Pneumonia Support Group

This has been one of the most frightening experiences I've ever had in my life.

First off, I discovered that pneumonia is, indeed, contagious. I caught it from my husband! The thing that completely amazes me is that his experience was COMPLETELY different from mine. He was maybe a little run down for a few days, then suddenly got chills and body aches. Two days later he was diagnosed. He was back to work within a week.

As for me... it started out with an odd-feeling sore throat. A couple days later, I started feeling sick. The day after that, I had the worst body aches I've ever had, a slight fever, and a bit of a dry cough. Next day, I went to the doctor--strep test was negative, and I was told it was "a virus". Something told me this was NOT a virus. I'd never felt so awful in my life!

Five days later, I went to the doctor again (a different doctor, as it was the weekend.) This time, I was told I had "a bit of a sinus infection" and was given Augmentin. My lungs sounded clear. A couple more days went by, and I still felt terrible. I was coughing more, I had almost NO appetite, and I was becoming weaker by the day.

Then I hit the worst of it. It was night, and I considered heading to the hospital. Instead, I waited until the morning, when I went to the doctor again (my usual doc). I was promptly diagnosed with pneumonia. At last, the disease told me what it was... after almost two weeks of feeling miserable! I was given Rocephin by I.V., and a prescription for Zithromax.

That night was the worst EVER. I was NOT any better. I was struggling to breathe. The Zithromax made me sick to the stomach, and I threw-up 3 or 4 times. I wanted to go to the ER. My husband made me wait until the morning(?!), when I went to my doctor again. This time, I was given Levaquin by I.V., and a bit of anti-nausea medication.

That was almost a week ago. I got another dose of Levaquin by I.V. the following day, then was prescribed a week's worth of Levaquin oral meds. I still have two more days of that. I still feel quite weak, I still get short of breath. The doctor prescribed Prednisone today because I'm still wheezy. I'm starting to wonder if I'll EVER get back to normal again.

I never knew how bad this stuff really was. Of course, I knew it killed people... but I never understood what that really meant! I would NOT wish this experience on ANYONE!!!
Posted on 09/02/09, 09:09 pm