# How many of you have ever come down with a respiratory-pneumonia like infection?



## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

This may be a little out there, but I was prompted by my reflective posting to LS's Mycoplasma topic.There was a case where I had to take care of a patient in the hospital who came in with this awful productive cough. Three of us nurses who took care of this patient also came down with this awful cough after, which lasted for me 8 weeks. I would cough up sputum almost every hour on the hour, even through the night (which was not good for sleeping). I don't think I was diagnosed yet for fibro yet. The doctor thought he saw something funny on my chest X-Ray and had me do a lung scan. This, however, was negative. I have no recollection now of what if anything I was treated with other than trying various cough meds. Anyone else ever had an infection like this?


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## Guest (Jun 12, 2000)

Oh, Moldie, you wouldn't believe......I have just finished 3 rounds of antibiotics to clear up what was like bronchial pneumonia. My daughter had had a horrible dry cough a couple of months back. The pediatrician never could hear anything in her chest and put her on prednisone (which just killed me to put her on it, yet, again). Her trich (sp) tube was horribly inflamed and any breath of air was causing horrible coughing spasms. Well, give or take a few weeks, and I come down with the same type cough(down to my toes, I tell ya) but mine does finally become sort of loose. I finally go to the doctor as I have never had anything quite that bad and her favorite drug to use is Augmentin. Well, I should have remembered from my throat infection back in December, it wouldn't work. I got worse and worse and worse. I had to call my Denver allergist and he told me from just hearing me that it sounded like bronchial pneumonia and WHY IN THE HECK DID SHE PUT YOU ON AUGMENTIN? He said that I should be on Zithromax. In the meantime, Kelsey gets the same thing I have and her pedicatrician does put her on zithromax. I then remembered I had a refill of zithromax back from December and I filled it. Lo and behold, just a couple of days later, I was feeling a bit better. I finished it up and was still coughing pretty bad. Ended back at the doctor again and said NO MORE Augmentin and I ended up with a shot, a breathing treatment, another zithromax pack, accolate and inhalers! I couldn't believe it. The doctor said I still had a sticky wad in my chest and I just couldn't cough it up if I had to. So, I have been off the antibiotic for about a week and I am sooo much better but still very lightly coughing. It catches me off guard and hurts so bad. So guess who is now with a headful of congestion? My daughter again. She is to leave for camp this weekend so I am watching her closely. I put her on guaifen and it is helping a bunch. She is coughing it up and feels a lot better now. Ya know, Moldie, I had read that mycoplasma infections come from upper respiratory infections and I had so many of those growing up and especially after having my first child before I got diagnosed with my allergies and then of course, everything went downhill from there.As far as I know, so far, the Antibiotic Protocol is treating with the Minocin, as you don't seem to get resistant to it. I know they will treat you with an antifungal if you come down with a yeast infection but supposedly with minocin, you don't normally get yeast infections with that med? I will keep you posted.


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## weener (Aug 15, 2000)

Hi Moldie:About 5 years ago I came down with a chronic cough that stayed with me for l-l/2 years. I mean everyday coughing. My family and friends thought I had caught something serious. The doc sent me to specialists and I had scopes down my throat, lung, breathing tests. They thought I had asthma or maybe an upper respiratory infection, so I went the antibiotic route. Nothing helped. The coughing got so bad that it would make me vomit. I had tuberculosis as a child, so I was concerned that it might have come back, but they tested me and everything was ok. Then one day it disappeared and hasn't come back. I found out today at my yoga class that the new area that I moved to is smog capital of Canada. Interesting, eh.


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

That sounded like a terrible whatever it was for such a long time weener. I guess I did hear that Hamilton was an industrial area and has a large volume of traffic. We went through there on our trip to Niagra. Lynne, sounds like you and your daughter went through a rough period with that pneumonia-like bug. A friend of mine just told me she is on Augmentin for a sinus infection and feels just awful. She has asthma and bad allergies too. She will be going to the same allergist I go to at the end of the month as her Mom drives all the way from Chicago and found the LaCrosse Allergy Clinic helpful for her. Glad you'll keep us posted on the Microplasma thing, as it is an interesting topic.


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