Pneumonia pain

[summersolstice]

hello all,

I am very worried about my sister.
She works really hard roughy  10 hour days. Is often tired and sick and is in a lot of pain at the best of times.
She has had Ovarian Cancer since she was 16 years old. IS full of stress as we come from an abusive and divorced family.

Has suffered mental and physical trauma since she was 15.

A month ago she contracted pneumonia. The doctor at first did not diagnose her correctly. Terming it as flu.
I told her get checked for pneumonia as she was displaying all of the symptoms. To make a long story short he prescribed her three different courses of anti biotics as the first two courses did not work. So he gave her even stronger anti biotics lately. She recovered to a degree but an xray before her antibiotics course showed her right lung with a small hole and scarring .

Her xray after treatment showed the lung healed 10% but the scarring was still there. However, now one month after she was first diagnosed her cough has returned and the pain has never left. She in pain constantly. I do not know what to do or what is wrong? Does she need to be admitted to hospital?
IS the pain being still there normal?
Is her inability to talk for an extended period of time as she is in so much pain normal?
WILL SHE EVER RECOVER?
i am extremely worried.

Thanks

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

You have good reasons to be concerned about your sister and her multiple health problems.  Pain associated with her pneumonia should have eased  as her pneumonia resolved.  Pain at this time is not normal.  The recurrence of cough and pain along with the abnormal X-ray findings of “scarring” and “a hole” in her lung suggest otherwise; that is to say that hers is what we would call complicated pneumonia.  

You ask, if she needs to be admitted to a hospital.  My answer would be perhaps, depending on the severity of her current illness including a possible worsening of the pneumonia.

I strongly recommend that you do your best to help arrange for her to have a second opinion, ideally by a lung specialist (pulmonologist) and that this be accomplished without any further delay.  You may be able to arrange for this with her doctor.  If that is not feasible for any reason, the next step would be to contact her health insurance company and inquire about the procedure for getting her by seen by a lung specialist approved by the Plan.  Another option would be to get advice from the local Medical Society.

She does need help.  Your description suggests that her doctor may have reached the limit of what he can do for her.  If so, that would without question be a reason to get the specialist second opinion.  

Do not hesitate out of fear of hurting anyone’s feelings.  It is obvious that you love your sister and she should be your top priority.  Do not delay.

Good luck

[summersolstice]

Mr Tinkelman,

Thanks so much for taking the time out to post a reply.

I have tried to make arrangements to admit her to a hospital.
I am trying to gather the necessary finances but at the moment she is refusing saying only when it gets really bad then she wants to go.

Also with adequate rest sometimes it gets better. But right now she has had roughly 10 different doses of antibiotics in the last year to rectify the issues and is generally a sick person.

I will make an appointment with a lung specialist first up and take it from there and keep this thread updated. Once again many thanks to you.

[summersolstice]

hello anyone there
can anyone help please?