Too sick to ride :(

I've had a cough for 3 weeks. First the NP I saw at urgent care thought it was asthma. So they dosed me up on steroids (prednisone & flovent + albuterol). A week later, the doctor said "Allergies" so 3 weeks of prednisone, flonase, flovent, albuterol + benzonatate (cough pill). I also started taking zyrtec too.

None of it helped and last night I went back in b/c I've coughed so much my ribcage muscles are spasming!

This PA said it could be pnemonia or pertussis (whooping cough). Chest xray was clear. But after all those steroids, it HAS to be something other than allergies. So now I'm trying to slowly ramp down the Prednisone and also am on z-pack antibiotics.

Banned from my workplace for 5 days or if the state swab shows I'm negative for pertussis.

And I stopped riding b/c it would zap every last ounce of energy I had :(

My DH bought me my dream bike. It's supposed to be ready Friday. I don't know if I can even go in! I will have to be done coughing or have heard back from the state that it is negative for pertussis or I will have to cancel my fitting. I wouldn't want to spread it to the bike guys.

Wah! My sister (a pediatrician) said that if it is whooping cough, even with antibiotics, it can take 6-10 weeks to recover. I may just be out for the rest of the year at this point.....

So that is my ultimate whine. I really just want to feel better and get back on my bike. And be a better mom, and get more productive at work.... but mostly want to get on my new bike and rideeeeee!

Bummer!

Wishing you a speedy recovery and a break from coughing.
I've known a couple people with pertussis who didn't feel very sick. Maybe you'll be banished from work, and feel ok, stuck with that new dream bike and nothing to do but ride...

DS #1 had pertussis when he was 14. We spent 3-4 weeks thinking it was allergies, when it got suddenly worse; I had to go into the bathroom when he was in the shower, as he had a spasm and "whooping" and I really thought he was going to die. Needless to say, no 14 year old boy wants his mother coming into the shower with him, but he was so sick, he didn't care. He looked pale and sickly for about 8 weeks after taking the antibiotics. In retrospect, he got this at camp from someone who said he had "bronchitis." He wasn't better until Thanksgiving or so.
But pertussis is a particular type of cough. Have you had the "whooping" sound? DS sounded like a barking seal.

I haven't had the barking but they say only 20% of adults "whoop". I should know Friday or Monday if this is what it is. I hope not b/c I had been going around my normal life (even in church nursery) since I had been told by 2 practitioners that it was just allergies.

I feel a teensy bit better this morning. I can't wait to wean off these steroids. I feel so jumpy!!

Thanks for listening to my whining last night. I was feeling desparate. I really don't think I can ride for a while. I had been up until last Saturday but it really depleted my energy and I would cough worse afterwards.

Wow, whatever it is, hope it clears up soon.

You're right to stay off the bike. Years ago I had a plain old garden variety sinus infection for 11 weeks and who knows how many rounds of antibiotics, all because I wouldn't stay off the bike. I finally had to take a week not only off the bike, but off work, before I got better.

It's frustrating I know, especially with a new bike on the way, but do rest.

I'm still sick. Haven't been riding much in weeks. I did 10 miles a few times but even that was difficult. I didn't end up haing whooping cough but I do currently have Pleurisy which is a painful chest due to 5 weeks of coughing. I'm so bummed b/c we are having an unusually beautiful indian summer.

(((((warneral))))) That stinks.

Do you have someplace you can at least sit outside and read? Sunshine and fresh air are wonderful all by themselves, even if you don't get to ride.

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Originally Posted by warneral

I'm still sick. Haven't been riding much in weeks. I did 10 miles a few times but even that was difficult. I didn't end up haing whooping cough but I do currently have Pleurisy which is a painful chest due to 5 weeks of coughing. I'm so bummed b/c we are having an unusually beautiful indian summer.

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Glad to hear you don't have whooping cough, but Pleurisy isn't fun either. I KNOW it is hard to stay off the bike, and the nice weather isn't helping. Hopefully the nice weather will outlast your pleurisy so you can enjoy some of it on your lovely new bike!

At least you were smart to get off the bike when you did. If I had taken a break back when I first hurt my leg, it may have already been healed :o

This time of year it is really hard to listen to your body!

I did take my kiddos and their friends to a beautiful path in Middleton that crosses over 4 bridges - with flat rocks to walk acrosss. It was so beautiful! My dog liked wading through the river. Just the smells were enough to satisfy my fall-yearning :) I also took the kids on a bike ride over to where we pick up our CSA veggies. It is about 1 mile each way. That was as much as my littl 6yo could muster :) So I did get to enjoy the weather yesterday without overdoing it. What I wouldn't do for a 30mi bike ride though!

I hear ya! Earlier this year I got sick with a cough that lasted 2+months. It wasn't as bad as yours, though. They also thought it was allergies, but NOTHING that I took helped me. I had this stupid post nasal drip and I would just cough and cough. I actually felt okay when riding (I dont know why), and I would only occasionally have issues with breathing while riding. But once I got off the bike, all the crap would drain and I would cough, cough, cough.
Then, one day, it stopped.....

Pleurisy is miserable!! I hope you feel better soon.

I've noticed a big improvement in the last 2 days. The pain from the pleurisy is subsiding :) I was able to take a 20mi paved ride today which was very refreshing. It feels so good to be mostly better :)

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Originally Posted by warneral

I've noticed a big improvement in the last 2 days. The pain from the pleurisy is subsiding :) I was able to take a 20mi paved ride today which was very refreshing. It feels so good to be mostly better :)

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Glad to hear that you are starting to feel better and that you had a nice ride today! My hamstring is feeling much better and I am hoping for a similar ride tomorrow :)

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

A few years ago I had walking pneumonia. Many rounds of antibiotics and steroids later, a very old physician happened to be in the office, and he knew what it was right away. There are only two specific antibiotics that work on WP, and I got better soon after.

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Let's see...would those be azithromycin and erythromycin? (I'm assuming by walking pneumonia you mean Mycoplasma pneumoniae).

I've been coughing and congested for about a month now -- first week had sore throat, then went into chest and body aches, fever in the 2nd week. Then 3rd week of awful, uncontrollable coughing, sneezing. Now in fourth week, it's sporadic coughing and congestion. I wake up every morning drowning in congestion. What the heck?

I'm not sure what I had but my sister (a doctor) thinks it was a sinus infection/viral that turned infectious. I did end up on z-pack which helped my chest but it all moved to my sinuses. She actually overnighted me amoxicillan (sp?) b/c our doctors aren't very heplful with antibiotics even after a month of being sick. Thankfully I am really doing better. Rode 25mi today. The 4 tissues I packed were NOT enough though! UGH!.... I need to strap a whole kleenex box on my bike next ride :D

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

Correct on the mycoplasmic bacteria. I have no idea what drugs, so am assuming you know.

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I looked it up just to check myself and it's actually two classes of drugs--macrolides (which include azithromycin, erythromycin and a few others) and tetracyclines. Usually azithromycin is used, and that's the one I have always seen. So...I was half right!