Pneumonia that won't go away

[SophiaMaria03]

I've had pneumonia for almost 3 months. I had two rounds of antibiotics and it shrunk to the point where it didn't show up in an x-ray, so we thought it was gone. But after 3 weeks the symptoms came back so severely that I had to go to the emergency room because the pain in my ribs and chest was keeping me from breathing. The x-ray was still 'clear' but a follow-up CT-scan showed it was still there, though a bit smaller than a previous CT scan. My pulmonologist put me on another round of antibiotics and although the severe symptoms have receded, the rib pain and breathing issues are still there. He says the next step is a PET scan to see if it might be something else. Everyone says that it takes a long time to recover, but to have these symptoms for so long? Is the PET scan the right way to go? Also, the pain seems to radiate up to my shoulder and down to my lower back - would this be muscle spasms? My doc hasn't given me a clear answer.

[HomeChef]

I think a PET scan is a good idea.  Your lungs are much bigger than you'd imagine, and coughing, which I"m assuming you're doing a lot of, can strain muscles in weird places.  Yes, pneumonia can take a LONG time to go away.  I know someone who battled it almost a year.   Hang in there; maybe see another lung specialist for a 2nd opinion?

[mkh9]

SophiaMaria03, We are not doctors on here but I am a microbiologist and can give you some advice. I hope you are feeling better since you last wrote? Yes pneumonia can take a while to go away. It can cause some pain as well. But, did the doctor tell you which bacteria you have? Is it resistant to many antibiotics? It may have either not been gone all the way and you recurred or the bacteria became resistant. Or was somewhat resistant to the antibiotic and it didn't get killed all the way and grew back.  It would be good to know if your lungs look okay, such as do you have any scarring or any other problems. Do you smoke? This can cause emphysema or COPD  asthma, or chronic bronchitis? These can make it harder to heal.  But you can get through this. I hope you have a pulmonary specialist working with you.

mkh9