See a pulmonologist ASAP. I had pneumonia the spring of 2006 that almost killed me. It was probably caused by mold. Two lung biopsies were inconclusive. I'm still not 100% recovered, and have a golf ball size scar that looks like an octopus from the damage the fungus caused. If you have fungal pneumonia, antibiotics will not help. You need a CT scan to see the specific location and extent of the pneumonia, and if a biopsy or PET scan is needed.

Pneumonia is life threatening and can rapidly overwhelm your body's ability to fight back so please err on the side of aggressively getting a conclusive diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

I think I am going to have to quit googling. Apparently, there is some connection between Sjogren's and various types of pneumonia, at least on occasion... I can't even tell you how many times I have gotten this, and I am pretty sure it has always been when I was trying to reduce my steroids...

I am going to try and get to the bottom of this ASAP... I bet there is not one single bacteria alive in my body after all of these antibiotics, good, bad or otherwise... Today, I took so many pills at breakfast, there was hardly any room for food... Well, maybe a little...

http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/cont...act/130/5/1489

Cathie

Please read this also:
http://www.stjohnsmercy.org/healthin...re/sarcoid.asp

If you have flares of this when decreasing steroids..sarcoid is a possibility.

I would seek a specialist rather than Urgent care for this lung issue.

Another good link:
http://noairtogo.tripod.com/sarcoid.htm

and:
http://dermnetnz.org/dermal-infiltra...rcoidosis.html

After all, it was a 9 week bout of pneumonia that led to my issues now...If it were me? I would be literally flipping out by now! Wonder why....

Please get your gp to recommend a pulmonologist as David suggested, and all that Mrs D and Billye have as well. Fudges! I want YOU well, not hacking your innards out, not eating, not keeping anything down even when you try..Been thru that food processor a few times in past lives - and I'm not sure how well I'd fare other than being put into a hospital or 'rehab' - and we all know SICK people are there! Might catch something in those places! Honestly you do not NEED this nor do you DESERVE THIS!

Be quietly ASSERTIVE and pro-active...no one else is gonna do it for you. Tho in all honesty - I wish I was there to help!

Go get them all good lady! - j

OK, I will get on this in the morning. I don't feel like pneumonia. I have had it full blown badly enough to be hospitalized twice, and felt like I had been hit by a Mac truck...

I don't know about the rest of you, but getting help here at night, on weekends, or in a hurry if you are in a bind, is not easy. A lot of times, doctors just tell you to go to the ER...

I have gotten better treatment at one particular Urgent Care center here which is staffed by 2 GP's. He insisted I come back and he wants me back again this week. They seem thorough, good about followups and are a little different than other centers I have seen like this, as they take regular patients too-not just emergency situations.

Do you all think that GP's are less knowledgeable overall than Internists? My care is so disorganized. This GP is leaving the Urgent Care to join an already established family doc practice. He was trying to explain something about the use of shared electronic charting between docs to help accomplish organized care.

Cathie

Today could have been better... It started out with not being able to get the X-ray or radiology report in time for my pulmonary doc to see me...

After complaining repeatedly to the hospital attached to the Urgent Care, that I NEEDED IT TODAY, they finally got it for me but too late for the doc today.

In the envelope, was a preliminary report which states findings:

RML (I take it this is right middle lobe) atelectasis
vs.
pneumonia...

I know the middle lobe of the lung can cause great problems. I would bet on the atelectasis, but hope for a form of pneumonia that responds to something. Can't say the Levaquin is doing a lot of good...

Cathie

Why would you have atelectasis? You still need a CT scan and specialist I think.

My pneumonia was in the upper right lobe, with NO coughing. I was weak, losing weight, and had difficulty breathing. I also had moderately high temperature (about 101-102) for about three hours every afternoon and low temperature the rest of the time. The lung sounded almost clear by stethoscope. How misleading. A chest X-ray showed a dense area, and the CT scan looked like I was growing a space alien. It was pretty inaccessible by thin tube or bronchial biopsy, so they never got a sample of the lesion, but did pick up 1 (only) adenocarcinoma cell. With a negative PET scan, it wasn't worth the risk of open chest surgery to biopsy the lesion. At least yours is in a more accessible place.

With peripheral neuropathy, you face a different future than you imagined. With the possibility of lung cancer, your future hits you in the face like a brick wall. I started planning for the worse.

My cats were great, just hanging out with me day after day, week after week, quietly affectionate without being demanding. I'll be grateful and devoted to them for the duration of their or my life. It's so worth it living with companion animals.

Good luck, and please continue to keep us informed. I'll be thinking about you until this is resolved.