Turned out to be Pneumonia

[ktfabian]

I was writing late last week how high you let a fever get with the flu before you became concerned enough to call the doctor?

Well, as the headline says, it wasn't the flu.  I started wheezing pretty loudly Thursday night, my husband could hear me from upstairs while I was sleeping downstairs, and all the coughing in the world wasn't bringing up any of the junk that it felt like had invaded my chest.  Saw the Dr. Friday morning and she changed my antibiotic I'd been on for a sinus infection and sent me for a chest Xray.  Of course, they didn't have results before the office closed Fri. afternoon.

Sat. my wheezing was worse and I would get short of breath easily, temperature was up and my chest hurt.  We went to the ER on Drs. orders in the early evening and around 1am they decided to keep me (like, where else was I going in my shape anyway??).  A CAT Scan done late Sat. night and read Monday morning confirmed pneumonia in an area of my right lung.  I'd already been started on IV antibiotics and increased steroids.

I still feel pretty lousy but am SO glad to be home again.  As much as I hate to do it, I'm glad that, in this case, I went to the ER and got things checked out. 

While I was in the hospital, I asked for a humidifier for my room.  They had me in isolation because of my compromised immune system so there was no roommate to bother.  But the hospital did away with humidifiers some time ago.  The first thing I did when I got home was clean my humidifier our and crank it up.  I can already feel my eyes and my nose improving.

So I guess the answer to my question in my last post on how long to wait with a fever when you have the flu is? Not to assume you have the flu in the first place.
Tracy

[Scottietottie]

Wow Tracy - I'm glad you got seen. I remember my husband getting pneumonia the day before our second child was born. He was really ill for weeks. (His didn't get picked up on because the doc thought he was skiving to get time off work)

Like you say - never just assume its the flu!  I think that flu doesn't necessarily engender wheezing and that any time wheezing is involved it needs to be checked out. Fever - no fever - flu - virus - wheeze - doctor!!

I'm glad you're home and hope you recover soon.

Take care - Scottie 

[lynnmarie219]

Glad to hear that you are home and slowly on the mend! I think you always feel better faster when you are able to return to your own home...own bed...own bathroom....the whole bit!

Take care!

[jonnell]

Hope you feel better.  Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.   Hugs and Kisses   Jonnell and Jenna

[Patze]

Hi Tracy!

Wow, I'm so glad that that your doctor sent you to the ER!  That was a bit too close girl!  I'm also very glad that you're at home and more comfortable...it's tough enough being sick, and then add the stress of being in the hospital, whew, I'm glad that you're starting to feel better.  Hang in there and I'll keep the fingers crossed that you heal fast.

Take care -

Patze

[KYMOM]

Tracy, Thoughts are with you for a speedy recovery. Roxanne

[irish]

Hey Tracy, I can't even see you or hear you but pneumonia was my first guess when you said you had wheezing and fever. When you taking meds that knock the immune system down pneumonia can happen really fast. Glad the doc was smart enough to tell you to go to ER if you felt worse.

Glad that you are home again and now you will have to rest and recover. Yes, humidifiers are bad enough to keep bacteria count down on at home. The hospital is just a breeding ground beyond belief these days with all the antibiotic resistant bugs. Irish

[ktfabian]

Thanks everyone.

I'm so glad to be home, but amazed at how little it takes to tire me out.  Just taking a shower left me feeling breathless and ready for a nap. I'm really taking it easy, as suggested, because the last place I want to go is back to the hospital.  In fact, I'm calling my doctor and asking for a nebulizer tomorrow because the inhaler doesn't seem to be helping my breathing the way the breathing treatments did in the hospital.

Scottie- The wheezing wasn't at first a real wake-up call for me because i suffer from chronic bronchitis most of the winter and wheeze to some extent.  It was when my husband said he could hear me upstairs over the humidifier I was using while sleeping downstairs that caught my attention.

I was scheduled for a Rituxan infusion tomorrow but have canceled it.  They wouldn't have given it to me anyway, and I don't think I could handle the 2-1/2 hour trip to the infusion center.  I suspect it'll be June before I get the infusion.

Thanks again for responding everyone, it's good to be back.  In the hospital, hardly any of the nurses or the nursing assistants knew what Sjogren's was.  So I made sure to inform them.
Tracy