Frequent exacerbations very similar to yours are relatively common BUT must be reduced immediately. You have to see a pulmonologist and probably have additional tests. Dont be too hard on your doctor/s the exact cause of any lung infection or inflammation is extremely difficult to determine. It sounds like he/she is doing their best but it is time to see a specialist and probably have additional tests.

The expense and logistics for a 10-hour run and back (and perhaps over-night) Im sure wont be trivial, but IMHO you have no choice you cant go on being that sick week after week. And you are correct; you cannot build-up your immune system if you are constantly taking prednisone and antibiotics. Worse - as it appears they are not even helping.

Thrush is an odd disease in the sense that it is caused by a fungus that is always with us, but normally controlled by other predators the fungus rapidly takes over due to an imbalance of other beneficial bacteria thus it is possible to over-treat. It is good you have such success with peroxide, but peroxide kills everything, so basically even if the fungus is destroyed there is nothing left to keep it from coming back. Have your doctor prescribe an oral fungicide (the common treatment is a mix of several).

Hi....you know i had to be intubated before i even knew i was Stage 4 or Severe COPD, as it's known as. If not for research over n over on the net that i worked out i did not have Chronic Asthma as i was led to believe.......I even got Banned from that COPD International ''Support'' crowd cos i dare mention the E-Cig....but i read enough to get as much an understanding as i could take in....and yes i managed to quit smoking with the device..sooooo !

Below is a link re- differences between infections....i never get thrush even though i rarely gargle after taking my inhalers BUT i also now have something like Dysphagia>>>>Difficulty swallowing food and will be having a Barium Test next month....

Re- forums....i come here as well as my FB Group which i love as we are now more like friends and questions, answers or just company is constant, all day...just need to post n someone will be around almost immediately.....thats cos we all live in different time zones and it works well......

Yesterday i started on the CO.....minimum toothpick dose, so never felt anything...it takes a month most people say, so i will persist...

I have had only 1 semi serious attack since i got back to OZ, end of 2013 n a few minor flares or really bad days, more like it. If it gets rid of the inflammation as it is touted to do for COPD, then it opens the airways to easier breathing and the chest pain might go.....so goodbye Tramadol.....Wishing........

Take care and hope you can do biz on e-bay with the gloves....im on 5mg pred. daily but not sure if it really does any good or is it a mental thing, but i feel better and of course the Xanax is wonderful for my overwhelming anxiety...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/expert-answers/infectious-disease/faq-20058098

I am so sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time. I often have to do 2 sets of antibiotics to get better now days.
OR have a shot in the bum to get started & then follow up with antibiotics for 10 days.
once;
many years ago when I was 1st dx'd I kept getting bacterial infections.....sinus, uti, lung= it was like the bacteria was trapped in my body & traveling spot to spot.
My dr asked if I was willing to try an old remedy & I agreed to it.
I was put on bactrim, a sulfa medication, for 90 days. (yes, drank LOTS of water)

She explained it that going that long would kill all the adult bacteria & keep killing the "baby bacteria" so it couldn't grow up to reproduce.
Explained that simply made sense to me at the time; so I agreed.
It worked. After the 90 days I was better & didn't get sick again until "the big exacerbation" almost 2 years later.

I'm no dr, so i'm not advocating this, but it is something I experienced that worked for me. That you could ask your dr about.

(then there was the never ending mouth infection that I was given some weird orange liquid medication that I "swished & swallowed" for about 2 weeks---I can't remember what that was; sorry. but something to ask your dr about if you are interested.)

my thoughts and prayers are with you ((((HUGS))))

I take prednisone daily & zithromax Mon-Wed-Fri but still sometimes get into the cycle you are talking about. What really helps is having bronchoscopy for a biopsy to determine the exact source of infection -and, especially, washing my lungs out well. Of course, a pulmonologist does this procedure in a hospital. And you really do need to see one, regardless.

Otherwise, if you are not allergic, ask your doctor about trying a sulpha drug. Old fashioned, yes, but worth a shot.

yes, you do need to see a good Pulmonologist for managing this terrible disease of ours! I'm battling thrush too, never had it so I didn't even know what it was until my Mom (RN) looked into my throat. My throat was sore, but not like sore in a sense of catching a cold, more like an injured more severe type of sore! It hurt to talk, felt life my vocal cords were strained & it hurt to eat & swallow. Also my throat was very swollen. My mom suggested Orajel Antiseptic Mouthwash & it's helping. We've concluded that either the antibiotics or inhalers were the culprits! Antibiotics also cause yeast infections, which is how thrush is caused, it's bacterial & yes, Gnott is correct when he says we constantly battle fungi with this disease! I read that you don't have a Pulmonologist less than an 8 hr range? that's unusual & unfortunate! I used to be treated by my PCP for my COPD & Sarcoidosis but even he came to a point when he recommended I see a Pulmonologist. I hope something works for you very soon so this can be managed better so you can feel better.


(((HUGS)))
Michelle