pneumonia - how long to recover?

[TsPoet]

I've been short of breath all spring, I've had exercise induced asthma my whole life, I thought maybe it was getting worse.
I got a cold 2 weeks ago and... pneumonia. After 6 days on antibiotics I'm over the cold, but still feel like I did a month ago, and I'm coughing up just a wee bit of red in the mornings.
Anybody have pneumonia, walking or otherwise, when do you get over it? Tuesday when I went on antibiotics the doc (in the box) told me it would take 2 days and I'd feel fine. I even told him I had a bike camping trip planned Friday (20 miles) and Saturday (50 miles home) and he said I wouldn't have a problem.
I got 1.5 miles down the road, feeling awesome. All of a sudden no matter what I did I couldn't take any air in (so not asthma). We turned around and drove to the campsite.
I'm wondering if I should go back again, or if my expectations were just too high. I really feel darned good, as good as I did a month ago. In fact, thinking of riding in tomorrow.

[Biciclista]

I'd say a month, but i'm not a doctor. take it slow, pneumonia is nothing to fool around with

[KnottedYet]

Coughing up blood (even if it's just a "wee bit") means you are not healthy.

Contact your doctor.

[ultraviolet]

I had pneumonia once as a kid, and it left me pretty susceptible to it.

Since then, I've had full-blown pneumonia once and walking pneumonia several times as an adult. Every time it's taken me at least a week to return to feeling mostly human, and several weeks to feel confident doing anything resembling exercise.

Don't push yourself too hard, too soon. That's a quick path to making yourself more sick and stretching your recovery time out even further. It sucks, but patience with your body is your best friend here. It just takes time to heal.

[GingerbreadGirl]

I've had it quite badly, was hospitalized with it twice. I also have lupus so I weaken fast, but it is nothing to play on its own with either. Left untreated you can tear/rupture a lung (like I did). Also there are times when one medication doesn't do the trick and you may have to try another one or a second cycle. Believe it or not there are such things as lung pysical therapy also if you have trouble recovering. It hurts, you don't want to go there.

Did they do xrays? Did they take a culture? Are you coughing up mucus?

Listen to your body!

[ny biker]

I agree with what's already been said.

I'm curious what asthma symptoms you usually experience. Inability to breathe in can be a symptom of restricted airways in an asthma attack.

[goldfinch]

I also have asthma and it ends up aggravated when I get pneumonia. You need to go back to the doctor, it could be that you will need a different antibiotic or you asthma may be out of whack. I have had pneumonia twice. Two years ago I got it and coughed so hard that I broke a rib. Needless to say, it took me a while to come back to good health.

[TsPoet]

Did they do xrays? Did they take a culture? Are you coughing up mucus?

Listen to your body!

yes on the x-rays, just looked like filmy blobs to me the doc was concerned when he asked me to cough and I couldn't stop once I started. No on the culture, just gave me high dose broad spectrum antibiotic. 500 mg BD clarithromycin

I agree with what's already been said.

I'm curious what asthma symptoms you usually experience. Inability to breathe in can be a symptom of restricted airways in an asthma attack.

Interesting, I had to look this up, with EIA, inability to EXhale is a hallmark sign. Didn't know regular asthmatics had it both ways. I'll tell ya, it's odd to be able to breath in, but not out.

I also have asthma and it ends up aggravated when I get pneumonia. You need to go back to the doctor, it could be that you will need a different antibiotic or you asthma may be out of whack.

I may call my regular doc, too, see what she says. But, she wanted to put me on asthma meds, and there's very little evidence that they are needed (or even helpful) for EIA, so I didn't agree with her. That was just a month ago, guess we should have looked into my shortness of breath further at the time.

[Crankin]

I had it in high school, but I also got it again, 5 years ago. It was mid fall and I thought I was just having an allergy/asthma flare up, but I didn't feel right. Went to the doc after work and bam, he took one listen to my chest, and sent me down for an x ray. This happened the week after we got back from a long weekend bike tour in Vermont. It was cold in the AM and we did hard climbing; the day before we left, I started sneezing like crazy. That's my sign I am getting something bad.
I ignored it, willed it out of my mind until the trip was over. I was on Cipro for 14 days. I thought I felt better after 2 days at home, but I tried riding after a week and I had to turn back after 5 miles. I was so weak, it wasn't funny. My sinuses got involved and was on another antibiotic for 10days, too. I tried riding again on Veteran's Day and could barely do 15 miles. My riding was over for the season; I did some light hiking and went to the gym until x country ski season began.
My advice is to be careful. My asthma is not exercise induced, and rarely flares up now, but I used an inhaler for awhile after this. Go see a pulmonologist or an allergy specialist.