Bronchitis/Pneumonia?

[nirvanainchains]

3 or 4 days ago I was hit by a flu, it cured but the itchy/weird feeling down my throat is still present, and when I cough,it would be like a “explosive cough” because of the phlegm, and I would spit a sometimes clear mucus/phlegm or sometimes yellowish. And just this morning I developed a back ache, is this the lungs aching? Is my lungs damaged? Bronchitis or Pneumonia perhaps? Or am I going for a dreaded Lung Cancer? Oh God.. Anyone with the same experience? I can‘t go for a doctor appointment since I’m broke and I don’t have a job yet. Please anyone who experienced this after a flu/cold.?.need your thoughts on this matter. Anyway, I am an average smoker( 4-6 sticks per day)

[MyNameIsTerry]

It will be the muscles around the core/ribs. The more you cough, the more they will end up aching. I've had that before and know others who have.

A chest infection is a possibility with the yellow mucus.

If it were symptoms of lung cancer, it wouldn't improve as you have mentioned. My GF's mum has stage IV lung cancer and it just intensified. And besides, you would be struggling with your breathing with that as she was. Put that out of your mind, basic infection or just aftermath of a cold/cough are the most likely culprits by far.

[GingerFish]

I've had pneumonia that developed from a normal flu and tbh, I didn't feel much different than from what I had the flu. I did bring up a lot of mucus and my cough was so frequent and bad that I fractured three ribs (didn't even think it was possible). The pain in your back most likely is muscle ache, I get this all the time after a cold or flu and can last days after I feel cured on every other front. Lung pain can be felt in the back but when I had pneumonia - all the pain I felt from my lung and my ribs was on the side of my chest. My back did hurt a bit but nothing compared to the side. If you back is tender to touch and the pain is worse when moving and not worse when breathing then that would also indicate that you have hurt your muscles and not your lung. I wouldn't worry about lung cancer at all in this case right now.

[nirvanainchains]

It will be the muscles around the core/ribs. The more you cough, the more they will end up aching. I've had that before and know others who have.

A chest infection is a possibility with the yellow mucus.

If it were symptoms of lung cancer, it wouldn't improve as you have mentioned. My GF's mum has stage IV lung cancer and it just intensified. And besides, you would be struggling with your breathing with that as she was. Put that out of your mind, basic infection or just aftermath of a cold/cough are the most likely culprits by far.

Sorry to hear that your GF's mum has cancer, is she on medication? Does she smoke? Can you recommend me any medication to take if this is indeed a chest infection? Or should I do nothing and just wait it out? Thanks Terry.

---------- Post added at 10:36 ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 ----------


I've had pneumonia that developed from a normal flu and tbh, I didn't feel much different than from what I had the flu. I did bring up a lot of mucus and my cough was so frequent and bad that I fractured three ribs (didn't even think it was possible). The pain in your back most likely is muscle ache, I get this all the time after a cold or flu and can last days after I feel cured on every other front. Lung pain can be felt in the back but when I had pneumonia - all the pain I felt from my lung and my ribs was on the side of my chest. My back did hurt a bit but nothing compared to the side. If you back is tender to touch and the pain is worse when moving and not worse when breathing then that would also indicate that you have hurt your muscles and not your lung. I wouldn't worry about lung cancer at all in this case right now.

Thank you for taking your time replying. Is pneumonia fatal or something that I should be worried about? I don’t want to Google 'cause those websites will just over state things that will make me more worried. Yes, it does hurt when I move parts that has a connection in my back like when I move my shoulders, so is this a confirmation that this is just a muscle pain? I don’t cough that much, I just cough when I feel that there is phlegm in my throat(kinda down my throat, it seems like in the airways, and sometimes when I’m lying down I would hear phlegm's gurgle sound when I breathe.)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Sorry to hear that your GF's mum has cancer, is she on medication? Does she smoke? Can you recommend me any medication to take if this is indeed a chest infection? Or should I do nothing and just wait it out? Thanks Terry.

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

No, she never smoked in her life and she was diagnosed with a smokers form of lung cancer which she was told was quite rare. She has just had her second round of chemo so it's a waiting game now. Stage IV is incurable but some last beyond 5 years so we are just hoping she is lucky.

If it's an infection then antibiotics would be what a doctor would prescribe. Your immune system may handle it on it's own and with you not have constant yellow mucus, you may be lucky there but if it doesn't go, antibiotics are the way to correct that. So, you could try and dose up on vitamin C and see if it helps, I got rid of a chest infection that way earlier in the year but I did catch it quickly. Prior to that I had always gone to my GP for antibiotics since it usually affected my asthma.

[CeeCeeCee]

[QUOTE=nirvanainchains;1527866] I can‘t go for a doctor appointment since I’m broke and I don’t have a job yet.


it is so sad that you can't see you GP because you don't have a job. I can't comprehend not just being able to pick up the phone and make an appointment. I don't get why the US don't have such a system.

The NHS was created "That it meet the needs of everyone; that it is free at the point of delivery; that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay"

It just shows us how we are so very lucky here in the UK as we don't think twice about making an appointment with our GP. This is why we have to make sure our NHS is saved and never in any way privatised.

So sorry to hear about how you are feeling, infection is an awful thing, it makes you feel so low and down as well as the physical side but it does sound like an infection. I agree about taking vit C, also hot lemon and honey and Paracetamol to alleviate the symptoms. Hope you feel better soon :-)

[nirvanainchains]

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

No, she never smoked in her life and she was diagnosed with a smokers form of lung cancer which she was told was quite rare. She has just had her second round of chemo so it's a waiting game now. Stage IV is incurable but some last beyond 5 years so we are just hoping she is lucky.

If it's an infection then antibiotics would be what a doctor would prescribe. Your immune system may handle it on it's own and with you not have constant yellow mucus, you may be lucky there but if it doesn't go, antibiotics are the way to correct that. So, you could try and dose up on vitamin C and see if it helps, I got rid of a chest infection that way earlier in the year but I did catch it quickly. Prior to that I had always gone to my GP for antibiotics since it usually affected my asthma.

God bless her, hoping she could stay long enough. Life is indeed so short. Okay, would you suggest Amoxycillin? I really need to get rid of this as soon as possible since I am doing some job interviews. Thank you again buddy.

---------- Post added at 13:39 ---------- Previous post was at 13:30 ----------


[QUOTE=nirvanainchains;1527866] I can‘t go for a doctor appointment since I’m broke and I don’t have a job yet.


it is so sad that you can't see you GP because you don't have a job. I can't comprehend not just being able to pick up the phone and make an appointment. I don't get why the US don't have such a system.

The NHS was created "That it meet the needs of everyone; that it is free at the point of delivery; that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay"

It just shows us how we are so very lucky here in the UK as we don't think twice about making an appointment with our GP. This is why we have to make sure our NHS is saved and never in any way privatised.

So sorry to hear about how you are feeling, infection is an awful thing, it makes you feel so low and down as well as the physical side but it does sound like an infection. I agree about taking vit C, also hot lemon and honey and Paracetamol to alleviate the symptoms. Hope you feel better soon :-)

If americans are unlucky, MY COUNTRY is one of those most unlucky places on this planet Earth. By the way, thank you for the response on my thread. I am not from US, I am actually from Philippines(A 3rd-world country located here in South-East Asia) and I really think that I am the only active asian on this Forum? Well, our Government has a big issue regarding corruption and budget is low on health services, such a poor country to live in. If I would have the abundance of Money I would go for GP visit every month. We have a health care system here but it’s not enough, for young adults like me who doesn't have a job yet( I’m 23). Thank you for wishing me to be well soon, I hope you’re feeling great too.

[CeeCeeCee]

Oh I see, I shouldn't have just presumed, the flag on your username is missing. Sorry to hear that about the health care there, we are just very lucky to have NHS.

[MyNameIsTerry]

God bless her, hoping she could stay long enough. Life is indeed so short. Okay, would you suggest Amoxycillin? I really need to get rid of this as soon as possible since I am doing some job interviews. Thank you again buddy.

Thanks again for the kind words.

I don't know which antibiotics are suitable (that's for a doctor) but I can say I have always been prescribed Amoxycillin for chest infections. The same when I had an infected wisdom tooth too prior to removal. My parents have mostly had that one too. It's probably a cheaper and more broad spectrum one, I guess.

[ItchyOne]

No, pneumonia is not fatal. I just recovered from pneumonia just two months ago. I think I caught it while traveling to India. My upper right back did hurt and my phlegm at that time was greenish yellow.
I'm not a doctor but I highly doubt it's lung cancer for you, most likely just an after effect of coughing too much. If the pain subside in a day or two , then you have nothing to worry about. :)

[Lin71]

Hello

The flu virus takes at least two weeks to get over, if not three...it sounds like you're suffering the after effects. Drink lots of water and try and rest when you can, give yourself time to recover before assuming there's a problem...I think this time next week you'll be fine :)

Lin

[GingerFish]

Sorry to hear that your GF's mum has cancer, is she on medication? Does she smoke? Can you recommend me any medication to take if this is indeed a chest infection? Or should I do nothing and just wait it out? Thanks Terry.

---------- Post added at 10:36 ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 ----------



Thank you for taking your time replying. Is pneumonia fatal or something that I should be worried about? I don’t want to Google 'cause those websites will just over state things that will make me more worried. Yes, it does hurt when I move parts that has a connection in my back like when I move my shoulders, so is this a confirmation that this is just a muscle pain? I don’t cough that much, I just cough when I feel that there is phlegm in my throat(kinda down my throat, it seems like in the airways, and sometimes when I’m lying down I would hear phlegm's gurgle sound when I breathe.)

Pneumonia can be fatal if its severe or you have immune deficiencies but if you had it, you would know all about it by now. The fact you aren't coughing much shows that it probably isn't pneumonia, I was coughing nearly every 10 seconds with it and managed to fracture 3 ribs from how often I was coughing and as for the gunk that is coming up when you cough, that is common after any cold/flu so I wouldn't worry about that and that is a good sign that the pain gets worse when you touch or move it as that indicates the pain is muscular. If your symptoms get worse or you get pain when you breathe, then I would advise getting checked out.

[Traceypo]

I've also had pneumonia, my main symptoms were feeling like my chest was being crushed with every breath and also feeling freezing (but with a high temp). I was prescribed two lots of antibiotics, one being amoxcillin. The other antibiotic made me violently sick so I was told to stop it, they said they only prescribed two incase one didn't respond.
Pneumonia is nasty, but if you're generally fit and well then hopefully it shouldn't cause any major problems.
Xx