not a welly girly

I don't mean to alarm you but you must be proactive. Rereading your posts I note you HAVE had a blood test. However you must get a GP visit

INSIST on a GP visit!! You need a blood test asap. Last March I became ill with a sore throat. It felt 'different' , my glands were swollen and I felt very weak. I was refused a GP visit as I was not deemed to be housebound and just prescribed strong painkillers. Two weeks and several phone calls to the surgery later a GP finally visited. She couldn't give me a blood test at home (?) so my husband had to practically carry me to the pathology lab of our local hospital. Two hour later I received a phone call from the GP - she was sending an ambulance for me as the blood test revealed I had a severe infection. After being admitted to hospital and while still undergoing tests I lost consciousness and regained it three days later to find myself hooked up to intravenous drips in intensive care. I had developed septicaemia and meningitis from the original bacterial throat infection.
I was in hospital for five weeks and was told I was very lucky to survive. It has taken many months for me to get back on my feel but I seem to have come out of it relatively unscathed, apart from a few memory problems.
GET A GP VISIT asap and don't bother with 111.

It's time your doctor's surgery met you, then, and did something to justify the money they are getting just for having you on their books. Phone them and tell the dragon receptionist all that you have told us, not missing out any of the details and definitely not acting as though you "don't do ill" You ARE ill now, so you should act it!

Thanks for your advice Katek I was in hospital last Saturday night/Sunday morning due to breathing difficulties. I had a chest xray and blood tests and have shown as a viral chest infection. I was sent home to 'rest', antibiotics won't help.
After a month of just feeling so rough (the coughing part didn't kick in until about 2 weeks of feeling generally exhausted/run down) now I really could just do with some encouragement from others here that this 'thing' will eventually go. it just doesn't feel I'll ever feel well again, I don't 'do ill' and haven't been near a doctor's for over four years (and I have a sleigh ride to organise here on the 25th)

Call your surgery as soon as it opens and insist on a home visit. You really need to get this checked out by a doctor...it may initially have been a viral infection but a secondary bacterial infection can develop quite quickly. I know it's hard to push past the bureaucracy especially when you feel so unwell but you need to be seen before the weekend. Let us know how you get on

Oh, I'm sorry you're not able to sleep again, and or get respite from your cough boheminan. Sickness seems worse at night, doesn't it? I hope you call your doctor again in the morning. Even viral infections require close monitoring and maybe some other/different medications for your coughing. Don't hesitate to call 911. They're here to help us through this very thing. Sending best wishes

It's gone 3.00am and I'm sat here after another sleepless night. I still have what the hospital assures me is a viral chest infection, so can have no antibiotics, just paracetamol every few hours.

This is over two weeks of constant painful coughing, day and night. I'm trying to sleep sitting up, and so doze fitfully, always to be roused a couple of times over night with a terrifying retching cough that constricts my throat, I can't breathe, I'm exhausted and on my own.

Please, has anyone else gone through this? how long does it go on for?

It is on my Kindle fire. I am using my I-Pad now so can't post one. Look at me showing off!! I didn't know it showed up as a square on some peoples "appliances" it is an emoticon on mine.

Ooh, I can see that!!
But he/she looks a bit pale

Like this ☺ but bigger...

I am feeling excluded

It's a tiny little smiley face!

It looks like the 'save' icon in Word!

It is an emoticon that she can post but you can't see. A sort of "This is where something would be, but it isn't"

annsixty do you know what all these little squares are in people's posts?
There is one at the end of yours

Oh good I hope you feel better soon?

annsixty thanks for your concern but the hot lemon drinks are just that - hot water, lemon - and honey! .
The most useful self-help tip staff at the hospital recommended is doing frequent steam inhaling (Albus oil) which kind of blows the cobwebs away!

Wishing you a speedy recovery but was a bit alarmed to read you were taking regular doses of paracetamol AND hot lemon drinks. Please be careful you are not taking too much.

wishing you a speedy recovery bohemian and a hug (((()))))

Glad you are now Ok (ish) bohemigran I suppose it takes time for a swab test to show whether it is viral or bacterial, and if you start straightaway on the antibiotics it is possible that they will work quickly.

Have just returned from a night in A&E. I had a spasm late last night where i just couldn't draw in any air, so phoned 111, who after asking questions sent paramedics to me.

I had blood and test, chest x ray and was monitored all night. I only have praise for the whole NHS system, fast and polite. Seems my blood pressure's up, and the cause of the non-breathing is because I wasn't sleeping propped up (well, I started off propped up, but slipped down the pillows at some point).

The best thing to come out of it all is that it's been established as a viral rather than bacterial infection, so antibiotics will not work - I'll just have to resign to stiff upper lip after all.

I wonder why these infections are so hard to establish as viral or bacterial? knowing at the first obstacle would save an awful lot of anti-biotic prescriptions being doled out...

Don't give up on the antibiotics bo, they do take 48/72 hours to start working. Of course Amoxycillin may not be effective against your particular bacteria which would necessitate a change of meds. Best way to sort out whether you have viral or bacterial infection is to have sputum sample sent to lab for analysis and this will also determine correct choice of antibiotic. Don't let doc put you off-you need to get this sorted.

Sorry you're so poorly, Bohemian. I'm quite alarmed to hear that you're in bed and struggling to breathe. Please don't hesitate to call 999 and have an ambulance take you to A&E. Difficulty in breathing really is an emergency, and there's a lot they can do, like treat you with a nebuliser - it works really quickly.

So many people turn up to A&E with finger-ache, it's almost a pleasure to treat someone with a genuine illness when you know that you can help them feel better in a short time, so never worry about being thought a nuisance.

I really hope you'll be feeling back on top form in time for Christmas.

Good post MargaretinNorthants.

You are not whinging at all, chest infections make you feel absolutely lousy. Last Christmas Day I found myself in A & E with a patch on my lung, a chest infection and severe asthma attack. At 4 am that morning I truly thought I was going to die, I couldn't get my breath or stop coughing. I live alone with DD 15 mins away, but I wasn't going to call her at that time of night. I ended up having X-Ray's, 2 sessions on the nebuliser and being sent home with 2 lots of anti-biotics, which very helpfully made me sick. I swear they came back faster than they went down. It was touch and go as to whether I had to stay in or not. I think it was about five months before I felt really right again. Such illnesses are frightening when you live alone, and the nights seem endless. I had pneumonia first when 11 years old and was treated with the infamous M & B....... Side effects worse than the illness and they were huge tablets for an 11 year old to get down. Pamper yourself, do as little as possible and save your strength for healing. Lots to drink and eat what you fancy, especially while you feel rough, never mind about eating " properly" at this stage. Sleep when you can, at any old time of the day or night. The body knows what it needs. I found the kindle a godsend, or rather the kindle ap on the iPad. I could download a whole heap of stuff from Amazon and read as and when the mood took me. A lot of chemists round here do a delivery for prescriptions, and stand your ground with the Dr about home visits, if you really are that ill they WILL come to you. I do hope you feel better soon. If you are prone to chest infections one tip I learned was to wash your hands using soap frequently, apparently we pick up the bugs on our hands and then they get transferred to our mouths.
Margaret