hello all, over Christmas I was in hospital with pleurisy and pneumonia. Long story short it was not a great time .
I’m experiencing extreme breathlessness on walking on the flat , still feel exhausted etc , I think I’m asleep more than I’m awake 🤷🏻♀️I’ve had X-ray and the infection is gone but I can’t get back to normal ( if I ever was normal 😂😂)
I’ve had repeated doc appointments and the advice to be kind to myself is setting my teeth on edge , I don’t climb mountains but I’d like to walk to the shops without very kind people asking if I’m ok because I have to keep stopping
I wondered how anyone else recovered and if there were any tips to be passed on 😊😊
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Hazel1010
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Since just before Christmas I have had flu quickly followed by covid and pleurisy. My health has not returned to where it was prior to these . I am tired, still not eating properly and a bit down.I dont have symptoms of an infection just out of sorts. Unfortunately had to cancel a few things as I just dont have the energy. Everything seems such an effort. I drive virtually every where as the thought of walking and getting breathless scares me. I seem to have some brain fog which is very frustrating.I am hoping as the weather inproves so does my health. I really hope things improve for you over the coming weeks.
I had double pneumonia 6 years ago. It took me at least 6 - 8 months to get back to ‘normal’. Pneumonia and pleurisy are very serious illnesses and do take a long while to fully recover from.
I know you don’t want to hear this, but I agree with your doctors. I could only walk a few hundred yards for at least three months and was very tired much of the time.
It takes much, much longer than most people realise to recover. Listen to your body, if you feel tired, have a lie down. Having these illness is not the same as having something like a cold or flu. You do not get rid of the infection and almost immediately feel fine.
You don’t say how far away your shops are, but if you have to take a rest, then do so. You will get back to full health and be able to climb that proverbial mountain.
I can’t offer any tips apart from having patience and know that what you’re feeling is normal when you have been very poorly. You will get there ….
You need to stop listening to your Mother! You are absolutely NOT lazy. You have been very poorly and the tiredness is your body’s way of telling you that you are not 100% and you are doing too much.
After my pneumonia, I used to try and do some gardening and then the tiredness would suddenly hit me. It felt as if I had hit a brick wall. I almost had to crawl up the stairs to lie down.
If you need a lie down or to stop whilst walking, remember that it’s normal. Don’t try and fight it.
Personally I like swimming, in a shallowish pool, little action is required, you can just swim very slowly. The biggest effort is getting to the swimming pool and getting back afterwards. For some reason my lungs like the pool, I know that it is the reverse for some people.
When you can swim a bit, you can then start walking, but I do it at a gym on a running machine, so I can stop easily. Also it helps me gradually increase the pace.
If you do something one day, you then need to be quiet the next day.
morning , unfortunately water and I never became good friends but I do walk and have toned down my usual speed and stick to the flat routes 👍 I try to get out most days even if it’s only along the lane and back .
The alternative day’s rest is a very good idea too , thank you for your reply, have a good day 😊
morning , thank goodness it’s not just me then , I’m no athlete by any means but doesn’t the exhaustion get you down , I find it strange that a wave of tiredness can hit in the middle of doing something you really enjoy and you have to stop 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway let’s be positive I’m sure in time we shall be back to hill hiking and skiing which would be great because I couldn’t do any of these before ,! hang in there and hopefully we will continue to improve, all the best x
Ha,ha, nice to see the humour in difficult things,really helps. Having M.E too,I understand the frustration of the brick wall stopping you doing what you want to. Pacing is most useful when trying to build yourself back up without overdoing things ( also like interval training). I do things in bits = exertion, rest, repeat. I agree with listen to your body, it's trying to protect you. Be patient Grasshopper, you will recover in time! 😁
I have had pneumonia and pleurisy a number of times. Unfortunately even once original infection has gone it can take a long time to recover. You have been extremely unwell and you need to be patient with your recovery. Try to eat as healthily as possible. I also try to take probiotics or live yogurt to replenish good bacteria that has been damaged by antibiotics. Continue to take gentle exercise but in between rest! Some days that will mean going back to bed for a while. That does not mean you are lazy! It means you are listening to your body and will aid your recovery. If you try to do too much you run the risk of really setting back your recovery. Certainly a number of times my recovery has actually take a number of months BUT I did recover!!
I think the best advice I was once given was.. your lungs take a long time to heeal pretty much everything else slows down or stops at certain points (when your asleep etc) which allow them to heal but your lungs always have to work to keep providing oxygen to everything and so don't ever stop and only really slow down a little
And if you where in hospital and it was pneumonia and pleurisy you must have been in a bad way... it took me 3 month to get pleurisy to go away that and pneumonia your going to be 4+ months healing time easy so u would just give your self a break and walk to the shops a bit slower
Now my caveat my mother inlaw had pneumonia and didn't know was more breathless than normal and happened to be going for an xray for something else and it was spotted on this xray and she was told to call the doctors by the xrayc team and tell them she had pneumonia and it was on the xray (by the time she got hold of the doctor the xray people had already submitted their report and recomendation for antibiotics).she spent ages getting better and they kept fobbing her off at the GP with this is COPD it will get worse, but she was in a right way couldn't walk down the stairs without being breathless and coughing a lung up in the end i said you need to go back they haven't exhausted all the options and your taking no for an answer.... she got a doctor willing to listen and said sometimes there is some residual inflammation that will settle down with a blast of steroids .... 2 days later she felt like super woman and could breathe loads better (she had a 5 day course)
I had a chest infection and pleurisy mid December and am still not back to normal. I am improving though, I think it just takes much longer than we would like!
I go for a walk each day, deliberately going more slowly than normal, resting when I need to. If you can find a walk with a cafe en route I find that helps, you can have a good long rest part way through the walk.
Sorry I can’t offer anything more specific, I can only empathise and say keep at it, things will gradually get better,
Hi Hazel if you need to sleep, sleep. It's your body trying to heal. It took me a long time to get over my brush with it. It will come. I know it's frustrating but you will get there
Hello Hazel, years ago I had similar problems lack of energy etc, I bought branch chain amino acid capsules from Amazon I took two twice a day after 3 days I was able to pick myself up from the floor if I fell, these amino acids rebuild your immune system after severe illness they also strengthen your muscles to get you up & about, take my tip & buy some, all the best keep smiling 🙂
I thought I would contact you as I’ve had some good results myself I have started drinking cold pressed organic Beetroot juice & I’ve noticed my energy levels have increased & pains in my prostate area are going away as the red pigment in beetroot juice offsets the Chemo & helps skin repair I bought my juice from Tesco the name on carton is: Beet It a 1 LTR size so give it a go a friend of mine is also drinking it
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