pain in lungs

[jools34]

hi everyone, I’ve just been in hospital for a hernia repair, and I spent 2 weeks in hospital , because I ended up with pneumonia , full of fluid in tummy and legs too, I was on 2 lots of antibiotics drips for 7 days , now I’m home with water pills I’ve lost 14kg so far, but the pain in my lungs especially when I take deep breaths is awful, and still lots of pain in my tummy area,

Any advice would be appreciated thank you

Julie

[Patk1]

You'll still b recovering ftm pneumonia- worth putting specimen in for testing if u have mucous.id speak to gp - u may need higher dose water pill x

[jools34 in reply to Patk1]

Thank you 😊

[B0xermad]

Hi jools,I have had pneumonia twice before and it took me a good 12 weeks to stop feeling breathless and weak it certainly knocks you for six .the fact you have lost a lot of weight also will mean a recovery at your own pace and gradually you should be able to rebuild your strength and health. Wishing you better soon

[jools34 in reply to B0xermad]

Thank you for your kind words 😊

[Alberta56]

Hope you're soon start to recover from this nasty condition- best wishes.

[jools34 in reply to Alberta56]

Thank you so much 😊

[Ergendl]

Is the pain in your lungs actually coming from your lungs or from your ribs? If you had swelled up quite badly during your illness and have now lost that fluid, the skin and muscles that stretched to hold it will now be trying to go back to normal too - like an overstretched rubber band but one that can repair itself over time.

Hope you feel a bit better soon

[jools34 in reply to Ergendl]

I really can't tell the pain is in my middle back and just under my ribs at the front of my body. But what you say makes sense. I guess it'll take time to recover. Thank you 😊

[Ergendl in reply to jools34]

If it is because the skin and muscles have stretched, gentle massaging, heat pads (say a hot water bottle or microwavable wheat bag) and cold packs may help.

Hope it soon improves.

[Lutontown]

Did you have the fluid drawn off? You say fluid in your tummy, so not in your chest cavity? I had pneumonia and pleurisy in Nov 2019, and spent 10 days in hospital, loads of antibiotics including intravenous. They drew off 750ml of yellow fluid from my chest cavity. In fact everything that came out of me was yellow and full of infection, i.e. poo and wee. Because it hurt to breath deeply, I was breathing very shallowly, and I believe may have caused the heart failure which I now have. So, if you're still hurting, have they got rid of your infection?

[jools34 in reply to Lutontown]

Hi thank you for your reply. No they didn't drain any fluid off . I had lots of antibiotics intravenous. Then on furosemide pills. I say fluid in my stomach but I just got really bigger just under my ribs ans so uncomfortable. Plus my legs and feet had lots of fluid in them too. That is nearly gone now . But if I take a deep breath in I find it very painful with sharp pain in my back and side just under my ribs .They say go to see doctor but it's such a bother trying to get an appointment at our practice. I don't know what to do .

[Yendo]

I see a number of reports on this Forum from people who have been hospitalized with pneumonia. I remember when I was first diagnosed with COPD here in Canada my GP said: “We must make sure you don’t get pneumonia.” and he sent me to get a pneumonia vaccine shot. Some time later I was sent for a second shot and these two shots are supposed to provide extremely good protection against getting pneumonia. That happened 20 years ago and though I have had many exacerbations , etc. since, I have never yet contracted pneumonia. I’m sure the pneumonia vaccines are available in the UK so I just find it surprising that so many people with COPD still seem to suffer with pneumonia. Maybe it’s something I’m missing and perhaps someone can enlighten me. And please, this is not meant as a criticism, it’s simply curiosity on my part.

[soppysokes in reply to Yendo]

routinely told ‘only 1 jab is needed ‘ but I believe this is untrue!

[Yendo in reply to soppysokes]

Hi Soppysokes,

Here in Canada they tell us it is the combination of the two pneumococcal vaccines that provide protection against pneumonia.

[AsthmaandLung Administrator]

Hi jools34,

I'm sorry to hear you've been so unwell recently. We have some advice on pneumonia recovery on our website which might be helpful: asthmaandlung.org.uk/condit...

If your symptoms worsen, it could be worth mentioning it to your GP so they can review this with you. And if you'd like to have a chat with one of our respiratory nurses about your lung health at the moment, please give our helpline a call on 0300 222 5800 (Option 3) Monday to Friday 9.15am- 5pm.

Best wishes,

Katie A+LUK

[Nula2]

Hi jools, as Ergendl says I find a heat pad really helps xxx