New member needing help !

Hello everyone,

Have been reading posts for quite a while and thought it was time to say hello!

I was only diagnosed with moderate/severe asthma last year and have been suffering quite a lot recently.

Christmas eve i ended up in hospital with pneumonia, ended up with pleural effusion and finally came home last saturday.

Whilst i know i should still be taking it easy i decided to stat work last monday. Despite being out of hospital for a week im still finding it really difficult to catch my breath and even a steady walk in town leaves me breathless and exhausted!

Has anoyone suffered from pneumonia and found it took a long time to return to 'normal' health?

[Hidden]

Hello,

I am in no way a expert on these things but I would imagine that the pneumonia on its own would be bad enough without the asthma complications which could be prolonging your recovery-you have my sympathies!!-I have no doubt that our more medically qualified ""posters"" will be able to give you some more practical help-hope your recovery goes well!

[Hidden]

Hi Twinklepointe,

Welcome to the boards! Glad you've decided to say hello. We don't bite!

Sorry to hear you've been having such a rough time of it. Pneumonia can really take it out of you, even young people... and that is in people who don't have any underlying lung or any other medical conditions, taking many weeks before they feel back to normal. In people who are older, or who have underlying medical conditions (especially such as asthma), or in those who get particularly severe pneumonia or complications, it can take even longer; sometimes up to several months before the person feels completely back to normal in terms of fitness and energy levels. The shortness of breath can be as a result of the pneumonia, or the asthma being more uncontrolled than usual, so can take some time. I imagine your pleural effusion was a complication of the pneumonia, which can be an indication of severity- so you may find things quite frustratingly slow to start with.

I'm a junior doctor [although sadly haven't been able to work & in fact have been in hospital as a patient almost continuously since mid september (apart from 3 weeks where i escaped in november!] but prior to that, when my lungs let me work, i've seen fit young men and women left unable to cope at home because of the pure fatigue and feeling lousy several weeks after a bout of pneumonia had them admitted to hospital....(and it definately wasn't just a case of the 'man flu' effect).... and sadly...in patients of that age, no-one in the hospital even considers whether or not they will be able to cope...it is just assumed that they will. Everyone is happy to question whether the 70 year old will need a physio/OT/stair assessment prior to discharge....but no-one even thinks about whether the 23 year old will be able to get up and downstairs, or have the energy to prepare their own food! It can be a huge jump between being ok in hospital with your meals prepared, served and washed up, no shopping etc... and being ok doing all the necessary activities at home as well!

Try to take things slowly, and not rush yourself... as you'll be run down as it is, and susceptible to everything going! If you feel you need more time off work - talk to your GP and see what they think now....certainly i think you might have rushed back a little early if i understood correctly...discharge sat and back to work monday? Make sure that you keep a close eye on your asthma control as well. Ensure you get a decent diet with good amounts of fresh fruit and veg, and plenty of fluids.

Anyway - hope you start to feel much better soon, and that you find the message boards a useful source of information in the future. I'm still stuck in my hospital as a patient rather than doctor, so have a fair bit of time on my hands - so if you would like any more information on this or anything else, post a message or PM me and I'll see what I can do!

best wishes,

KSD

[Hidden]

Hi - it's good to be trying to get back to normal but don't rush it to the detriment of your recovery. Listen to your body.

It can vary. I have other lung problems apart from asthma so it may take me a bit longer than some. Last time I had pneumonia (2.5 yrs ago) I was quite unwell and it was 5/6 weeks after discharge from hospital before I went back to work, and I felt below par (easily tired etc) for about another month after that.

However I am just recovering from another, milder bout which has been managed by my gp without hosp admission. This time I am hoping to be well enough for work within 3 weeks of diagnosis.

Give yourself time and get properly better. Don't worry, you will!

[Hidden]

I've also suffered from pneumonia and suffered pleural effusions with it too, but i was unfortunate enough to suffer bilateral subconjunctival haemorraghing - basically, my lungs filled up with blood, and i ended up being ventilated for around 2 weeks and on oxygen for 6 weeks after, and my asthma seems to be a lot worse since, but I do have reduced lung function from scarring and the lung collapse which hasn't opened up 100% yet.

I remember being constantly very short of breath, even if only after eating a meal, and I was very wprried about walking anywhere, but it does get better. All this happened to me in march and i didn;t get out of hospital until june, and since then i've been back horse-riding, walking on the moors, and even started airsofting!

Feel free to PM me if necessary

Emz x

[Hidden]

Hi Crazybaby, glad to hear you are back and fighting fit! I assume you don't mean ""subconjunctival"" haemorrhaging, though, as this relates to your eyes. Sounds as though you had a rough time though, if you had pulmonary bleeding.

[Hidden]

Thank you !

Thank you for all the wise words of wisdom !

Luckily work have been amazing, picking me up in a morning and taking me home - the only way i have survived to tell the tale !

Been back to the dr's today, got more pills and been advised to take a few weeks out - which i'm seriously thinking about, will see what happens at the hospital next week.

Thank you all so much, it's really helped to have advice from people that understand !

x