Need advice on illness............
 

Hello fellow 'Talk' friends,

Twice in 2 months, I have caught a simple cold and it immediately went to my lungs. I am on day 17 and still coughing like crazy. I am not getting much sleep. My ribs and back are so sore from coughing. Note...I do not have a fever or a runny nose.
I took 10 days of Prednisone, which didn't help, then took Amoxicillin 3 days, which caused severe diarrhea, and was told to stop taking that.
I have also taken over the counter meds every day and night for decongestant, which help a little for a few hours.

Has anyone had this awful long lasting cough, and if so, how did you get over it. I feel horrible!
Perhaps I should see a Pulmonary dr. Does anyone out there know a good Pulmonary dr. in or near The Villages?
Thanks.......

I'm a little baffled about why you were given prednisone. And once you had to stop the antibiotic your doc should have given you a full course of another. Has your physician ordered an X-ray to see if you have pneumonia? My advice would be to find a new physician. To find a pulmonary specialist why not call TVRH and ask for their physician referral office.

Had an xray?

The prednisone was for inflammation. A lot of time because colds are viruses an antibiotic doesn't do much so your doctor may have felt it wasn't needed. Now there may be a case for some bacterial involvement and antibiotics might be warranted.

I had colds I caught while tutoring in the kindergarten that started to get better but then turned into sinus infections and I coughed all the time. Was finally put on prednisone and 3 weeks of antibiotics and it finally went away. call your doctor and tell him you are still not well and how badly you are coughing.

Get an x-ray, also very important if you are a smoker or had been a frequent smoker get a spiral ct scan--another aspect get allergy tests.

Up north I would get a very bad cough from allergies and it would go into bronchitis. Once it went to walking pneumonia. It happened to me every fall with ragweed and mold from fall leaves. Z-pack combined with prednisone combined would knock it out of me. You should really get a chest x-ray to see what's what. My pulmonologist is Dr. Upadaya at The Summit office park on 466 near Rolling Acres Rd and across from Village Palms. Her husband is my cardiologist at Creekside office park. Good luck and hope you feel better.

Could your bronchial tubes be infected.

My mother got it...gave it to me.....she just spent 5 days in the hospital.

Me...I finally got over it after over a week and I am never sick!

Best of luck!

If you need antibiotics again, pick up some probiotics at the same time. The antibiotics kill all the bacteria, and some of them are there to do your body good. It may help prevent another bout of diarrhea. Yogurt is good too.

No, I asked for one but Quick med doc said he could hear my lungs fine and diagnosed walking pneumonia, plus colitis.

illness
 

The prednisone was partially for the tendonitis I got in my shoulder from taking Levaquin mixed with prednisone last month. I wrote about it on Talk a few weeks back, and warned people NOT to take Levaquin with steroids. Doc said prednisone would help the shoulder pain, which it did in only 4 days, but that it should also help my congestion. Which it didn't.

I am still going to search for a Pulmonary specialist because this has happened 2x in 2 months. Still asking everyone if they have a good Pulmonary doc. Thanks for your advice. I mentioned to others that I just got home from quick med and was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and colitis.

Dr. Upadaya
 

Thanks for the name of the doctor. I assume you like her a lot.

Have never taken probiotics. I did get some yogurt. He has put me on something for the diarrhea........this afternoon said I have colitis and walking pneumomia.

If your cough is productive you should be seeing a pulmonologist who would take a culture of your sputum. My husband had two very serious lung bacteria that could only be detected by taking a culture. His pulmonologist is Dr. Raul Carrillo, 352-391-1115. Good luck, don't waste any more time. It could be nothing, but then again why take a chance.

My husband goes to Dr. Upadya also. She was highly recommended.