Hope you ARE resting. Are you using a nebulizer several times a day to help clear your lungs? Four times daily helped me a lot.

I am so sorry you are sick, and sorry you had to cancel your fun plans.

Hoping for a speedy recovery!

My mom was put in the hospital last night for a cold that is just short of turning into pneumonia. Timing is never good for getting sick! I hope you feel better soon!

Sorry to hear you're so sick. Hope you get to feeling better.

Stomach virus is going around here in my area. It irks me that people won't stay home and spare those that have not yet been exposed.

I think stress makes you more vulnerable to illness. Take good care of yourself. Better days are ahead.

Hope you are much better soon. Be careful....pneumonia can knock you for a loop.

Darn I just made chicken soup and wish I could virtually send you some. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Get well thoughts for you!

Rest up and thank the researchers for penicillin.

Hope you are better soon!! And you have more time to spend with us now :)

After all the stress, it's your body's way of telling you to slow down.

Take care of yourself.

so sorry that you are sick.

phoggie, I can completely empathize. Came down with double pneumonia Jan. 25, took 10 days of meds and then felt good until Feb. 22 and x-rays showed I had double pneumonia again. Either it was not completely cleared the first time, or else I was exposed again while my immune system was still recovering. As others have said, make sure you drink lots of fluids and even though you may not feel hungry, be sure you eat. High protein meals are better than high carbs at this time. And, from this old RN, chicken soup DOES help. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

I'm so glad you went to the doctor, sooner rather than later. Please put your feet up, take lots of naps. It's a shame about your plans, but hopefully you can knock this back quickly and reschedule some of the things that would have been fun.

Are you well stocked at home, or do you have someone who can bring you some things if you need?

That'll teach you to try to have fun! ;-) Seriously, Phoggie, do what you need to do to get well. Soon!

I hope that you feel better really soon!

Take care of yourself!

get well thoughts coming your way-feel better soon!

Take care and get healthy soon.

Take good care of yourself....the quicker you heal the quicker you can get back to fun. Then, start popping those Vitamin C pills to ward off further fun set backs!

Get some rest and hope you feel better soon.

Sorry you are sick. Ditto all the good advice you have gotten here! Just curious...have you had the pneumonia shots?

Hope you feel better soon!

Yes, Wanda, I have had the pneumonia shot :-(

morz8, I am fortunate to have a wonderful DIL, who has offered to get me anything I might need.

gnatz, oh my gosh, I certainly hope I can kick this once and for all..sorry you had to go through this crap twice!

lukkiirish, I hope your mom is recovering nicely.

Sending healing thoughts your way

I want to add my name to the well wishers list. So sorry that hit you. Take it easy, and get well.

Moni

Sending you lots of Get Well Soon wishes. Get lots of vitamin C in you along with plenty of fluids. Don't lie flat. I'm sure you were probably put on antibiotics. Please take some probiotics to put "good" bacteria back in your body that the antibiotics are killing off.

Well that just is the pitts! Here you are doing good deeds and your reward is a big sick! Pneumonia is serious, deaths occur from pneumonia when it gets out of control. Take it seriously and get rest and relaxation stay very hydrated and take your vitamins, you don't want to get depleted. I recommend drinking orange juice with a packet of emergen C in it. I stock up on boxes of emergen C during cold season and drink it regularly. It contains the things that need to be kept in good balance.

I also utilize a netti pot to keep the sinuses flushed out and try to avoid getting a sinus infection too.

Hoping that you have a very quick recovery.

www.emergenc.com/products I love the pomegranate-cranberry one

I'm sorry you're so sick, phoggie. I hope you're resting well and soon on the mend.

Hope you get well soon!

JoAnna and AAA, where/how do you find those cute cards?...appreciate them.

I am so tried of this unending non-productive coughing! My back and ribs hurt so badly that it is hard to take a deep breath. I am not sleeping well in my bed trying to keep my head elevated, so think I will "try" to sleep in a recliner tonight.

Because of acid, I can not drink orange juice...sure wish I could...but thanks suggestion..also, I am to rather limit my water intake...it washes our my sodium and then I get into trouble with heart rhythm. If I don't have some relief by Friday, I will call Dr and see if I might do something different....hate to go through weekend getting worse.

Anyone had pneumonia shot and then get pneumonia? I had mine in fall of 2011, but understand they are now saying we need a booster in 5 years...true?

i really appreciate your sweet messages....gives me a reason to come to the table:-)

If at all possible, please head to the doctor tomorrow. You shouldn't be hurting from the cough! Also, the fact that you can't drink much must be a concern...

phoggie, there are now two types pneumonia shots. The standard one that has been around for some time - Pneumovax, and now a new recommendation of just a little over a year ago for the Prevnar 13 pneumonia shot that covers 13 other strains.

Both of us had the original shot somewhat young. DH had one in 2001, I had one in 2008 at age 58. We both got the Prevnar 13 a year ago, and were told then to have a booster of that first pneumonia shot we had years ago and to do it sometime this year. We haven't gotten around to it yet, but should do that soon.

I hope you're feeling better before much longer, had hoped when we heard from you there would be some improvement with the start of your prescription. I agree a call to your doctor may be in order if your cough hurts. Let us know...

To answer your question about the booster for Pneumovax shot after 5 years - needing a booster isn't true for everyone.

"Revaccination 5 years after the first dose of PPSV23 (Pneumovax) is recommended for 1) children and adults younger than age 65 years at highest risk for serious pneumococcal infection or who are likely to have a rapid decline in antibody levels and 2) adults age 65 years and older who received their first dose for any indication when they were younger than age 65 years. Adults who receive PPSV23 (pneumovax) at or after age 65 years should receive only a single dose."

Phoggie please ask your dr. for a cough suppressant as anyone with pneumonia should be taking it. Excess coughing lowers your immune system through exhaustion. One with codeine will give you the sleep you need to heal. God bless.

Call your MD now. If you don't improve with further medication he prescribes, go do the ER.

Last March I was coughing to exhaustion. I had two office visits with my MD and was given three increasingly stronger cough syrups -- all with codeine. None helped. Less than 24 hours after I saw my MD I asked my Dh to take me to the ER. My oxygen levels were dangerously low. I was hospitalized for four days.

The pulmonary specialist in the hospital immediately began nebulizer treatments every four hours around the clock. She gave me Benzonatate 100 MG capsules for the cough; it worked. (They are tiny capsules that resemble Vit. E capsules.) I was on an IV for three days. (They could balance your sodium levels while flushing your system with saline.)

My MD had the nerve to call the day after I was admitted 'to check on me' and to say, "I thought that's where you'd end up." He is no longer my doctor.

There's no reason to wait this out if you are not improving. Right now you are going downhill.

Take good care,If I were you, I would follow the advice of these smart ladies. Hoping for a quick recovery.

What a pain! Pneumonia can be very nasty, so rest, take your meds, and do as little as possible. Hope you feel better soon.

Okay... You wise ones convinced me...I have another dr appointment in the morning....thanks for your advice. When I called his nurse, she said I should not go I to the weekend sounding like this.

phoggie, I have a ton saved or usually I will google (images) what I want then save it and use it again later.

I hope you're on the mend!

Had to go back to doctor this morning...option #1 was go to the hospital...option #2 was two shots in rear end, an additional antibiotic, breathing treatments, chest x-Ray and blood work...I chose option #2. But am to go back Monday and if not greatly improved, then I will be entered in hospital.

Darn, I keep hoping for a little news of improvement. I know you are an intelligent woman so will just have to assume you made the right decision by going home again after your appointment. It almost sounds like they covered just about anything they would do in the hospital at your appointment, except keep an eye on you, make sure you rest. Hopefully today's treatment will have some positive effect....if by any chance you feel at all worse tomorrow, you'll go to the hospital though, right?

What about the cough?

Do you have a nebulizer at home? (The ampules will make it harder to sleep, but you need to clear those lungs.)

I was better, sooner, for my short stay in the hospital. (Also made me grateful. I was one of the few on the pulmonary ward who walked out and went home. Others would go from there to ICU...and then to the morgue.) TOBACCO KILLS!

Morz8...yes, I promised I would go to ER if I feel any worse, get a higher fever, cough more/deeper, etc. I only live 4 blocks from hospital and my son and wife live across the street from me and they would be here in a heartbeat to take me. I have seen so many go to hospital and get staff or strep infections, so I really do not go unless absolutely necessary.

Chisue, I don't seem to be coughing as much or as hard tonight...so maybe things are settling down some...but when I do cough, it is painful across my back, but part of that might be sore muscles because of the extremely hard coughing I did for several days. I have an aerosol inhaler that I am to use 3xdaily. My oxygen level was 94 today.

I am just hanging out...taking it easy...and I believe better days are coming...but I know I will probably have a lingering cough and fatigue for quite some time. Thanks for thinking of me and wishing me well.

You may be feeling some fatigue for a while, I think you could be correct guessing that. I'm breathing easier now myself knowing your son and DIL are across the street ;) You're going to be fine, just follow your directions, be patient....

Did any of the nurses suggest you hold a pillow to your chest and tummy when you cough? It may help the back and rib pain if you can keep one within reach.

It may take awhile to recover and one day after sleeping and sleeping you will wake up and feel like you're on a upswing. Keep in touch. I'll be looking for your posts.

The inhaler doesn't seem *enough* to me. Did they have you use a nebulizer in the doctor's office? Your MD can prescribe this -- free to you thanks to Medicare. The albuterol ampules are cheap. Very simple to use for a few minutes several times a day.

I was aghast to have to be in hospital with my pneumonia, but it was necessary. I was also amazed to find that my four day hospital stay -- including the ER -- cost me only $1800 out of pocket. I never reached my high-deductible supplemental policy's $2200. Medicare paid all but that $1800 for hospital and doctors.

I'm glad you were able to get some medical attention and wish you cough-free days ahead. It sounds like you are already feeling a bit better, maybe due to the antibiotic. Rest well, Phoggie.

Thanks for the well wishes, she's on the mend but still in the hospital. To me, that's a good thing, at 84, they can keep a closer eye on her. I hope you're on the mend too but don't procrastinate on going in to get looked at.