Diagnosed with (Active?) TB

[dino10]

Hi Everyone. I was diagnosed with TB , probably active because I had fever and coughing for past 3 months. I also lost 16-17 lbs / 8 kgs over the same perioid. I do felt very less energetic during that time. I was rushed to hospital when I felt unconcious during early morning and was later on diagnosed with TB.

I am 23 years old, was studying my Masters and had no clue of tb before. The doctors started medication yesterday and I do feel much better today , feeling little more energetic , no side effects so far.

My doctor says your xray actually showed very less infection , almost nothing but ct showed more details , hence they checked for tb and they did find it in my sputum.

I am just worried what goes from here , is there a chance of fatality , not being cured. When can I go home . I have not been able to meet doctors after they told me about tb diagnosis so all these questions are just stressing me. They also collected 3 sputum samples from me today (3rd day at hospital) , is it a bad sign? I do not have fever of that extent but sometimes very slight fever keeps coming back.

I hope you guys are able to reply back with some guidance.

Best Regards

[hottchoc]

Hello dino10 - a confirmed diagnosis of active TB is very important because not only will the bacteria harm you but it will also spread to others and harm them too, hence more evidence needed from your sputum. This is normal practice. People can and do die from TB, especially if it is not treated, so knowing your doctors are aware of your condition is a good thing as you will now be looked after and can get the correct treatment. TB treatment can be harsh in some people where it might change your liver enzymes, which is why you will have regular blood tests to make sure you are keeping well. Treatment at the moment is minimum six months, so taking it for just one day will not make any difference to how you feel. Stay positive you are being looked after now and if you are definitely positive with active TB you will not allowed to go out for the first two weeks and do not touch alcohol whilst you are on the drugs because of the effects on your liver. You will feel strong soon. All the best with your recovery.

[dino10 in reply to hottchoc]

Thank you so much for the reply. I wanted to update that So far i have not noticed side effects of medicine. The doctor met me yesterday and told me I have tb on upper section of lungs and it just started so it's in intial stage.

Right now , I'm taking medicines and seems like it did help with the fever and chills I was getting a few days ago. I wanted to ask how can one know if TB medicine is working. For me , i still have cough but feel like it's reduced . I also do feel distinctively more energetic , making me realize how long i have not felt this energy.

[Soul01]

Dino10, you will probably be allowed to go home when the doctors are happy that you can’t infect others. Most people are not infectious after 2-3 weeks on the medication. Although the treatment is long, TB can be cured so don’t worry about that.

Make sure you take the medication every day and do what the doctors tell you to do. Try to eat well and get plenty of rest.

[dino10 in reply to Soul01]

Hi Soul1 ! Thank you for the reply. My doctor told me I have pulmonary TB in initial stage, that is only infected upper tip part of lungs.

I was just scared reading so many cases where people got mdr then xdr tb. Death cases and everything scares me a lot. Can you share the signs of recovery especially during first two weeks of diagnosis.

For me, it's been 3 days taking tb medicine, I don't have fever now but cough is still there. The itchy feeling in chest is reduced a lot though. I also feel more hunger and energy. Its shocking to me how much energy I Was being deprived of. But recently feeling more energy in body . Are these good signs? My main concern is the cough . Like when does it totally go away.