So I finally went to the doctor today after being sick for 3 weeks. Between working for two PD's on shifts, not eating right, and not having the time to exercise, I was bouncing between getting better and relapsing. So here I am, having to explain to 2 Chiefs why I can't work. Anybody have any suggestions for relief? I can barely breathe and I get lightheaded at the slightest exertion. Help! How long will I be off work? Part time LEO's don't get disability comp for time off. Is this really bad news?

Had it a few years ago too. The best thing you can do is to follow the doctor's orders: Stay in bed, rest up, take your meds and don't (under any circumstances) go back to work until you're fully recovered. Not only can this condition be life threatening, it can be chronic if you don't stay off your feet to fully recover. Recover your health fully, then worry about work.

Lay still, very, very, still.

Get a pneumonia shot after you get better. Good for 10 years or the rest of your life depending on how old you are.

When I had it the doctor said I had two choices.

1. Stay in bed, rest, take your meds and get better or 2. Don't do #1, get sicker, and die.

I picked #1 and I think you should too. Catch up on some reading.

Do everything the doc says to get rid of it ASAP. I let it linger 2 years ago and ended up hospitalized for a week, 5 days in ICU, getting stabbed in the back to drain fluid from my lungs, went blind temporarily (4 months) because both eyes hemorrhaged, endless blood tests, etc. According to them, I was days away from death. I wish you well, that you don't have to go through what I did.

Did your MD prescribe a nebulizer with an inhalant such a pulmacort ? That really helped me.

Stay in a warm bed and only get up for the bathroom.

1. Get medical advice from your physician.
2. I've had pneumonia 4 times. Don't screw with it. Jim Henson (the Muppets)- dead, Bernie Mac - dead, tens of millions of people worldwide after WW1 weakened by Spanish Influenza (probably Asian avian flu), millions of weak or elderly every year - dead, all killed off by pneumonia.
3. Take your antibiotics - all of them - exactly as prescribed. If you are supposed to get a chest X-ray, do so.
4. Take it easy & rest.
5. Do short easy walks and get a little sunshine.

Turn your air conditioning down to about 65. Get a nice big towel and wet it down real good. Then wrap it around your head and relax. Dont eat anything for a few days and don't even think about washing your hands for a few days.

Oh, wait... Don't do that. Thats about the worst thing you can do.

I agrree that you should rest and take the meds they gave you. I had it and did not know it and it went to another level called Pleurisy. Very painful they took me in thinking I was having a heart attack. An infection which attacks the lining surrounding your lungs, as your lungs expand and touch the Pleura the pain is unbearable.
Take good care of yourself.

What I learned in medical school was:
"pneumonia is the old man's friend".
There, wasn't that helpful?

Seriously, drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest until you get your energy back. Don't miss your antibiotic doses.

Levaquin.
Albuterol.
Prednisone.
Tussionex.
Rest.

Just like everybody else said... rest, take your meds and rest some more. I had it for 3 weeks before seeing a doc and it took a month to fully recover. I'm sure it would have taken less time to heal if I stayed in bed and rested though.

I had it when I was in Basic Training at Ft. Polk in 72, not fun to have while in the Army and in Basic. I don't remember them really doing anything but putting me in the old hospital in a ward with all the other sick soldiers.

It knocked my ass. Good luck with it.

Thanks for all the help guys. Looks like I'm going to be spending alot of time in front of the xbox and on sigforum. I'm on a mycin of some sort, alubetrol inhaler, hydrocone liquid, and had a chest xray today with lots of little white spots in my lungs. The Rad Tech wouldn't tell me what they were. I would imagine that it is what feels like broken glass in my chest. My Chiefs were none too pleased when I told them, I'll be losing 64 hours a week until I can get back to work, not including my mind with nothing to do. Definately not making rent this month.

Do what the Doc says, and if you smoke this would be a good time to quit.

quote:

Originally posted by sandman08:
Levaquin.
Albuterol.
Prednisone.
Tussionex.
Rest.

OUCH!!

Don't give folks the impression that that's a recipe for treating pneumonia! While it's appropriate in SOME instances, it's not for everybody or every case of pneumonia!

Pneumonia's nothing to screw with.

You can either lay low and take the doctor's advice as gospel and be better in a couple weeks, do it half assed and take forever to heal, or ignore it and die. Your choice.

Afterward, find a fulltime LE job with bennies and a Chief that treats his officers right.

Amen to what everyone has said. Especially from those who've had it. The older you are the more dangerous it is. My advice is the same as everyone else's. Don't screw with it one iota. Do EXACTLY what your doctor tells you to do, and that's that. Dying is a real possibility with this disease, so don't screw around with it.

Do whatever the Dr. tells you and be prepared to rest for a long time. Even when you get "better," it can take a long while to get back to 100%. Listen to the good advice people on this board have given you. Most of the people I know who messed around with it ended up in big trouble. Respiratory illness is not something to play around with.