Recovering after hospital stay

[AppleOrchard]

I’m wondering if anyone can tell me what to expect next.

I had Covid at the end of January. I felt very flu like for a couple of days then okay for a few days. After that I got a cold and a chesty cough. The cough was only occasional. At the end of last week I started to feel flu like again.

I decided to call the doctor on Monday morning because we were due to go away on the Tuesday for half term. She sent me straight to hospital with a suspected clot on my lung. Thankfully it wasn’t that.

I was admitted because my infection markers were very high and my blood pressure was extremely low.

I’m on steroids now and used the nebuliser whilst in hospital. I was discharged on Thursday,

My chest is still tight and sore at times. How long will that last and how long until I’m back on my feet? Should I just be getting on with things or should I rest a lot? What’s best for recovery? I’m sorry for all the questions. I have never had to be admitted to hospital for my asthma before.

Thank you for reading if you got this far!

[Poobah]

Sorry you've been through the mill and are still feeling so unwell. It's still early days in terms of your treatment, so rest and care are necessary for a good recovery. Getting back to your daily routine too soon can lead to another flare up. So don't over do things.

You may require further steroids if the current course don't fully get you back to your normal level of health. Don't hesitate to ask your doctor for additional courses and treatment. And you may need antibiotics to get to the finish line.

When I was younger, it would take me a couple of weeks to get over a chest infection or asthma flare up, but now I'm older, it takes several weeks if it's been a bad chest infection. Dec 22 to Feb 23, I was poorly for at least 8 weeks.

You have to go by how you feel, and keep going back to your doctor, no matter how many times it takes to get your current flare up sorted. Hospital discharge treatment plans aren't always sufficient to treat the flare up and the GP can pick up the rest of the treatment plan.

Hope you're back on your feet soon.

[AppleOrchard in reply to Poobah]

Thank you so much for your reply. It’s really very helpful and I appreciate it.

I’m trying to take it easy. It’s a bit difficult at times with two children but everyone is being very supportive.

Despite my peak flow being normal again, my chest still feels very tight and I’m coughing a lot. I’m using my blue inhaler several times a day. I wish I had a nebuliser at home!

I will go to my GP and hope that she can do something. They are never that keen if your peak flow is normal. But if I don’t have steroids, it’ll flare up again.

I guess age definitely impacts the ability to bounce back from things. I’m no spring chicken but not old either! I’m thinking it’ll take perhaps a month, maybe a bit more. Once my chest clears up, hopefully it’ll go smoothly as long as I don’t do too much too quickly.

Thank you so much again for your time.

[Cosychair]

Personally I think you should rest, I had a bad case in November/December.Take time for yourself, listen to your body, look after yourself.

Don't think you can just carry on as before. You will get stronger it just takes time.

Good luck 👍

[AppleOrchard in reply to Cosychair]

Thank you very much! I agree - I think I need to rest. My chest is still tight and I’m using the blue inhaler several times a day. I wish it would get fixed soon. My steroids run out tomorrow. I suspect I need more. Thank you again.

[Nanny1086]

hi , i’m sorry you’ve been feeling so rough for so long ,,, you did the right thing being in hospital , i had covid last May ( i actually caught it in hospital) sad for me it led to pneumonia and sepsis ,,, so my advise is ,,,if you feel the need to use your nebuliser use it ,,, hopefully you had 2weeks antibiotics,,, which i always have on my repeat prescription, as for recovery we are all different im 78 and it took me about 3 months to feel good again and then only used my nebuliser when i needed to,,, remember it can take a few weeks to recover from a chest infection add to that covid and well it could 2/3 months ,,,, but don’t rush to get out there again ,,,, that’s where the germs are , 😀 get well soon ,

[AppleOrchard in reply to Nanny1086]

The antibiotics were stopped before I got out of hospital. I found that odd. Apparently my infection markers were normal again.

I’m sorry you had a really bad bout that led to pneumonia and sepsis. That’s a bit scary.

I don’t have a nebuliser. I wish I did. Can a GP prescribe one? I really could do with it. I’m using my blue inhaler several times a day. My peak flow is fine but my chest feels really tight. And I’m coughing still.

I’ll definitely take it easy and do as much as I can from home.

Thank you very much for the advice and suggestions.

[teddyd]

I think there are a lot of factors to be taken into account when looking at recovery.My recent experience of being hospitalised with pneumonia at the end of October has shocked me at the recovery time

I have bronchietasis asthma and various other health issues and no spring chicken.

Unfortunately it is in only in the last 2 weeks my energy has started to come back, and also my motivation , however still require to pace myself. But keep in touch with your Gp or respiratory nurse to ensure you are getting all the support you need to make a speedy recovery .

[AppleOrchard in reply to teddyd]

Wow - that’s taken a long time to recover. It definitely takes longer the older you get. I hope that you stay well and don’t have any kind of relapse.

I spoke to the GP today. He was shocked that my white cell something was very high. He’s told me to expect this to take weeks to recover from. I have to be sensible and pace myself.

[Birthday60]

I had covid in October 2022 and my weekly peak flow graph shows not only a clear 15% reduction but also a wider variation of 100 points between good and bad days !! I am a very active person so I can measure my performance easily on Strava and I am still not back to my previous performance… not at all happy. Am working hard at improving my cardio fitness but so far it’s been slow progress

[AppleOrchard in reply to Birthday60]

I hope you’ll get back to your normal level of fitness soon. It does seem to take such a long time. The recovery process is not fun.

[hilary39]

It's always exhausting to recover after a hospital stay. Get a lot of rest, hot tea, and give yourself permission to watch more TV or read or nap or go to bed early more than you normally do for a few weeks. I find anti-inflammatory vitamins can help with my recovery, magnesium in particular. Keep us posted.

[AppleOrchard in reply to hilary39]

Thank you very much for your suggestion about the vitamins. What do you take?

I spoke to the GP earlier and I’ll see him on Thursday - but about my excessive thirst and peeing rather than my asthma. I’m sure he will check me over whilst I’m there as well.

Thank you!