before I went to the doctor. So, roughly I had it for approximately 3 months. Have you possibly attempted to see a pulmonary doctor? I never had pleurisy in my life before this past winter. Summer time for me is very hard. Due to the heat and humidity. I have lung disease. And when it is hot and humid breathing becomes difficult. I have to stay inside with AC during these hot humid spells. Today, we had air quality advisory in our area. So, that means people with lung disease need to remain indoors with AC as much as possible. Still the AC does not totally solve the problem. Winter time is hard on me as well. That is when I get sick the most. With lung disease the immune system is compromised. Even a cold can turn into something dangerous. I had pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and pleurisy all at the same time. I have to be very careful and try not to come in contact with anyone that has a cold or virus. And that cannot always be avoided. My pleurisy was brought on by my lung disease. But you really need to find a pulmonary doctor. You should not have to suffer like you are. But, I certainly do agree with you. Pleurisy can make a person very sick. I ran the fevers and had the sweats. But, what I remember most about pleurisy was the pain. Of course, with this lung disease I cough frequently. That maybe why it was so painful to me. It was so painful I had to slowly get out of bed or up out of a chair. Usually I had to hold my hand over the effected area, while attempting to do these things. It hurt that badly. Like you, I remember being very frustrated as well. I kept thinking when is this going to go away. Then when I finally did start getting better, the effected area where the pleurisy had been, just felt hard like to me. Is hard to describe. Like a tightness. My pleurisy was located below my right breast. Doctor said it was a common area to have pleurisy usually. But, if you would like to talk further, I am here for you. It is scary sometimes to be ill. So, I do understand. I dread winter coming. Means my time to be sick a lot. I just pray no more pleurisy. It was rough. You take care and just rest up.
You can also start doing bhastrika,anulom vilom and bhramri.This will start to heal your lungs gradually and help you cope with allergies.Try to do it in fresh air(not AC, as there is less oxygen in AC environment), or keep the AC very low.The pranayam(breathing) will help you in many ways.So note down any benefits you observe over the weeks.You will experience better sleep and more energetic mind in the first few week.
My daughter-in-law, a doctor, told me to use anti-inflamitories such as Advil or Aleve. She said that pleurisy is an inflamation of the lining of the lung and that anti-inflamitories relieve that inflamation. Good luck.
Good for you that your pleurisy was local, only in a small spot. Mine is all over - both lungs, in front, sides, back. In any hottest environment my lungs feel cold. Last summer and fall I saw a pulmonologist with the same condition (which lasted 4.5 months). I am not going to any Dr.s office any more. First, I catch more cold there because there is nowhere to hide from air conditioning. So I always got more sick after seeing a Dr. I Second, it's useless. He was not impressed. He lost interest as soon as he saw normal CT scan (which is typical for pleurisy). Pleurisy is not even considered a serious disease. Yes, he told me to take pain killers. BUT IT'S NOT ABOUT PAIN. It's about extreme weakness, hectic fever and continuous drenching sweats. I have to change clothes every helf hour or so. The fever is not all that high, but it feels like 107. Also, he told me to give it more time. But 4.5 months taken out of your life?!!!!....
We must be reading the same books. I actually have a book "Breathe Disease out of Your body" - chinese breathing exercises.
Your method is obviously Indian. I heard the word "bhastrika" for the first time in mid-80s. But I've never done any exercises on a regular basis. I used to be in pretty good health. *Guess not any more). I usually do alternate nostil breathing to calm down before sleep. (Not every night, but when I am too wired). Helps greatly.
As far as the lung/kidney/adrenal spot on the palm, I have 2 books on reflexology which I open almost every day. I've been working on my palm accupressure points every day for many months (long before I fell ill).
Take care
Linda, thank you for the advice. Could you p[lease ask your daughter in law how to get rid of THE INFECTION which is causing high fever and sweats. I just completed 2 weeks of antibiotics. They had zero effect. I still have fever, exhausting drenching sweats, weakness, pain and heaviness in the lungs. (I never had a cough or bronchitis with it.) My Dr. also told me to take pain killers/ anti-inflammatories. I did, only for a short time though because of side effects - bad kidney pain. Unfortunately, they did nothing for the RECURRENT low grade fever (going up and down all day), sweats and exhaustion, i.e. INFECTION. Anti-inflammatories (Aleve, advil, etc.) can't cure the INFECTION. Maybe she knows??
Thank you
Yes, this breathing techniques existed ages ago in India.They have been simplified and tested on people with different timings, and the timings suggested are the result of 10 years of testing on people.Doing it every day, systematically achieves results.
I would be interested to know the duration of the sweating episodes, the number of episodes per day and do they happen at the same hour each day.
I would like you to do anulom vilom(5-20 minutes), before breakfast,before bedtime or in bed and also sometime during the day.(three times a day).Do this for at least 2 weeks and see if it makes a difference to the sweating episodes.Try and aim for 15-20 minutes for each session if you can without pain..
This is to make the control systems in the body to work normally and help with any health problem, not only respiratory problems.
Sorry I didn't write at once, was feeling awful. I realized every little draft, even from the computer built-in fan makes gives me chills and more fever. A week ago I ventured outside to do breathing exercises. Tough it was a hot day, my head started freezing (because it gets wet with sweat - I mean sick sweat, not because of heat). After some breathing exercises I got very tired, came home and in an hour almost collapsed with sudden shotup of fever, exhaustion, "drunken" feeling and general flu-like symptoms - headache, burning throat, nostrils and eyes. Like I cought the flu. Still trying to recover from these new symptoms - general flu-like.
My sweats are connected to rises in temperature. It goes up and down ~ 15-20 times during the day (and night), Each time with exhausting drenching sweats, Before my first pleurisy last year, I never even had any colds or coughs (I mean never in ~ 15 years) and if I had minor problems with sore throat, they would go in 2-3 days without any cough. Never had a cough or fever. Even now I don't know what to treat - I have no cough, just pleurisy pains, general body aches, hot eys, burning nostrils (sinuses are clear).
I am working with reflexology points for immune and respir. systems, also taking herbs - echinacea, elderberry, pleurisy root, multivitamines, vit C, fish oil and more.
Hava, are you a doctor? You sound like someone knowledgeable. Other than breathing, can you give me advice on how to overcome these general flu-like symptoms, the viral infection that got into my pleura?. CAN ANYBODY HELP ME? I've been sick since June 26 and still no improvement.
It is important to stop the breathing exercises when you feel tired,dizzy or exhausted, and then resume later.Do only what the body can handle comfortably.
There is some conflict with your temperature regulating system - possibly thyroid and pituitary glands.So we need to get more oxygen into the brain and the body, to energise the cells, to help the glands work efficiently.Basically repair the body systems.
So I suggest you continue anulom vilom, comfortably, for a few minutes, several times a day.When you can do it for 10 minutes in one session, without getting tired, let me know.You can also do bhramri(humming).
Accupressure - For pituitary -Press firmly the top half of both thumbs, about 20 times. For thyroid - press firmly the area of the palm of both hands,from the bottom of the thumb to the wrist, about 20 times.
I can also suggest cinnamon powder with honey.
I am not a doctor, but trying to get to know the body systems and how they look after the body when the cells are healthy(oxygenated).
Also do not overdose yourself with herbs.Some herbs can be hot for the body and some are cool.
Yes, there may be some problem with temperature regulation. However, I just saw my endocrinologist. My Thyroid function is normal (TSH = 2). When I am not ill, I tend to feel cold (nor hot), and never even sweat. Never had hot flashes, even when my menopause started ~ 10 years ago. Before my first pleurisy last year, I hadn't had elevated temperature in ~ 20 years and practically never even had colds.
My temperature is caused by general flu-like infection which I can't overcome for how many weeks?(since June 26). I think I suffer from general viral infection that got into the pleura. It's not just local pleurisy.
I work with these points (pituitary and thyroid) every day. I also massage (and heat) the kidney and adrenal points on the back (on the waist line, 2 and 4 finger widths from the spine), as well as several other points for lungs/kidneys and immune system (I have 2 very good books on reflexology). As far as breathing exercises, I can't do alternate breathing more than 15 cycles (3 minutes?), almost faint. It takes very long to restore energy afterwards. The humming exercise is OK.
Cinnamon and honey.... I am very allergic to honey, since I was a child. My grandparents kept bee hives, but neither of my parents nor my sister could consume honey because of severe allergies. Cinnamon... It helps diabetes, fights insulin resistance. But as far as I know, it has to be purified (medical grade, and non-toxic variety. Read about the toxicity of regular spice - cinnamon - http://carbwars.blogspot.com/2008/01/cinnamon-warning.html ). I wonder what cinnamon might do for me -- fight sweating?? The types of sweats I am having are typical of infectios lung diseases (pneumonia, TB etc). I wish I knew how to get that virus out of my body. I am taking echinacea, goldenseal, astragalus, olive leaf extract and more - all antiviral. There haven't been much improvement.
Forgot to mention. As far as I understand, when cells are well oxygenated, the body will be alkaline.
With low oxygen it becomes acidic-- a breeding ground for disease.
You have done a lot of research.
This leaves anulon vilom, as quite safe, and delivers extra oxygen into the lungs.
So I would suggest 1) do 10 cycles 5 or 6 times a day. Stop before you get exhausted.
2) If you can do (1) for a week, then increase the number of cycles very gradually.
3) Once you can do it for 5 minutes in one session, you are on way to recovery.
Keep a record and remember to stop if dizzy or exhausted.Be patient and persevere.
Thanks for staying with me. It's nice to know someone is interested/sympathetic. Are you really interested?? Who and what are you, Hava? Are you studying to be a naturopathic dr? Or are you someone like myself, researching alternative medicine to be able to heal yourself? Or do you just study breathing and want to check out if breathing ex.-s really help cure lung diseases? In my case it's more a connective tissue problem than a lung problem, which makes it slightly different. Though of course, getting oxygenated is of primary importance in curing ANY illness.
Would you have any suggestions if, let's say, I had just a lingering GENERAL VIRAL INFECTION, e.g. a flu that wasn't going away? Because this very much seems to be my case. I mean in addition to pleurisy. The other day I thought I was better - my temperature was only 98.7, I'd taken Ibuprophen(which I try to avoid) and had practically no pleurisy pain. So I stayed outside several hours, walked a little and did breathing exercises. I was in excellent mood, had enough strength, and was sure I am on the way to recovery. Also, it was a nice DRY day (at last). As a result, a couple of hours after all this activity my temprature shot up to 99.6 and I was SUDDENLY overcome with a flu-like feeling, incredible headache like never before, (even dizziness) couldn't open my eyes, body aches (all beat up), oppressed chest (hard to beathe), extreme weakness, even difficult to talk, - I'd felt like that only when I was a kid and had very high fever, close to delirium. I know in case of flu you should absolutely stay away from physical activity. If you don't, you'll only get sicker and run complications (even brain damage). Looks like what happened to me. I am still trying to recover to the level I was before all this physical activity. This is already a second time I get worse (not necesserily pleurisy but flu-like symptoms and increase in fever) after even minor physical activity, including breathing exercises. This is frustrating because I can't wait to start moving about. In general, it's emotionally very hard to be sick so long. CAN ANYBODY HELP ME OVERCOME GENERAL VIRAL INFECTION (FLU)??? My Dr. didn't find anything special. She said, give it some more time. But i've been sick since June, and last year it took me 4.5 months to recover!!!! I can't believe it will be the same this year. What if I never recover from this flu? PLEASE HELP!!!!!
We are trying to help your body to heal itself with oxygenated blood.The oxygen goes into the lungs first and then each individual cell gets oxygenated, to do its function more efficiently.Keep doing the pranayam.On your first two good days, do not do any physical exercises, and let the body do its recovery work.The flu symptoms make you rest, so that the body can conserve the oxygen, and use it to heal.Keep your body oxygenated and you will recover.Continue the pranayam, to prevent future episodes.
Wish you good health.
Did your pleurisy heal? I've had mine for almost 5 months now and have been taken off of NSAIDs because they gave me gastritis. I'm only on pain meds while my stomache heals so I can go back on NSAID. I was told mine was viral as well, but the length of this healing process makes me second guess. I could use any updates/advice you can offer. I feel like my life was completely haulted as well. It's miserable.
How are all of you doing??
I have it and you have described me to a "T"
scared you say it takes so long :/
Thanks for breathing techniques.. I will try in addition to all i am currently doing to combat this horrible condition.