In mid February of 2017, I came home from the gymnasium after playing basketball. I was a bit damp from playing and I didn't change into some dry clothes immediately. When I sat down and I could fell a little tickle in my throat.
After watching TV for a few hours, I got up and took a shower and then I went to bed. The next morning I felt bad. As the day went on, the worse I felt. I went to sleep for several hours during day. I was shivering and could not seem to get warm. I put on several things to keep warm; I put on a hoodie, skull cap, and two pair of socks. I wrapped up in a few blankets. The next day, I called into work.
Image Credit
I had flu like symptoms and started to feel a small pain in my side. My nose was running and I had head congestion. I started taking over the counter medicine, but it didn't help much. This lasted for a few days. My wife told me to make an appointment to see the doctor. So after about a week of feeling bad, I went to an urgent care facility near my house.
After the examination, the doctor told me that I had a viral infection and she prescribed Prednisone, an inhaler, and some cough medicine. I took the medication and I started to feel a little better, but a week later, I started to worse again. I called the doctor back and asked if she could call me in some antibiotics. She did and prescribed my some Amoxicillin. I took this for 6 days, but the sharp pain had returned on my left side.
I was really starting to get concerned. Oh, I forgot to mention, that I experienced some side effect from taking the Prednisone.
I could not sleep more that 4 - 5 hours at a time and there were nights that I didn't sleep 2 hours. I was not getting better and the lack of sleep really affecting me. I could remember one night when I woke up after sleeping only a couple of hours. I had a dreamed about me being sick.
Upon waking up I continued with the dream and I determine the reason I could breathe properly was because my lungs were programmed incorrectly. I had a variable mismatch that was disrupting my respiratory system. I thought about this for at least 20 minutes after waking up. Then it dawned on my that I was hallucinating. See I'm a computer programmer and during the past two weeks I had been working on a problem that I could not figure out.
The Prednisone had me 'trippin' and I didn't know it.
Image Credit
Before I completed my regime of Amoxicillin, the pain on my side returned and I breathing was very labor intensive. So I went back to the Urgent Care facility and the doctor gave me an X-Ray. The results came back negative. The doctor sent me home and told finish the rest of my antibiotics and I should feel better. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It has been a month since all of this started. I was getting really tired.
A week later, after working from home for the day, I ate and went to a meeting. On the way I could feel a intense pain across my chest and it was slow moving toward my left side. I finished my meeting and headed home. Upon arrival, my wife and I were talking and I had to take a breath after each sentence. My wife asked if I was feeling okay, I told her I was fine. But the more we talked she didn't believe me. She asked if I should go to the emergency room. I said no initially, but after waiting for another hour or so, I changed my mind and we left.
I check into the emergency room and the nurses were asking me what was wrong. I ran through the history of the last 6 weeks. I repeated the same story to the doctor when he came in. I told him that I could feel pain in my back as if I could feel 'cold' in my back. He looked like I was speaking a foreign language.
He had no idea what I was talking about. I was so disappointed, I couldn't believe he understand what I was saying. I knew what my body was telling me and what I felt. I start to cry... I was tired of being sick and being told by doctors that they could find anything wrong with me.
Image Credit
Anyway, the nurses started working on me. They gave me an IV with some saline solution, took blood out of both arms (after having poked me 4 or more times). I took another chest X-Ray. They gave me a breathing treatment containing Albuterol and some pain medication. Then I waited for a few hours while the results from the blood working and chest X-Ray was being processed.
A nurse returned with my X-Ray results and she told me that she could not make an official diagnosis because the doctor would have to provide me that information. However, she said I appeared to have Pneumonia and noticed discoloration in my lungs. She also asked me if I have pain or discomfort in my back area.
Ah ha! Finally, someone was validating what I had been feeling. I knew what I was feeling wasn't normal.
While waiting on the results, a nurse came back into the room as said the doctor saw something in my blood work. As a result they ask me if I had an embolism. I replied, 'You mean a blood clot?' I said no. The blood work indicated a high probability of an embolism, therefore, I had to take CAT Scan of my chest. In order to take the test you had to sign a waiver. They injected dye in me and the technician told me that I'll feel a very hot sensation and that I might fill like I have to urinate. I was a very weird feeling, Afterwards, I returned to the room and awaited the results of that test.
The doctor eventually returned and he reported his findings. He told me that my D-Dimer levels were 4 times the normal reading. This test indicates a probability of an embolism. He said the CAT Scan of my chest was negative.
Image Credit
The doctor said my X-Ray showed levels of fluid in my lungs. Thus he diagnosed me with Pneumonia. He prescribed a Athrithromax, Amoxicillian, and the dreaded Prednisone. This would be my second round of antibotics within the last 5 weeks. While taking my medication, specifically Prednisone, I noticed some similar side effects: inability to sleep and throat discomfort (Thrush). I took off work for a few days and then I returned to work the next week. I started to feel a bit better but that didn't last.
One day while at work, my supervisor saw me in the office and asked if I was feeling alright. I told her, I was feeling a bit worse and she told me to contact a specialist and make an appointment. I didn't do it right away. By the end of the week, I took her advice and went to see a Pulmonologist. Over the next few weeks, I took inhalers, asthma, and acid reflex medication. The specialist said that respiratory infections, acid reflex, and asthma all have similar symptoms.
I seem to be getting better, until one Monday while at work, I started to feel very bad and the pain in my left started to intensify. By Tuesday morning, I was having shortness of breath and it hurt to inhale and exhale. I returned to Pulmonologist and she was baffled. She thought I should not be experiencing Pneumonia like symptoms, however, I told her that it felt the same as before. At my request, she ordered X-Ray and gave me a steroid shot. She said if the result comes back positive, she will call in a prescription for me. Well a couple of days later, a nurse called my and told me the X-Ray indicated Pnuemonia. Now this is the 2nd time, I've had this within the last 60 days.
The doctor prescribed a new antibotic, Doxycycline. I took off of work for the next week and I rested and took my medication. Two weeks later I was driving to lunch, I noticed that I didn't feel sick anymore. My breathing was normal and pain free. I didn't have any discomfort at all.
Going forward, I will take the flu shot. Also, I plan to get a pneumonia shot as well. I can't remember ever being sick that long in my life. I glad the Lord allow me to recover.
In the future, I'll use this experience to stay to:
- Staying persistent
- Keep seeking medical care regardless of test results and diagnosis if I don't feel better
- Shop around for the best prices for medical tests (X-Rays, CAT Scans, Ultrasounds, etc.... The prices vary to over 300% between providers)
Thanks for reading,
Note: All the images are property of the copyright owners. I claim no authorship.