Pnuemonia? How long till you feel better?

[kellyg403]

I was sick about 14 days before I went to the dr and was diagnosed with pnuemonia. I have take the medications, though I stopped taking the codeine based cough syrup. I took it the first few days but ended up itching like crazy and feeling like I had the creepy crawlies. A friend who is a nurse suggested I stop taking it as I may be allergic. I felt better within 24 hours of stopping it.

That was 8 days ago. I stil don't feel 100%, I still have a cough, no fever but TIRED. Everyday it is all I can do to get up and go to work and back home again. My family has eaten out so many times in the last week I can't tell you. The boys are loving the pizza every night but I don't think dh is. I have zero appetite. Zero. I think about food and I still have that nasuea feeling. I don't want to eat, cook or smell food. The only good news is I noticed my pants aren't as snug!

How long till this exhaustion/loss of appetite goes away? The dr said I should be feeling better in 10 days and to get rest because it could be 3 weeks before I am feeling as good as I should. I go back to the drs on Monday for a recheck.

So if you have had pnuemonia, how long til you were well?

Kelly

 

[The Mystery Machine]

3 months until I felt OK. 6 months until I felt "normal".

I had to be careful with drinking a lot of water and getting rest. I had got it after I had the flu. Not fun.

Drink water, water, water. Part of the recovery is keeping yourself hydrated and getting sleep. You are prone to getting it again until you are fully recovered.

 

[MushyMushy]

My son, a very healthy young man, was sick half of his senior year with pneumonia. You just need to rest and take care of yourself.

Hope you get better soon.

 

[kellyg403]

Thank you! I have been drinking lots of water and the sleep part is inevitable. Most days I am coming home from work, napping for an hour, getting up and socializing with my family for a bit and going back to bed and asleep by 9. So I have the sleep part covered.

Wow, I didn't realize it would be so long. But, I do feel like this will take a little bit longer than a couple weeks. My dh keeps trying to tell me that I need to eat and I do try. I have been living on cheese and crackers because it is the only thing I can eat that doesn't turn my stomach or I can still keep down. A vicious cycle has begun I can't get over.

I also had a 'flu' in the beginning, typical body aches, running nose etc. So, I guess that is how it starts. At this point, honestly the only thing giving me energy is the inhaler he gave me... The stuff makes me feel like I am running a 100 miles an hour!

Kelly

 

[TTFN]

I also got it after the flu, and foolishly thought I would feel great after taking a few days of anitbiotics. Definitely not the case! With the flu and then pneumonia and then the follow-up case of bronchitis, I was sickly for about 8 months. Take care, rest, eat well and drink lots of fluids! I think the bronchitis got me because I was pushing too hard to live my "normal" life.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I had "walking pneumonia" a few years ago and I was surprised how long it took my body to recover. Weeks and weeks. It was subtle - extreme fatigue, a little shortness of breath, and racing heart with little activity - after I was supposedly better. For a while I even worried something was really wrong. It all went away eventually but it took a while. Lots of people told me they had the same thing happen with pneumonia. Give it some time, and as others have said, try to take care of yourself.

 

[kellyg403]

Thanks for all the replies. I foolishly thought it was going to be over in no time once I started the antibiotics. I am a little worried that the antibiotics weren't strong enough, I still have this wet cough and I still have issues coughing at night. I try starting to sleep sitting up and end up flat no matter what I do. I guess its to the chair for me at night.

I was just hoping for the magic cure..I do NOT like being ill and I do NOT like going to the drs!

Thanks again, hopefully the rest and fluids and remembering I am not going to get over it so easily will help!

Kelly

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Well an infection in the lungs is pretty serious. We don't fully appreciate how good normal feels until we have something that's not working right. Sometimes you do need to go back again if you're still not feeling at least somewhat better after your antibiotics.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks for all the replies. I foolishly thought it was going to be over in no time once I started the antibiotics. I am a little worried that the antibiotics weren't strong enough, I still have this wet cough and I still have issues coughing at night. I try starting to sleep sitting up and end up flat no matter what I do. I guess its to the chair for me at night.

I was just hoping for the magic cure..I do NOT like being ill and I do NOT like going to the drs!

Thanks again, hopefully the rest and fluids and remembering I am not going to get over it so easily will help!

Kelly

Sucks doesn't it?

Just rest and take care of yourself. I ended up getting pneumonia AGAIN after a cold and then I got pleurisy a time after that.

I have had pneumonia once more.

It is my lower left lobe of my lung that hates me now. When I get a cold, I pay attention to my symptoms.

 

[laurie31]

Thanks for all the replies. I foolishly thought it was going to be over in no time once I started the antibiotics. I am a little worried that the antibiotics weren't strong enough, I still have this wet cough and I still have issues coughing at night. I try starting to sleep sitting up and end up flat no matter what I do. I guess its to the chair for me at night.

I was just hoping for the magic cure..I do NOT like being ill and I do NOT like going to the drs!

Thanks again, hopefully the rest and fluids and remembering I am not going to get over it so easily will help!

Kelly

The antibiotics will kill the bacteria, but your lungs are still damaged from being infected and will have to heal. There is no drug to make this happen faster. The cough usually persists for up to 3 months (this is normal) and can last up to 6 months (this doesn't mean you need more antibiotics or are relapsing, it just takes that long sometimes for the cough to go away).

Oh, I just realized that "damaged" sounds bad, but I can't think of another word. I don't mean anything permanent, it's just like if you got a bad bruise, your skin and the underlying tissues are damaged, and it takes time for them to heal, but they will be good as new eventually. With your lungs it will happen slowly and gradually. One day, a few weeks (or possibly months) from now, you'll go to bed and think, "Wow. I don't think I coughed at all today."

But you shouldn't feel BAD all that time, though, just have a cough. Hopefully you'll be feeling better in a couple more weeks.

 

[rwdavis2]

It can takes weeks if not a month or 2 to fully recover. On a side note, the itching from the cough syrup is a common side-effect of opiates. After surgery my wife had to stop the morphine pump for the same reasons.
BD

 

[indimom]

DS had a nasty case of pnuemonia (compounded by a blood infection) when he was 11 months old and it took a year until his lungs were completely clear (they did follow up x-rays monthly until he was given the all clear). It was months before he "looked" healthy again. He was pale with circles under his eyes well into summer and this all started in January.
Take really good care of yourself. Sleep a lot, don't do more than you have to. Eat well. Focus on your health right now.

 

[Bilberry]

I've not had pneumonia before, and don't know of anyone personally that has had it, but thought to mention, I've had the best luck avoiding the flu by taking vitamin D3. Since I began taking the sunshine vitamin around 5 years ago, I've had one short lived cold. lasting all of 3 days. Good luck! Hope you get to feeling better soon! Couple articles on vitamin D3.

Higher vitamin D level linked with reduced risk of infection
http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/06/28/higher-vitamin-d-level-linked-with-reduced-risk-of-infection/

&

Getting vitamin D right
http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/getting-vitamin-d-right.html