Short of breath again

[Di16]

I was recently in hospital for 5 days, very short of breath on admission. For the last few days, I've been short of breath again. One of our GPs came out to see me at home on Friday, & diagnosed a chest infection & prescribed antibiotics. I'm feeling fed up with being short of breath, feeling discouraged, & wondering how long this will go on for. Has anyone else had problems with this? I had hoped I would soon feel better after having my second iron infusion last Wednesday. The dr also suggested putting me in touch with the palliative care team as I have had disease progression recently, & I have agreed. Sorry to post a discouraged post, it's unusual for me, I can usually bounce back without feeling a need to post. Di

[Lyndy]

I know that feeling Di! Do they really know what is causing the shortness of breath? If it isn’t iron then I guess a chest infection is another possible answer but you should feel better quickly once on treatment. Don’t give up telling them you are still not feeling better.Breathlessness is very debilitating.. could they give some oxygen at home? I always felt better on oxygen last year when suffering breathlessness from pleural effusion.

I went through some dark times last year and it helps me to remember that I did eventually feel more normal. This disease is very hard on your stocks of resilience but keep going... hopefully you will feel better soon xx

[Di16 in reply to Lyndy]

Thanks for your reply. I have now been diagnosed with a chest infection, & prescribed antibiotics. I keep hoping each day will feel better. If the antibiotics don't do the trick, I plan to seek further medical advice .

[Neona]

I have had recurring bouts of shortness of breath since after my 3 rd dose of frontline chemo. Initially it was severe and I could barely stand up. I have become convinced now that it is the result of low levels of magnesium- it improves after I have a magnesium infusion and them gets worse as the levels drop again.

[Iside]

I too have been short of breath recently after many weekly chemos. Had a blood transfusion & taking magnesium 3 times daily which has helped to relieve it. Hope this helps. Inside X

[JayneWilkinson]

The care team will help you with lots of things to support you. They are really helpful. They can advise in general treatment for symptoms and pain relief that works for you 🙂

[SUE7777]

Hi Di., Unfortunately as we all have compromised immune systems we are prone to catching everything that comes along. I was Hospitalised with pneumonia and pluerisy 3 days after finishing front line chemo and put on palliative care due to the pain. It took 6 months to feel better but it taught me a lesson, I wear my mask all the time when I'm out especially in Hospitals as they are the worst places for picking things up. By the way I'd had the pneumonia vaccine too. All the best, you'll soon feel better and make sure you capitalise on it. Sue xx

[Natsmb]

Yes, actually. I was having trouble breathing and I've had this situation off and on almost every month for various reasons. As far as the chest infection goes- I didn't know why I was having so much trouble breathing, just like you were dealing with, and sure enough, it turned out to be a nasty chest infection. With the good news was, a few days after starting the antibiotics, I felt like I had a brand new lease on life.Since then, obviously having been in a weekend immune state, I have had a couple more situations like that and currently I'm dealing with some ascites and plural effusion issues that all impact the breathing and it's getting old but each situation comes along and there's always been another solution and I can breathe again and it puts me back into good spirits.

Like you, it is getting a bit old at the moment. I try not to focus on when the next breathing issue is going to show up. I feel like one of the hardest parts of this disease is maintaining a positive outlook when every time I turn a corner there's another issue!

I do find that when I get these vitamin b infusions, (I am able to pay these out of pocket) I definitely have more energy and enthusiasm. It makes me a little bit happier. Thank you for sharing this, because sometimes it helps to know that someone else's dealing with these ups and downs too.