Infection but lungs are clear?

HI i was wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

Ive had a rotten winter with chest infections, pneumonia and ongoing sinusitis.... luckily ive managed to escape a hospital visit with repeat antibiotics and pred.

I went to visit my GP practice at the end of January after coughing up yuck for ages, tight chest and generally feeling yucky.... my chest was clear so she said i had a viral infection with my ongoing sinusitis, i had to double up my inhaler, inhale steam, rest etc, she did not want to give me antibiotics as i have had so many over the last few months (already had 2 lots in january alone)....but she did send send away a sputum sample.

I've plodded on since then... worn out with the coughing up and not sleeping . On Tuesday night i had a huge coughing fit resulting in losing my voice, i eventually gave in and went back to see the Dr, it was a different one in the practice, She looked back over records for last few months... read my note i brought as i was only squeaking haha... apparently they had been trying to ring me as i DID need antibiotics when they got my sputum results back.

My chest is still clear but i have horrid pain in centre of my chest, I now have antibiotics for laryngitis/bronchitis/sinusitis and resting at home with no talking (very difficult).

Before i was diagnosed with Asthma at the hospital last march i had quite a few infections which GP said was tracheitis as quite often my lungs were clear so i was sent away with antibiotics and steroids only to return a few weeks later with the same problems.

sorry for such a long post... i am fed up as this has such an impact on my life and work, i had hoped to make it to half term without being off but failed with 2 days to go.

I know that i am quite lucky as many many people are in a lot worse situation than myself. Before i was diagnosed i thought Asthma... yeah struggle to breathe.. use inhaler and it helps but i also knew it could be fatal..... i did not think of the day to day living with asthma, how worn out it can make you, repeated infections, the panic you feel with you cant get your breath enough to actually use inhaler. I think a lot of people think Oh its only Asthma!

Lisa x

[Janna123]

Hi Lisa,

I had a similar issue last year. I saw one doctor who told me I probably didn't have an infection after listening to my chest but, although I improved a bit, I was still struggling so I went back a month later and saw a different doctor. He told me that I was probably still recovering from the infection I'd had a month before. I hadn't said anything about it so it must have been in my notes. I still have no idea why the first doctor said everything was fine!

Far too many people believe that asthma is what it is on TV. That you just use the magic bu inhaler and you're right as rain in seconds. I had to leave the gym early a few days ago and the friend I was with asked why I couldn't just use my inhaler because that would get rid of it! If only it worked like that!

I think it's impossible to understand asthma unless you have it yourself. I had a conversation with a doctor at the hospital I volunteer at yesterday. He caught me using my inhaler in the kitchen and started asking me about what it's like to live with asthma, because he wanted to know more about it from a patient perspective. We ended up talking for half an hour and he said he pass what I'd said on to other doctors. There's no wonder he's everyone's favourite!

Just try and stay positive, you might be more tired than normal, but that means films in bed and chocolate (which I'm sure is a proven bronchodilator) Sometimes dwelling on asthma can make it worse (or so I've found!)

There will be a light at the end of the tunnel

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Thanks for your reply Rachel

I guess im just a bit fed up as it seems to be going on for far too long, repeat infection, antibiotics, steroids.... does it ever end??

These are the things that Drs never mentioned... apart from once Asthma is under control the infections will settle down... but it has been the longest 2 years!

I try to stay positive but after a few good days quite often its back down to earth with a bump haha.

Anyway, thanks again x

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Sorry to hear you've had such a rough two years.

Sometimes I find the hardest times are after a run of good days. i get my hopes up that this has finally ended and that I can go on with my life. Then things go back to where they were. It is very frustrating.

I also think you are right about the living with asthma part. The times when breathing is difficult is only part of the matter.

I am not symptomatic 24/7 but I never really know from day to day or even one part of the day to the next whether I'll be good, bad, medium. Even when I am fine, I often need to use part of that time to give my body a chance to recover from when things were difficult. I find the unpredictability more difficult than even the breathing itself. It makes it hard to plan things. it confuses me - how can I be both fine and not? It confuses others. And I never seem to be really bad when I see pulmo, but have often been in pretty bad shape when see gp.

I think staying positive , being kind and patient with oneself, and making as good use of the well times as possible is the most anyone can do when asthma gets out of control and stays that way. Working on getting good with those things is where I'm at now.