Sunday, January 28, 2007

Bronchitis is fun!

Note: This isn't the most pleasant story in the world, so if you have a delicate stomach, don't read this post.

So I kept feeling worse and worse, all day Wednesday, and having a harder and harder time breathing. I went to bed around 7 pm. The coughing woke me up a few times, as did the horrible noises my lungs were making, but the best part was when I woke up around 2 am and coughed so hard I threw up all over myself and the bed. Yay!

Got myself cleaned up, changed the sheets (thanks to hubby's help, and luckily I got the brunt of it), attempted to go back to sleep. Hubs had decided to sleep in the bed with me at this point (he was going to stay on the couch both to give me some room and so my choking coughs didn't keep him awake all night, but apparently he decided I needed watching.) Every time I managed to drift off to sleep, he woke me up saying, "Honey, don't breathe so fast. Take slow, deep breaths." Which, if I was able to do that, um, I would be.

So I went to the doctor Thursday. Hubs came home from work early and off I went. I dozed off in the waiting room, unnoticed. When I got in to see the doc, she agreed my lungs did sound "a bit wheezy" (which is really an understatement, considering that the hubs could hear them across the room) and asked if I was allergic to any medications. Yes, Biaxin. But it isn't called Biaxin here, and I couldn't remember the "clinical" name (it's Clarithromycin, for future reference.) She named something and I didn't understand her so I said that was fine and there you go.

Cut to two hours later, when hubs has gone out to fill my script and buy me medicine and iced tea (no Gatorade here!) and some movies (see above post.) He brings me my antibiotics. I tear open the box (they come in boxes here, like free samples!), pop one down...guess what?

So while hubby is out getting me a new script and getting that one filled...I get to go make myself throw up. For the second time in 14 hours. Luckily I felt so awful I was basically able to just kind of think really hard about doing it and there you go, but it was not pleasant. No, not pleasant at all. And it's only today that I have actually been able to really move, except for the shower I made myself take on Friday.



I have not had a cigarette since Wednesday. And so I guess I went ahead and quit. Damn.

5 comments:

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

You poor thing! I'm surprised your doc didn't offer a nebulizer treatment while you were at the office. Sometimes they help.

But you're lucky no one's pushing prednisone on you. I suggest avoiding steroids if you can.

Get better soon!

Stacia said...

Nah, this is the NHS. They won't give you anything they don't absolutely have to. :-) She did tell me that if my breathing didn't improve in a few days I should go back and get "an inhaler", though.

I definitely want to avoid steroids every chance I get. :-) I did wonder if they would try and give them to me but again, they won't give me what they aren't forced to, so I got lucky there.
Thanks!

Bernita said...

Poor dear!
Was afraid of this.
This bug seems to have the tendency to develope into bronchitis w/potential pneumonia.
Your symptoms mirror my daughter's.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully you'll be 100% soon.

That's the same NHS Billary will try to cram down our throat after it wins the '08 election.

Somebody shoot me. -V95

Anonymous said...

Actually, I've been taking inhaled steroids for years and aside from the occasional sore throat, have no side effects. Oral steroids, on the other hand, are freaking awful.

And yanno, when I was in Denmark and had an accute broncho-spastic attack, they prescribed me my usual thing, even though it was called something different. They have books with all the various brand names listed for different countries. If your doctor got it wrong, it was probably laziness.