Bronchitis

I've come across a nasty disease. I haven't the foggiest what it is but I've got it.

It seems to be going around, several friends I saw last weekend socially have the same malady at the moment.

It started on Friday night with a sore throat. So I had some tea and I went to bed early.

I woke up in the morning with a tight chest, full of fluid. Sometimes this is caused by a bad allergy attack in the night that gives me asthma. So I carried on and went off on my social engagements. That evening I got a few little twinges that it was not a mere asthma attack. My lungs did not clear and a flush came over me several times.

I took my temperature, but it was normal, but I went to bed anyway around eleven.

The next morning it was obvious I was sick. The chest congestion was now productive and bright orange, foul tasting and giving me a frightful wheeze. So I got up early, showered and called my doctor's office. I'm fortunate to have a primary care doctor who has weekend hours. They're probably not the best doctors in the world but they see lots of patients and are reasonable and of course so accommodating to fit me in when I'm sick.

So, I went in when they opened and they confirmed that I had a fever (only 100 at the time) and some light congestion in my upper airways.

A bunch of prescriptions - zithromax for the lungs (though no confirmation that it is bacterial but with people with compromised lungs, we weren't willing to take a chance). Some advair for my lungs to ease the irritation and swelling. Some allergy pills. Some cough suppresant (phenergan).

The fever seemed to peak on Tuesday early morning at 102.4. I've been alternating between ibuprofen and tylenol for the fever and aches.

I have no idea what this is. It started in the lungs, which is quite unlike a cold. Maybe it's a flu, so the antibiotics will only keep me from getting worse, and the rest of it is up to my own system.

This, of course, has nothing to do with my hysterectomy. I get bronchitis usually every other year, but I did have it last year around this time. The only bearing it has on my recovery is that I've been coughing so hard and working my abdominal muscles so much that my belly is swollen and tender again. But I hardly notice that pain on top of the way the fever makes my hands arthritic and my back ache with every inhale.

I've been off work the whole week so far. I'm hoping to feel well enough to go in tomorrow. I have relatives coming to visit tomorrow for the long weekend, so I must get myself feeling better.

For now I'm bound to couch and bed, drinking a gallon of water a day.

Posted by Elizabeth M. on February 16, 2005 12:18 PM