Aa
All of this related to walking Pneumonia? Recovery time?
Basic Background:
I am male who just turned 38 (almost) two weeks ago. In college I would get together with my buddies about once or twice every week or two and smoke a few cigars (I didn't inhale). I have had an occasional cigar since then (in the last 10 years), but never smoked cigarettes.
I've had a persistent cough for years which has always been explained by my doctors as being caused by post nasal drip due to allergies (dust and/or hay fever). They said they could see the post nasal drip when looking at my throat.
Narrative:
October
I have been experiencing some GI issues (nausea, loose stools, belching, gas, etc.) which started relatively mild in late September after I returned from New York City. I saw my doctor's Physician's Assistant (PA) in early October who prescribed Aciphex for gastritis. He also ordered some basic blood work (lipid, comp. metabolic, CBC) all of which came back normal.
Just before Halloween, I went into urgent care because I was extremely fatigued and at times, I felt like I was going to blackout. My blood pressure was getting low 100/68 (I am usually in the normal range 125-128/70-80). When I saw the urgent care doctor, I explained the GI issues and after a brief exam, he said I was dehydrated. I went home drank almost 5 liters of water (which brought my BP to 140/90). This relieved the fatigue to a large extent as well as the blacking out feeling.
November
Still not feeling well, I returned to my primary doctor's office in early November at which time my GI symptoms included undigested food in stools, loss of appetite, and abnormal colored stool (green/yellow). I also complained of a slight shortness of breath and getting winded easier than normal. I also mentioned some chest pains on my left side. For the GI issues, he ordered amylase/lipase labs (came back normal), referred me to a GI doctor, then listened to my lungs and heart. He said he didn't hear anything abnormal and since I didn't have a fever and my blood work was normal a month earlier, he said the shortness of breath and chest pains may be stress.
I saw my GI doc's PA on November 18th who, after some discussion, ordered a lower abdominal CT scan, an upper GI, and colonoscopy. The GI PA also listened to my breathing but didn't really comment.
Later that week, I began experiencing some lower abdominal pain which over a period of a few days became progressively worse. I finally went to urgent care where the doctor there diagnosed me with an inguinal hernia.
Two days later, I went into the ER because I had a severe shivering attack which lasted ultimately about 30-45 mins. I simply could not get warm and the shivering was so bad that I could hardly speak. After waiting for about 3 hours during which the chills and shivering subsided, the ER doc examined me including listening to my chest. He didn't know what would have caused the shivering. I asked about the hernia and he could locate it. He told me it could be a muscle strain and to follow up with my doctor. My primary care doctor's PA also failed to locate it on follow up. The shortness of breath and heaviness on the left side of my chest was getting worse.
During all of these visits to my (regular doc, urgent care, ER), I was never told I had a fever.
December
I had my CT scan performed on December 2 (where I had an allergic reaction to the contrast dye) and on December 4th my GI doc's office informed me that my CT scan was normal with the exception of "left lower lobe air space possibly due to infection or inflammation" in my lung. I made an appointment and saw my primary care's PA who ordered 10 days of Avelox. I still didn't have any flu or cold like symptoms. My temp. at that visit was 99.8 and was the first time it had been over 99 to my knowledge. By this time, I was feeling very fatigued and the chest pains had become more intense. He also referred me to a pulmonologist with a diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia.
At the end of 10 days, on December 15, I made another appointment with my primary doctor because, although I was feeling a slightly better, I still felt that I had severely diminished lung capacity in my left lung (i.e., I would feel my right lung fill up but my left lung was not completely full) and still was extremely fatigued. I was also a little concerned that my cough was largely unproductive--I had only one episode where my cough produced about a quarter-sized amount of deep yellow colored sputum. This time, I saw one of the MD's who ordered a chest x-ray and put me on Levaquin for 5 days. I had the chest X-Ray done that day and the doctor left me a message on the 17th stating that the x-ray results indicated normal and the pneumonia cleared up. I completed the Levaquin treatment. So, in all, I had about 15 days of antibiotics--10 days of avelox and 5 days of levaquin.
On December 23, I went into ER because I seemed to be having trouble with dehydration again. I was urinating frequently, it was very cloudy, and had some lower back pain. My family convinced me to go to ER. The ER doc ordered blood work (Lipase, Comp. Metabolic Panel, & CBC w/diff) and dipped my urine--all which came back normal.
I am still having some of the GI issues
Questions/Comments:
Could this have been walking pneumonia? Almost everything I come across regarding pneumonia discusses high fever, cold/flu like symptoms, and being able to hear it with a stethoscope. In my case, I had fatigue, presumably pleuritic chest pain, and shortness of breath. That seems to be about it. I am not sure if any of the other symptoms (i.e., GI issues, dehydration, and misdiagnosed hernia) are related--which is why I went into so much detail.
I am concerned because although I feel a better, I am still very fatigued, my lung capacity is only slightly to moderately improved over what was prior to treatment of antibiotics and at several points yesterday, I had a temp of 99, 99.8, and 99. I also still get cold--especially, my shoulders, toes, fingers, and nose (it’s about 70-72 degrees in my home).
I still cough but I also still have the post nasal drip--I don’t normally cough anything up, but when I do, it is usually clear sometimes with traces of white sputum. I can feel the mucus in my throat which I believe is why I cough. I assume (maybe incorrectly) this is normal given my issues with post nasal drip and allergies. The cough isn't deep (like when I have the flu or bronchitis) and it's typically singular.
I have read that it can take quite some time to fully recover and recovery depends on how long you had it before it was treated. Is there a rule of thumb on how long recovery will take?
I am afraid I may have had it for at least 3-4 weeks before it was caught by the CT scan. Because I have it had it so long (to me it seems long), I am concerned about bacteremia (not sure if this is a valid concern now after treatment or not) and I am concerned about regaining my lung capacity and the length of time before I can expect to regain it (or know that it is permanently lost).
The bottom line for me is that up until October, I was a relatively healthy, strong (albeit overweight) individual and now, I feel like a shadow of my former self. I am weak and tired most of the time. It seems like the slightest bit of exertion either completely fatigue me or causes my heart race/pound while becoming slightly winded. I still have no appetite and I have to literally force myself to eat even twice a day. I have lost about 15-20 pounds overall. I am attempting to put everything together. I do not know if there is a correlation between everything I have been experiencing or it is coincidence, but I want to feel better and I do not know what my expectations out to be. I have not ever experienced anything remotely like before.
I appreciate any feedback this may generate.
I am male who just turned 38 (almost) two weeks ago. In college I would get together with my buddies about once or twice every week or two and smoke a few cigars (I didn't inhale). I have had an occasional cigar since then (in the last 10 years), but never smoked cigarettes.
I've had a persistent cough for years which has always been explained by my doctors as being caused by post nasal drip due to allergies (dust and/or hay fever). They said they could see the post nasal drip when looking at my throat.
Narrative:
October
I have been experiencing some GI issues (nausea, loose stools, belching, gas, etc.) which started relatively mild in late September after I returned from New York City. I saw my doctor's Physician's Assistant (PA) in early October who prescribed Aciphex for gastritis. He also ordered some basic blood work (lipid, comp. metabolic, CBC) all of which came back normal.
Just before Halloween, I went into urgent care because I was extremely fatigued and at times, I felt like I was going to blackout. My blood pressure was getting low 100/68 (I am usually in the normal range 125-128/70-80). When I saw the urgent care doctor, I explained the GI issues and after a brief exam, he said I was dehydrated. I went home drank almost 5 liters of water (which brought my BP to 140/90). This relieved the fatigue to a large extent as well as the blacking out feeling.
November
Still not feeling well, I returned to my primary doctor's office in early November at which time my GI symptoms included undigested food in stools, loss of appetite, and abnormal colored stool (green/yellow). I also complained of a slight shortness of breath and getting winded easier than normal. I also mentioned some chest pains on my left side. For the GI issues, he ordered amylase/lipase labs (came back normal), referred me to a GI doctor, then listened to my lungs and heart. He said he didn't hear anything abnormal and since I didn't have a fever and my blood work was normal a month earlier, he said the shortness of breath and chest pains may be stress.
I saw my GI doc's PA on November 18th who, after some discussion, ordered a lower abdominal CT scan, an upper GI, and colonoscopy. The GI PA also listened to my breathing but didn't really comment.
Later that week, I began experiencing some lower abdominal pain which over a period of a few days became progressively worse. I finally went to urgent care where the doctor there diagnosed me with an inguinal hernia.
Two days later, I went into the ER because I had a severe shivering attack which lasted ultimately about 30-45 mins. I simply could not get warm and the shivering was so bad that I could hardly speak. After waiting for about 3 hours during which the chills and shivering subsided, the ER doc examined me including listening to my chest. He didn't know what would have caused the shivering. I asked about the hernia and he could locate it. He told me it could be a muscle strain and to follow up with my doctor. My primary care doctor's PA also failed to locate it on follow up. The shortness of breath and heaviness on the left side of my chest was getting worse.
During all of these visits to my (regular doc, urgent care, ER), I was never told I had a fever.
December
I had my CT scan performed on December 2 (where I had an allergic reaction to the contrast dye) and on December 4th my GI doc's office informed me that my CT scan was normal with the exception of "left lower lobe air space possibly due to infection or inflammation" in my lung. I made an appointment and saw my primary care's PA who ordered 10 days of Avelox. I still didn't have any flu or cold like symptoms. My temp. at that visit was 99.8 and was the first time it had been over 99 to my knowledge. By this time, I was feeling very fatigued and the chest pains had become more intense. He also referred me to a pulmonologist with a diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia.
At the end of 10 days, on December 15, I made another appointment with my primary doctor because, although I was feeling a slightly better, I still felt that I had severely diminished lung capacity in my left lung (i.e., I would feel my right lung fill up but my left lung was not completely full) and still was extremely fatigued. I was also a little concerned that my cough was largely unproductive--I had only one episode where my cough produced about a quarter-sized amount of deep yellow colored sputum. This time, I saw one of the MD's who ordered a chest x-ray and put me on Levaquin for 5 days. I had the chest X-Ray done that day and the doctor left me a message on the 17th stating that the x-ray results indicated normal and the pneumonia cleared up. I completed the Levaquin treatment. So, in all, I had about 15 days of antibiotics--10 days of avelox and 5 days of levaquin.
On December 23, I went into ER because I seemed to be having trouble with dehydration again. I was urinating frequently, it was very cloudy, and had some lower back pain. My family convinced me to go to ER. The ER doc ordered blood work (Lipase, Comp. Metabolic Panel, & CBC w/diff) and dipped my urine--all which came back normal.
I am still having some of the GI issues
Questions/Comments:
Could this have been walking pneumonia? Almost everything I come across regarding pneumonia discusses high fever, cold/flu like symptoms, and being able to hear it with a stethoscope. In my case, I had fatigue, presumably pleuritic chest pain, and shortness of breath. That seems to be about it. I am not sure if any of the other symptoms (i.e., GI issues, dehydration, and misdiagnosed hernia) are related--which is why I went into so much detail.
I am concerned because although I feel a better, I am still very fatigued, my lung capacity is only slightly to moderately improved over what was prior to treatment of antibiotics and at several points yesterday, I had a temp of 99, 99.8, and 99. I also still get cold--especially, my shoulders, toes, fingers, and nose (it’s about 70-72 degrees in my home).
I still cough but I also still have the post nasal drip--I don’t normally cough anything up, but when I do, it is usually clear sometimes with traces of white sputum. I can feel the mucus in my throat which I believe is why I cough. I assume (maybe incorrectly) this is normal given my issues with post nasal drip and allergies. The cough isn't deep (like when I have the flu or bronchitis) and it's typically singular.
I have read that it can take quite some time to fully recover and recovery depends on how long you had it before it was treated. Is there a rule of thumb on how long recovery will take?
I am afraid I may have had it for at least 3-4 weeks before it was caught by the CT scan. Because I have it had it so long (to me it seems long), I am concerned about bacteremia (not sure if this is a valid concern now after treatment or not) and I am concerned about regaining my lung capacity and the length of time before I can expect to regain it (or know that it is permanently lost).
The bottom line for me is that up until October, I was a relatively healthy, strong (albeit overweight) individual and now, I feel like a shadow of my former self. I am weak and tired most of the time. It seems like the slightest bit of exertion either completely fatigue me or causes my heart race/pound while becoming slightly winded. I still have no appetite and I have to literally force myself to eat even twice a day. I have lost about 15-20 pounds overall. I am attempting to put everything together. I do not know if there is a correlation between everything I have been experiencing or it is coincidence, but I want to feel better and I do not know what my expectations out to be. I have not ever experienced anything remotely like before.
I appreciate any feedback this may generate.
I have received a few messages over the years regarding this post. Unfortunately, I didnt see the messages until today.
Here is how things played out:
It was pnuemonia and it took a while before everything healed and got back to normal. I do have some scarring in my left lung according to a subsequent chest xray--but overall, I recovered.
In reading my original post of 7 years ago, I can see I was pretty detailed. This is because what i was experiencing was troubling to say the least. I had never experienced such fatigue and general sick feeling with no other signs of infection (e.g, fever, elevated WBCs, clear chest sounds, etc).
All i can say is hang in there and make sure you follow your physicians instructions. That said, make sure you stay on top of it and if you feel things arent going in the right direction, say something to your Dr.
Once diagnosed with pneumonia, know that things will take time to get back to normal in terms of the fatigue--i want to say it took me 3-4 months at least of the fatigue gradually going away. This was something the Dr. never told me. I wish they had. Fortunately, in my case, the fatigue was the worst part. It was overwhelming and can be quite scary to anyone who has not experienced it. I was a relatively young strong and healthy man and it literally knocked me on my tail. Not having gone through this in my adult life, i also expected the fatigue to disappear once the infection was gone and that wasnt the case either. It hit me hardest as i was going through my round of antibiotics and the fatigue persisted for weeks afterwards.
The GI issues eventually cleared up as well. I dont remember if it was about the same time as the fatigue or not. But they did clear.
I can only imagine how much more of an impact this may have on someone who is not quite as healthy as i was at the time.
I hope this helps and thanks to all who responded to my original post.
Here is how things played out:
It was pnuemonia and it took a while before everything healed and got back to normal. I do have some scarring in my left lung according to a subsequent chest xray--but overall, I recovered.
In reading my original post of 7 years ago, I can see I was pretty detailed. This is because what i was experiencing was troubling to say the least. I had never experienced such fatigue and general sick feeling with no other signs of infection (e.g, fever, elevated WBCs, clear chest sounds, etc).
All i can say is hang in there and make sure you follow your physicians instructions. That said, make sure you stay on top of it and if you feel things arent going in the right direction, say something to your Dr.
Once diagnosed with pneumonia, know that things will take time to get back to normal in terms of the fatigue--i want to say it took me 3-4 months at least of the fatigue gradually going away. This was something the Dr. never told me. I wish they had. Fortunately, in my case, the fatigue was the worst part. It was overwhelming and can be quite scary to anyone who has not experienced it. I was a relatively young strong and healthy man and it literally knocked me on my tail. Not having gone through this in my adult life, i also expected the fatigue to disappear once the infection was gone and that wasnt the case either. It hit me hardest as i was going through my round of antibiotics and the fatigue persisted for weeks afterwards.
The GI issues eventually cleared up as well. I dont remember if it was about the same time as the fatigue or not. But they did clear.
I can only imagine how much more of an impact this may have on someone who is not quite as healthy as i was at the time.
I hope this helps and thanks to all who responded to my original post.
I hope you will get well soon. I have similar problem as you. I am suffering from chest pain, cough, gas and weakness since almost an year now. It was started last year Oct 2009. Initially it was just chest pain then slowly I started getting cough and then gas. First time went to see doctor in Dec 2009. Dr asked me to get blood test done. In my test I have few vitamin deficiency and bacteria in my stomach. Dr wrote me some medicine to kill the bacteria. In my second blood test bacteria was cleared but I still has chest pain so Dr told me that I have acid reflux problem. I went through ECG, Endoscopy tests. My Endoscopy in Mar 2010 reported little bit of acid reflux presence. Dr wrote me LOSEC for acid reflux but my situation was getting worst. Recently Aug 2010 I went to see my Dr again and I asked to write me chest X-RAY test. My X-RAY test shows Pneumonia in my left lung so my doctor wrote me antibiotics. I am talking antibiotics since last 12 days and I am feeling better than before (not 100% though). I am still talking antibiotics I have to take it for 15. My Dr asked me to get another chest X-RAY done after a month to make sure Pneumonia is gone completely. I found on internet recovery of Pneumonia can takes 30 – 90days. I am still not sure that all my problem are because of Pneumonia or acid reflux or something else..... If I will find anything helpful for you (or me) I will defiantly post it.
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