I'm sick and i should have been better by now but am not
 

hi folks... to anyone wondering where i am... i have been battling bronchitis for too long now... it has worn me down... have not been on the forums... have not felt up to it :(

i hope everyone is well, and that the year is off to a great start for you all.

take care of each other. (i know you will :))

:grouphug:

~ waves ~

Sorry to hear this waves, it is the time of year everyine gets sick.
Has the doctor given you any antibiotics or something tokeep it from turning intopluasy or pnumonia?
Anything OTC that has Gutussin (sp) Robotussin does, is helpful. Another thing the doc did for me because of my asthma, he perscribed a cough guffussin with albuterol in it.

If you have asthma, remember you may need to increase your meds when a bronchial inflamation is there.
I had to do my Advair three times a day and my albuteral when I had bronchitis in September.

Hoping your feel better soon.
di

Waves,

I hope you feel better soon. I think I have bronchitis myself left over from having the flu.

barbara

oh rats hope you feel better fast
love
bobby

:hug:
Dear Waves,
I'm sorry that you are sick.
Get better soon.
Mari

Sending hugs and hoping you are starting to feel better.

Now I hope that if things don't start looking up you get yourself
to the doctor again.

Donna

Hi Waves,

I hope by the time you read this you are feeling better.;)

Can the Dr try some other anti-biotic? How long have you
been sick?

Take care, Hugs, Nikko:hug:

get well my friend!:hug::hug::hug:

'Sending lots of good thoughts that you are feeling better soon.
M.

hi there... what happened + update
 

Hi folks,

here i am. i am still sick. it's not been the same sick all along tho. i'll explain more this time.

thanks so much to each and every one of you for responding so warmly. :heartthrob: i am really quite touched. i still am pretty wiped out but wanted to check in and thank you all and say hey, i'm alive, and maybe answer some threads... perhaps not all at once :rolleyes:

DiMarie: i want to thank you specifically for your thoughtful post and suggestions ... luckily i don't have asthma (sorry you do, asthmatic bronchitis sounds just TERRIBLE :( glad you are ok now.) we can't get is the same kinds of decongestants and expectorants as in the US. The big thing here are mucolytic preparations, many of which are useless. There is a Vicks with guaifenesin in it, but not enough (i checked the mg) to help a rat expectorate. (i also tried it.) i used one of the local syrups at first... max dose, it works, but... it's hard on the gut. :(


Mari: Thanks for keeping me "afloat" here... it was really heartwarming to find all your posts and to know you have thought of me even through my silence.

Bobby: i know it's hard for you to post or write sometimes, so i really appreciated your note here. i hope things are going a bit better for you.

Curious: I suuuuuuuuure could use some of that chicken soup!!! Thank you :) i would add fresh sliced ginger too if i had it... hard to get here. Their idea of "fresh" is having mould inside it. yuck!

Befuddled: I hope you don't have bronchitis... perhaps it would be good to have your GP have a listen to your bronchi if you still think you do.

Donna: Yes MOM!!! ;) :) :hug: no, seriously, i explain below, but i will indeed go have my breathing listened to again and ask for a specialist referral regardless of infection or not, if the coughing does not remit fully. when i posted was after my 4th, and now my 5th but much milder bout of bronchitis since june when i stopped smoking.

Nikko: My dear... i hope you are able to rest as much as possible and have had some relief ... did you get pain shots... did they work?

Beth: nice to see you! what's the ETA on your 'puter? I had to use one at the library for a while, when i sold mine, just before moving to europe. it was so frustrating. are you having withdrawal sx yet from not having one at your finger tips 24/7? lol :D

===========

ok... so here's the run down.... some may find details gory tho i do not really get into the nitty gritty of the gory stuff. just to let you know. if you don't like reading about illness, you might like to stop here. but this is the best way to explain and also answer questions regarding symptoms, doctors and what i took, am taking, why etc. just the way my head works perhaps i need to start at the beginning...

===========

Dec 26th i started having fever. i had had an unproductive cough for sometime. two days later (late saturday night) it had run up to 102. i had begun taking a mucolytic syrup and so was coughing up gross stuff - typical of bacterial infection. i had joint pains, not surprising. i had not yet gone to the doc because they don't do cultures and i won't take an antibiotic unless it's pretty sure bacterial. this was dubious until that saturday night. naturally, GP's next hours weren't till monday evening (2 days to wait). NO KIND of antipyretic was working. since here antibiotics are given in manufacturer boxes (not dispensed for actual days scripted) we had some Augmentin in the house, which is a good bronchitis antibio. so i took it and saw rapid improvement - some fever control with antipyretics for one. so i continued it, and the substitute GP i saw on monday agreed it was bacterial and scripted me additional Augmentin for a total of 8 days and told me to continue the mucolytic as well.

i hadn't been eating much at all, and it took me a while to resume as the fever improved. meanwhile, the Augmentin (probably helped by the nasty but functional mucolytic) ATE MY GUT and i ended up with gastrointestinal side effects. we'll leave that there. i dutifully finished my 8 days even tho my coughing fluids were clear after 6 and fever down.

THEN ... i was still coughing badly - deep heaving, with albeit clear expectoration. I was also sniffly and stuffed up. I also felt run over by a steam-roller, tho that can be chalked up to fever let alone antibio. augmentin is particularly debilitating.

For the sniffly head stufff, I tried to de-allergize my environment - clean bedding, hair, etc... very little change. Antihistamines helped some but more likely due to the anticholinergic effect (dries you up) so i quit them after the first couple of nights.

I had taken probiotics during the antibiotic treatment (Augmentin decimates one's intestinal flora) and continued them, also resuming my B+magnesium+zinc+C+E vitamin supplement. intestinal function was duly restored.

but not my energy. So this is where i was when i posted the thread.

Bacterial bronchial infection was clear, but bronchi still very unhappy, plus i was WIPED OUT... had meant to post day after day after day and never felt better and was like WTF. I didn't even reschedule p-therapy till the second week of Jan, after cancelling my last december slot, coz i didn't think i'd be fit - and i wasn't.

I dragged my butt to my appointment on the 13th. Next day GUESS WHAT. Low grade fever. Now for all i know i had it before, i had stopped checking.

i haven't been back to the doc because what i now have looks to be viral - he can't do anything for me. as most of you know, an antibiotic will only weaken the organism and the immune system, counterproductive for viral infection.

i probably should have my bronchi rechecked, but i don't want to sit in a room full of other sick ppl when i am already this vulnerable, it appears.

I am not taking any "real" meds for this, other than today, and a few days ago - for MIGRAINE on top of the rest! :mad: i had to lower my zoloft right the heck down to 50mg (from 125, then 100) as i am prone to racing thoughts with fever and was starting to have them. my pdoc knows i vary my dose as needed - i have carte blanche, with good reason - no worries.

but sick-wise, what i have been doing daily is
- eating a lot of raw garlic,
- having some spicy indian pickle - contains useful spices
- making hot honey ginger lemonade whenever i can (ginger is a good anti-viral)

i eat raw garlic chopped at both main meals, one being the indian pickle with bread, the other being mom's dinner. garlic is a potent mucolytic, antibacterial and antiviral. i am trying to have at least 3 chunky cloves per day or equivalent (6 skinny ones lol). studies on garlic have used 18 cloves but i'm not about to do that. i saw results with just 2 good cloves but 3-4 is better. one doctor reported anecdotal success with 2 cloves for prevention. thankfully the pickle spices are also gastroprotective, lol, so the garlic doesn't eat my gut.

i am also taking a curative honey 1/2 tsp tid with hot water - it has essential oils for clearing the upper respiratory apparatus.

anyway... CURRENT EVOLUTION (since i first noticed the second bout of fever on 14th jan)

my chest seems cleaner... tho i am still coughing, not NEARLY as much now, apparently inflammation is being reduced. there had been signs of mild infection "coming up" the day after the fever appeared - NOTHING like the first bout - but now, once again, things are nice and limpid.

i can't tell the current fever status because today i had to stay on ibuprofen for migraine, but the rest seems improved.

i actually feel less wiped out than before, in general.

i hope to make it to therapy this tuesday, and hope to be around a bit more frequently :)

=================

and hey, at least my mood is good! go figure... with this crud going on, and only 50 mg zoloft. lol.

well, thanks again everyone. will keep you posted. hopefully "briefed" next time, rather!

:hug::hug::hug: to all.

~ waves ~

Well, we know you didn't and sure won't get bit by any Vampires. :p I can smell the garlic from here. :wink:

Welcome back Waves. Get well. :hug:

feel better
 

Dear Waves,
Thanks. And I do appreciate the "gory" details.
It is good to hear from you and to know that you are likely on the good side of this illness.
Still, you have been down for the count for a long time now. I imagine that it must be hard on the system and that you feel weak, among other things. . . maybe frustrated too.

When one is sick like for this length of time, I wonder if one starts to loose larger perspective and focus on day to day breathing and trying to feel better -- kind of go into survival mode.

After you get stronger I wonder if there is an Eastern med-type of approach to strengthening lungs --- something along the lines of Bach's flowers, but maybe not exactly.
OR maybe some supplements.
I suspect that you could be going through a long detox from the cigs that might be smoothing itself out soon.

I like that your doc is helping you and that you have been into the office a couple of times. It is good to check in every so often even if it is viral. . . Because when one is caught up in the illness, one might miss something that the doc would consider / catch on a visit.


There was a two week time when my acupuncturist had hubby and me on a two week garlic regime similar to what you describe. We had did a cut up large clove of garlic twice a day -- but ours was between meals as I remember . . . and maybe it wasn't for its anti-bacterial properties but rather for its anti-fungal properties. As usual, my memory is not clear.

I remember years ago watching Martha Stewart demonstrate how one can grow ginger in the house and therefore have fresh ginger. It seems like she took ginger that one can buy in the produce departments here and then covered it with dirt -- not an option for you apparently since one needs the ginger to start the production.


We used to have a good Italian take out that made chicken soup. Now it has closed and Vietnamese Pho place has opened near where the Italian place was. I was thinking about their chicken soup today -- maybe it is time for a visit or some take out.

Mood good = very good sign.

Feel better soon.
I am sending much well wishes your way.

M.

This while light is for healing and protection:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...bl/candel2.gif

hiya
 

Curious, thanks... and LOL! :D

HHHHHhhhhhhh..... there i just breathed garlic on you - now you too are covered in an anti-vampire cloak... rofl! (whether needed or not!)

Mari, i looooove the candle, thank you! :) i can use that!!!

glad the "gory" stuff was not a total waste of typing or bothersome to you, lol.

one correction - i think perhaps my note to Donna may have caused confusion about my seeing my GP twice? i have NOT. i haven't seen him at all because when i went in for the high fever, the other GP was subbing for him. I think i prefer her, but i cannot switch GP as she has no availability for new patients (state max).

anyway, so, only ONE doc visit so far, since all this began. i will, however, go in again IF my cough does not completely remit.

i hope you are right about the long smoking detox. that has occurred to me too, but literature says 2-3 WEEKS, not 6 months. however i do have respiratory allergies and general issues with post-nasal drip, so perhaps i am on a longer itinerary. also i figure, after the first bout of mild bronchitis (untreated) when i first quit, perhaps the inflammation persisted enough to get infected good and proper, and started a sort of domino effect. now totalling 5 bouts. i saw my GP for the 2nd and 3rd and was treated with antibiotics. last status (october?) with him was that if i didn't clear i'd have an xray. but i was still sort of banking on the smoking detox theory and held off.

xrays can be inconclusive in checking for chronic bronchitis and emphysema - the latter is my terror. if the cough doesn't clear this time, i will request referral to a lung specialist, plus an MRI and spirometry so i can have the results ready for the visit. the MRI is more informative than the xray - i am afraid that if i had a "clean" xray my GP would blow the whole thing off. but i don't know if he'll spring for the MRI. not only, he may just ship me to the specialist and let the specialist script the tests... costing me TWO specialist visits/waits/copays ... GRRRRR.

i blew steam to my pdoc my entire last t-session over my issues and the medical system here :o ... pdoc explained that GP's here are instructed by the state sanitary service (works like an hmo) to script as few tests and as simple/cheap as possible. thanks. then they carry on about preventive care on tv. i told him what a "full physical" was like in the US... he chuckled and said one would be dreaming if one hoped to ever get that here.

my last GP where i lived before was a bit better (relative to this one) - but to her credit only, not the general trend. STILL nothing compared to visits where i grew up or in the US.

here, for an upper respiratory complaint, they don't even look at your throat!!! no thermometers, no bp, no eyes or ears, no heart and no lung listening. generally, you sit on the other side of the desk and state complaints. you either get sent home to rest if it sounds viral, or get scripted an antibiotic (often broad spectrum) if it sounds bacterial or if for some reason they regard you as vulnerable to superinfection. the ONLY thing my current GP did the last couple visits, at MY REQUEST supported by to my cough, was to check my bronchi. nothing else. no check on the throat, which i would think is a basic.

THAT is why i don't BOTHER to go to the doctor (GP) for much of anything. you just come home to incubate in your own messed up system whatever other ppl were loaded with in the waiting room is all. :mad:

many specialists are no better. i finally saw 2 neuro's for migraine. the first was mean and didn't listen. the other also, AND said my MRI was ok without even looking at it - just based on the 2 lines from the accompanying lab report!!! :mad: and the copays are NOT CHEAP.

my poor pdoc occasionally gets interrogated at length as to somatic complaints... he is kind about it, and patient, and explains to the extent he can... but i cannot overwhelm him with that either. it isn't his job. :o

well i have blathered and b!tched on a bit... i will leave off now. yes, i am frustrated, but not just about being sick... that, in a place where medical research is top notch yet general medical services SUCKKKKKKKKKK.

so far today my temp is not elevated. (and no migraine, yippeee!)

geeez, this was not "brief." i guess i needed to rant. i guess that means more energy too.

thanks for listening, to whomever got this far! :hug:

~ waves ~ who overdid the raw garlic :( with lunch (risotto today) and had to have yogurt with fennel seeds to ward off possible gastrointestinal burns. :eek: my mom says she could smell the fennel as i chewed it, but she prefers it to fenugreek - she hates that, and it is the main spice after chili, and most stinky one, in the indian pickle i usually have. :p

Dear Waves,
surely you can get the referral to see a lung specialist?
This has gone on for too long.
I feel sorry for you.
Have you ever heard of echinesia? it is a natural supplement supposed to help with upper respiratory issues.Do you avoid milk products? they produce yucky stuff to cough up.
are you rubbing vicks on your chest at night...I know that sounds simple but sometimes the simple stuff can be of great comfort.
HOping that your nasty coughing goes away soon.
It is not welcome here.
((((HUGS)))))
beth

update and reply to general concerns about going to docs
 

healthwise i am doing better, even considering the setbacks that occur when i go out. they only seem to occur when i go out.

it is very cold here right now. i have to dress warm because i have to be outdoors a good bit, esp coming home in the evening when temps drop and i might have to wait a good 15 mins for the bus. i do not know if you can imagine what it is like with the transports which are often so crowded so there is no way to remove a layer; even loosening things is just not sufficient. and you sweat or just get used to the warmth. then when you get off you FREEEEZE YOUR BUTT OFF. these are not things i ever really imagined when i was in the US and had a car and drove door to door point A to B. i take 3 transits to get to my pdocs. 4 if i use the subway as i have to change lines.

having this hot-cold-hot-cold effect is VERY detrimental when one has been sick. the bronchial impact however, was barely noticeable. more going on due to dairy reintroduction, but i just wanted my coffee so baaad.... :o my temperature was normal almost all day today. slightly elevated only after dinner. i am not as fatigued. overall, an improvement, considering this last outing was worse as far as # of times i caught cold coz i had errands as well.

no-one would send me to a lung specialist now when:
- i barely have a cough and no deep cough.
- what little i might cough up on occasions i do like sometimes after meals, is perfectly colorless, translucent and of normal consistency.

bronchitis DOES have a long post-recovery time and i DID have it bacterial, cannot undo that or ignore that. so it makes sense healing times are longer. this virus thingy is more affecting my sinuses and ears than anything else tho the drip was initially affecting my bronchi due to the residual inflammation - now pretty well resolved. i may ask for an ENT if anything... should the ear pressure not clear. but i do not want to travel to specialists unless it's truly warranted.

i could be more conservative by suspending therapy until even my ear pressure goes away. maybe even until spring???? :rolleyes: but physically i am overall improving, setbacks and all. and i don't want to suspend therapy as its important. also next week i wont' have to freeze my butt on the return trip because i am going out with friend - i.e. car.

i WILL go to my GP if the temp does not resolve totally at some point. i will talk to him about my ear pressure at that point. i do not think i have given it a reasonable time yet. i do not want to sit in a waiting room full of sick ppl when i am still in remission. and, i do not want another antibiotic as there is NO indication of a bacterial infection whatsoever. antibiotics weaken the immune system which is all you have to fight viruses, and i was already weakened by the fever and antibiotic in december.

my pdoc told me the fatigue i was experiencing afterwards was pretty normal considering those two elements. i also told him this tuesday about the low grade fever but how it had improved. i was not really surprised it showed up again after the second outing. so actually, i HAVE consulted an MD about all of this. and for that matter, more ends up said to my pdoc about things than my GP who is like ship in and ship out. and considering the latter doesn't EXAMINE me for the type of issues i have NOW.

also, if my pdoc thinks i've been ill too long, he WILL tell me to go to GP and get a referral or request exam or whatever. plus he talks to me for a full hour so he sees how i present - physically as well as emotionally, besides getting the symptom, med, and food report. last time thank goodness it did not take the whole hour like the week before when i was so angry with the system! we actually got to do therapy, which is the whole point.

echinacea - yes i have used it before as a staple, but i would need a liver panel first (labs) as i have not in over a year. i take depakote which alters various liver enzyme levels, as does echinacea. w/o seeing current values i prefer not to add echinacea to my meds, as hepatotoxicity could emerge if my levels were already too outside the norm.

unfortunately i need to wait until i am not fighting this virus to have labs. becaue in this lovely system, they will not repeat bloodwork often and right now my wbc will be off the top, and THAT needs to be verified when i'm "well" as well.

~ waves ~ feeling crappy but a lot is in my head and i don't mean sinus congestion lol. brain chemicals. heck.

Dear Waves,

You prob explained in an earlier post that the pdoc was keeping track of your health but I forgot.

And I'm aware that anything complicating breathing can be exhausting and weakening.

The option for an ENT sounds good.
My crappy mdoc's office might not be concerned about a lingering bronchial thing either, esp if it seemed to be getting better. -- time to get a new mdoc. . . not saying that that would be the wrong thing to say.. . . At the very least I need an mdoc who if he/she told me that I needed rest and time . . . I guess I need an mdoc I can trust to take care of me. . . . don't have one now . . . need to get one.

Despite your good description, I don't know what it is to go out and back in the very cold. The element of mass transport is also foreign. So I will take your word for it that cold + mass transport can cause short term set backs.

I'm having a hard time focusing tonight. . . .
Thanks for the update.
I hope that you get all better very soon.

I think I hear you saying that although you are still in the midst of this, the overall arc is showing recovery.

M.

Hi Mari...
 

I wish you good luck in this enterprise. for me it is not an option. there are no other state GPs for my area (and consequently within easy reach, too) that have availability. not even the substitute i saw last time who is ok... not much better tho. she is also pdoc and has better "manner" ... but her examination bed - which i had to sit on (albeit clothed) when she listened to my bronchi, did not have any sanitary sheet on it. ugh.

thanks. i do understand. especially because i could not have understood myself until i moved here (ugh) and am now living it.

i hope you feel better Mari. :hug: I hope you can rest as i believe that will help.

yes, precisely.

hence my reluctance to "stir things up" with travel to specialists, for now, or unnecessary verification "visits."

lung/bronchi-wise, i can now take really deep breaths repeatedly without incident: no immediate cough reaction half way through, nor any "warbly" feeling in my chest... that would indicate that not just infection, but also inflammation has pretty well cleared too down there, otherwise there would be abundant mucus production and cough. :)

i'm gonna keep up the garlic tho, and add fresh ginger soon as i can get my claws on some. :p

Thanks for looking out for me Mari. I do appreciate your concern.

:hug:

~ waves ~