Double Pneumonia followed by double empyema - still in pain

[Yoshi1606]

Hi, in November last year I was diagnosed with double pneumonia that quickly turned into double empyema. I was in hospital for 3 weeks, needed 2 blood transfusions, chest drains in both lungs and ended up with VATs washout of 1 lung. Im almost 3 months after discharge and still get out of breath/tight chest. My mid chest aches when I move around and I get a very sharp pain if I breath deeply, yawn, sneeze etc. Has anyone else experienced this? My consultant says it’s nerve pain and that as my lungs are now clear I’m ok. Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks

[Ergendl]

Is the pain in your ribs or lower down in your diaphragm and stomach? Try a hot water bottle or wheat bag to relax the muscles and see if that helps.

[Hidden]

oh mygoodness Yoshi you have really been through it! It can take months to recover from pneumonia and you have the added problem of damage to the muscles between your ribs and to the membranes surrounding your lungs by the inserion of drains on both sides. The pleural membranes can also become inflamed when you have pneumonia. They rub against each other when you take a deep or quick breath, which could be giving you the pain when you do that. All this has to settle down and heal.

All of this can take a very long time to heal. I had pneumonia and an empyema in 2015 and it took six months for me to feel anything like normal. I was given a pneumothorax by a clumsy surgeon in 2021 and I still have pain in between my ribs from the two drains which were inserted.

Be kind to yourself. Ask your GP about ongoing pain relief.

Take plenty of rest whilst trying to do a little activity every day, slowly building it up.

Keep an eye on the situation for signs the infection hasn’t cleared. A fever, shortness of breath, mucus that is not part of your daily expectation.

I hope that gradually the pain will get less and that you will soon be feeling better and on the path back to normal life

[Izb1]

What a bad time you have had Yoshi, plenty of tlc and rest, as LP says it really takes time to heal x

[Shirleyj]

It took me a good 6 months to start feeling normal after having pneumonia, I was in hospital for a week. You sound like yours was a lot worse, so give yourself time, rest, eat healthily, very gentle exercise when you feel up to it. Take care and I wish you well x

[Yoshi1606]

Thank you so much for all your advice and comments, I have been worrying that I’m just being pathetic by still feeling this way. I have started back at work this week as well which probably hasn’t helped. I feel better knowing I’m not abnormal and I’m not alone. Thank you all x

[watergazer]

My !! You’ve been through the mill yoshi1606. It took me at least 6 months to recover from pneumonia and pleurisy. Take it easy. Don’t overdo it and if you’re concerned see your doctor. Xx

[Karenanne61]

You've certainly had it rough. It takes time to heal, especially from what you've been through. As others have said, give yourself time and space to recover. As someone said to me, treat your self as you would your very best friend.