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Pleurisy and Chest Infection Clarithromycin

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giuila
giuila

I really hope someone can give me some advice. Before Christmas I came down with a cold which turned into a chest infection. I didnt go to a GP as usually these things clear up. However by Christmas Eve I was starting to feel pretty bad and called the doctor but they were closed so I didn't go. Went on the 27th and was diagonosed with a chest infection and given Amoxicillin. I finished taking these but still felt bad and started to develop a pain under my right breast, almost like a pulled muscle or bruising of the ribs... I asked a doctor and he checked my pulse to rule out a pulmonary embolism???? and said you have pulled a muscle from coughing.... With that I left and carried on taking Ibuprofen which helped ease the pain. The Monday I had a strange incident where my heart was beating really fast and irregular and I felt sweaty, dizzy and couldnt stop shaking. I went home from work and thought about going to the doctors. Plus the pain in my right side was getting worse. I went back to the gp who said I was probably suffering with Pleuritic pain from the infection and he described me more antibiotics.. Amoxiclav...

I still felt bad and he asked me to go back the following Friday to check my blood pressure as it was slightly high.

Finished the Amoxiclav and suddenly felt bad again... nothing I have ever expereienced. Chest Pain, really bad cough, weak sweaty, extremely exhausted...no sense of smell, taste etc... so tired.

I went back again to the gp and broke down in tears as now the middle of January and things seem to be getting worse. He took blood and sent me to the hospital for a chest xray and the blood test he states shows an infection but no blood clot on the lung. The chest xray has also returned clear??? I rarely go the the doctors but he almost made me feel like a hyperchondriac...

He prescribed me more antibiotics but this time Clarithromycin 500mg twice per day.

I was hoping these would have kicked in by now but still feeling terrible and am taking these alongdside extra strength Ibuprofen and paracetamol for the pain in my chest.

I am starting to wonder if I will ever get better. I feel so low and down, I havent left the house for days and just want to sleep as I am feeling so exhausted.

Has anyone suffered from anything similar or know how long it takes to get over this... Its been over a month now and I just cant remember what it feels like to feel normal...

Sorry for the long post...

18 likes, 195 replies

195 Replies

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  • CGP
    CGP giuila

    Posted

    I am having a smilar issue, I had no voice in the first two weeks combined with heavy cough and phlegm. Went to GP in the 2nd week and GP gave me Amoxi 500 mg 3times a day 9 days cource, Had my 2nd round checked and this time GP refered me to Chest X-ray and blood tests and they are all normal but the cough is persistant and now started to have pain under my left side of ribs due to this nasty cough. I am so worried that I may spread this to my 8 month old son how is arriving tomorrow from abroad. I feel tried and sick of being ill. My body is so sensitive that i had diarrhoea for 2 days so took imodium and got it controlled.. I never had this kind of illness in my life before. I dont deserve this pain of cough its unberable there is something going around which is not able to be treated by antibiotics.

    Any suggestions, plz welcome as I still have a lot of pain under my left side rib, my body temp is fluctuating and I have started to sweat in nights some times. taking paracitamol and ibpurophin daily. And I am sitll having painful coughs this is my 5th week. Lastly i hope i will not pass this to my wife of child, i cannot forgive myself if i do it..

  • Tennisgirl977
    Tennisgirl977 giuila

    Posted

    Dear Guiila,

    I got the same thing, but mine started from a root canal infection. in the UK they diodnt find the backteria and misdiagnosed me! they are aweful here and have no clue what they are doing, but whatr we had was septicemia, when the infection goes into your blood and makes you very sick, dieing sick. well thats what happened to me and i couldnt walk move, lost my balace. etc.sweats tremors heart high and low blood pressure with low temps. Luckily i flew abraod and they found the bacteria and treated me with ciproxin and augmentine but because i also developed plueusy, lungs apparently will hurt as your lungs have been thrugh trauma! well initially this rare bacteria would throw off histmaine and that caused me very bad tightening in my lungs, i was having that 2 1/2 months with out treatment. the clindamycin saved my life though initially when i became sepsis! i hope this info helps u x

  • Tennisgirl977
    Tennisgirl977 giuila

    Posted

    After getting pluresy how long did it take you to fully recover the pains?
    • giuila
      giuila Tennisgirl977

      Posted

      It took a good 2 months before I made a full recovery!! 

      It's a slow progress. Lots of rest and relaxation x

    • Tennisgirl977
      Tennisgirl977 giuila

      Posted

      Thanku. It's very hard for me as because of the Aches I'm getting I can't seek to relax, and ear keeps swelling up and I just feel I'll if I try to do any house work, it's so hard
  • debi62095
    debi62095 giuila

    Posted

    i have the same as yourself now i worry i have embollism or lung cancer, i yet havehad no chest xray, ive had centre chest pains for months firstly said GERD acid reflux disease that cleared up but a month ago i caught most awful chest cold that  resulted in chest pains now breathless and very worried, dont trust GP without xrays dont see how they can possibly tell just by examinations.

     

    • Tennisgirl977
      Tennisgirl977 debi62095

      Posted

      Yes I got so many opinions and when u get 2 same answers then the problem is that. My lungs r getting better niw but I forced myself to swim and it helped but this was months after being sick and bed ridden! I don't trust gps in London they r useless! I flew abroad to get treatment and they saved my life! Thanks god! I still have some side effects but I just have to wait, our bodies do eventually heal itself but u have to treat the cause! If they did a chest X-ray and it's okay u should be good, but I did do

      A ct scan as that can show more, depends on what they have to look for. I'm no doctor but I learnt for myself. Iodine will show more. Hope u get better soon stay string and have faith x

    • john144001
      john144001 debi62095

      Posted

      Debbie, as I have also written to Christine37443,  I will not give you a long answer to yourself and aask that you read my reply to her, written on 09/12/14, you will get through this as I have and have others.  It is difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but believe me it will ease - just be patient and take each day as it comes and do what your body tells you to do!.  Even when you start to feel well again, theses flu viruses weaken your body so much that although you think you are over it you are still susceptible to other viruses.  As I said to Christine, I will be thinking about you and others in the same position or worse, and wish you a speedy recovery and healthy 2015.  Please read my reply to Christine and i am sure it will help you.  Deepest regards.  John M.
    • melissa55652
      melissa55652 Tennisgirl977

      Posted

      Hi how did you get help abroad?

      And how did they detect bacteria in end?

      You poor thing.

      I feel like I may never be well again. Iv resistant bacteria in lung n I'm so sick of it like you have to fight to get help it's dreadful.

  • christine37443
    christine37443 giuila

    Posted

    Mine all started with the flu jab and I am never having it again. It gave me flu symptoms quite severe, I went to the doctors and was told I have the flu, not sure if she knew I had the jab or not. Anyway I said I was coughing up plegm so she gave me anti biotics. These just made any coughing much worse and I believe I was allergic to them. With hacking coughing 4 or 5 times a day lasting over an hour. The ventollin does nothing so want to stop taking that. I went back to the doctors and she put me on the Perisoline steroids and now I feel very ill, shaking throughtout my body, feeling sick and ill. My chest is particularly shaking. She told me not to smoke, and I wish I did not, but I do. Anyhow I am now waiting for these steroids to taper off. I put it all down to the medications the doctor gives us and the flu jab. I am not taking that again. She also gave me an inhaller for COPD which is calming me down but can only take it twice a day along with steroid inhaller four times a day. My immune system is shot I have an auto immune disease anyway of hypotheroidism. Will continue with vitamins, and herbs and see if that improves my situation. I have been to A&E last year and was just told your doctor is doing the right thing, they do not care as to how you are feeling at all. 
    • john144001
      john144001 christine37443

      Posted

      Hi Christine, I am so sorry to hear about your recent problems.  The antibiotics I was put on first was Amoxicillin, which for about 3 days made me feel much worse and similar to yourself, my cough got even worse - to the stage that I thought I was going to choke on the phlegm that was coming up, and it was making me feel so nauseated to cough it up - pains in my stomach and ribs - I was so depressed and wondered if I would ever get well!  I began to feel a little more like myself at the end of the course of antibiotics and thought this was a good sign - how wrong I was!!  After visiting my GP as per appointment and being told that there were still basal crepitations, (crackles on the bottom lobe of my right lung and she would try me on a new antibiotic to see if that would work.  It was Clorithromycin.  For 7 days I put uo with stomach cramps, nausea and a disgusting taste in my mouth (which did not go away cleaning my teeth), and I continued to lose weight - though after 4 days the disgusting brown phlegm began to clear up and my bouts of unconbtrolled coughing began to ease, so much so that by the end of the 7th day and my appointment there was no phlegm or cough.  I felt great, even looked better to my GP who commented on it.  However when she examined my chest, the expression on her face suddenly changed and she said she wanted to seek a specialist opinion and an Chest X-Ray.  Being a nurse, I knew what was running through her mind - the big "C"  She said I dont want you to worry but I am going to put you on another course of antibiotics - yes youve guessed it another greulling course of Clarithromycin!  I went home thinking - well this is it, I better take out the life insurance policy I've been putting off for a while.  I did not tell my wife how things were but I think she must have picked it up.  That night after a light dinner,  I began to feel really physically ill and began shaking all over, feeling really cold. then extremely hot and finally sweating violently.  My temperature which had almost returned to normal, spiralled to 104 degrees Farenheit (high enough to begin convulsions and ultimately the big sleep). Then the hallucinations - SPIDERS!  I was having a typical RIGOR.  I really did feel so bad that I thought "This is it!"  Not to labour the point,  The fourth course of antibiotics (Clarithromnycin finally worked,  No more creps in my lung,  appetite was returning, temperature normal etc.  However weight was not good and the weakness persisted for nearly 6 weeks.  Unlike yourself I have never smoked, and have tried to avoid passive smoking - not going to lecture you!  However I am type 2 diabetic, well controlled by tablets and diet.  This is the worst influenza I have ever experienced and do not want to go through that again.  I will however have to have the flu jab as the next one might see me off this mortal coil,  I do not think the flu jab caused you (or me) such a bad reaction (they inject a dead strain, not active) although some of my neighbours seem to have had a similar reaction,  I am beginning to think more along the lines of a mutation of the flu virus that is becoming immune to the flu jab, which can and does happen regularly now.  So Christine I wish you well and hope that you soon feel well again as I have done.  Dont give up it will get better, just give it time.   I am still suffering energy loss and muscle pains and this is now 10 weeks after the flu left me.  All I hope is that by reading about what happened to me, may be of some hope and encouragement to you and others going through the same or worse that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I apologise for the length of this reply and hope you forgive me for that.  Take care, I will be thinking about you and yours, Best of health for 2015  John M.
    • christine37443
      christine37443 john144001

      Posted

      Hi John

      I was really glad to hear that someone else has these awful bugs, they are very severe and people do not understand that some of us get it very bad indeed. I am now into my second cold/flu? and I really dont want to go back to the doctors for more of the same. But I have constant coughing. Ever since the last one I was feverish and cold flushes so maybe it has just re-emerged from the last one. There is light at the end of the tunnel but at 10 weeks it is like you are disabled for the whole of the winter and that is not good for anyone. I guess a mutation is possible however mutation or not a flu or cold cannot last this long and I think I would rather just have the flu for a week or so. All my neighbours I feel sorry for as it is worst at night. I wish a doctor would come onto this post and tell me something that will work. Best of health to you too and thanks for replying to my post John. 

    • john144001
      john144001 christine37443

      Posted

      Hi Christine, many thanks for your reply and pertinent comments,  Yes, it would be nice if GPs would visit this site.  I do so hope that the New Year and 2015 bring you much better health and peace of mind.  I hope that you did not think I was making light of your condition, by saying that there is light at the end of the tunnel - after having gone through some of the same.  Please reply aqnd tell me how you are as I would like to keep in touch - my care for others, has not disappeared over the past 20 years even after retirement from nursing.  With kindest wishes.  Yours, John.
  • phil91983
    phil91983 giuila

    Posted

    Hi

    I started with the same symptoms on Boxing day, after 9 days I visited my GP due to coughing up blood, the relentless coughing gave me a really bad headache, and my ribs were also sore, my throat was so sore i could not swallow, I was given Amoxicillin which I am about to come to an end, I have now stopped bringing up foul things from my chest, but my nose is still blocked up, and I have to clear it on a regular basis, I have had a fever on and off. Last night I began sneezing and coughing like hell, I stood up to go got tissues and everything went like a negative in my view, but in pink and blue and I fainted for a split second. This morning I feel as if the Flu is coming back ?? Can this happen ??

  • p123cb
    p123cb giuila

    Posted

    hello i am back again but this time it is my husband that is poorly he has been ill since december 23rd december and has been told it can last up to 6-8 weekds for the cough to go.  It is really tiring fo him.  I dont know what to do fr the best for him he has had two lots of AB's but has diarhea and this cough and on top of that a peforated ear drum wchih you can do nthin for except wait for it to heal up.  For a time he was blowing his nose and there would be blood in it not a nose bleed.
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