I’m sure that some of my regulars have noticed that I have been amiss for the past week or so….I have not been as active as usual and I apologize but their is a tale of woe that accompanies my apology.
You may recall that over a week ago I was fighting a horrendous cold….after 4 days I began feeling better and tried to return to my schedule which worked out nicely until two days later I developed a bad cough I just thought it was the cold trying to return…and as a stubborn old fart I tried to soldier on….a day or so after that I found it hard to breath and moving around was out of the question and it kept getting worse to the point I could walk to the bathroom without laboring in my breathing.
Three days into this fight I was convinced by my partner and best friend, Sue, to go to the ER at 4 in the morning…..fortunate for me the ER was very quiet.
After several hours of poking and prodding, x-rays and a drip the doctor came in to let me know that it was not Covid or pneumonia but rather I had developed acute Bronchitis.
After waiting to be sent home for 2 hours I was released with a book of medication that I need to get on immediately.
That was late Friday and I am till fighting but getting better….but still not ready for an expanded schedule.
As an FYI what is acute bronchitis?
Acute bronchitis is usually caused by a viral infection. This is most often the same viruses that cause colds and the flu. It may also be caused by a bacterial infection, or by physical or chemical agents that are breathed in. These may include dusts, allergens, and strong fumes, including those from chemical cleaning compounds or tobacco smoke.
Acute bronchitis may come after a common cold or other viral infections in the upper respiratory tract. It may also occur in people with chronic sinusitis, allergies, or those with enlarged tonsils and adenoids. It can be serious in people with lung or heart diseases. Pneumonia is a complication that can follow bronchitis.
These are the symptoms of acute bronchitis….
The following are the most common symptoms of acute bronchitis. However, each person may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- Back and muscle pain
- Cough, first dry (non-productive), later, a lot of mucus is produced
- Chest soreness
- Chills
- Feeling tired and achy
- Headache
- Runny nose
- Slight fever
- Shortness of breath
- Sore throat
- Watery eyes
- Wheezing
If you have had a bad cold and have developed any of the symptoms please….please….call your medical provider and make an appointment for a check-up….I am not a medical professional just wishing to help anyone that might be ailing.
With that out of the way…..
I wish to let my readers know that I will not be able to get caught up on my reading but I will try to reply to all comments….starting Monday I will attempt to go back on a schedule and return to my reading of the blogs I follow.
Thanx for understanding and bearing with me for this was something I just could not power through….hopefully the medication will allow me to return to what I use to think was normal.
Have a great Sunday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….
chuq
Don’t worry about the blogs, chuq. Just rest and get well. We are not going anywhere.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanx Pete I appreciate the concern chuq
Damn, Chuq!!! I am so sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Get yourself the rest you need., take good care of yourself…. remember that none of us are as young as we once were… and I want you to feel better.
Thanx John…this one scared the crap out of me…..chuq
Still not up to par? The older we get, the more care we need! Sorry about that, but it’s true.
I know but as an old fart I still think I am 30…LOL chuq
Funny how that works – the mirror is our enemy!
So true….:LOL chuq
Wow I’m sorry you went through that. I had severe bronchitis some years ago and it was utterly horrible. In my case it hung on for about 4 weeks before I was relatively back to normal. Coughing was so bad I didn’t sleep for days. Went through three rounds of antibiotics before it cleared up.
The shortness of breath is what scared me…I could not walk to bathroom without stopping….I feel better but still fighting it…..chuq
Oh, lord, don’t remind me! I suffer from panic attacks too, and every time I started to struggle to breathe that would kick in. They had me on a mild tranquilizer for a couple of weeks along with some kind of inhaler that was supposed to help. It didn’t. You have my sincere sympathy. I know exactly what you’re going through. I hope you recover quickly and never have to go through that again.
Thank you….I am not so sure that my breathing treatment is working either…but I see my doctor Wednesday….hopefully will get a better picture. chuq
Old buddy… trust me that I want to say congrats to you that it was “only” bronchitis and you will live another day. I know you are having a struggle now, but it could have been far worse given our respective ages and maladies. Not engaging in a “suffering” pissing match here.. but here is my tale for this last weekend. A longer read, and not as uniquely written as buddy Pete.
THURS: Walking briskly to the building next door I decided to take a very small pile of dirt in a leaping bound. Making it successfully (which any 8 year old could do) I had a muscle tug across my upper chest. Making a mental note to be sensitive to any proverbial heart symptoms.. and experiencing none, I was satisfied it was simply strained breast/thorax muscles.
Latter in the day the achiness became more pronounced, but still not heart warning symptoms.
FRI Morning: Ache diminished on the left chest.. but was more apparent on the right side. Went through the workday fine.. but still trying to detect the left arm numbness, difficulty breathing, palpitations, dizziness. Nothing. Just a growing chest soreness not unlike the day after lifting too much weight.
FRI Evening: Right chest and lower past the stomach seemed to be more achy and rather hurt when I tried sleeping on my side.
SAT Morn: Nothing much changed regarding diminishing pain. I still thought it was only a muscle sprain.
SAT Eve: Decided to head to the local civilian ER (VA med center is over 60 miles away) more because I wanted to make sure what all this “wasn’t”. Got there after work, about 6pm. Much like you, not too many people there in ER.. I got in, they hooked me up right away to an EKG… BP nominal. after an hour or so the EKG strip was evaluated by the ER attending (who was not a cardiologist) and he showed me the printout where the EKG software presented the diagnosis that the results depicted atrial fib. Somewhat shocked given I had absolutely no symptoms of anything, the doc really has little to add. She then said she wanted to have me checked in for the night to see the cardiologist on Sunday. I then suggested to he to allow me to check out and head to my VA med Center in Loma Linda.
SUN Morn: I enter the VA Loma Linda ER…. and again like you.. hours of blood tests.. EKG machine pinging away, constant BP checks. They say they want to check me in so the cardiologist can see me.
SUN Afternoon: I get a palatial room.. me being the only patient, in the early afternoon. Again hours before some cardio doc walks in. He looks at the EKG printout I gave to him from the other ER diagnosing A-Fib. He looks up at the EKG monitor in the room, then back to the paper. Inside of 30 seconds he says, “I see no A-Fib being presented here. What you have is sinus rhythm premature atrial contractions. Abnormal but common not threatening.”
“Then that means all this IS in fact just strained chest muscles?”
“Very likely, yes.”, he says. “But we will want to give you an echo EKG tomorrow so you can stay the night and have the cardio team review the results.”
UGH! I didn’t want to stay the night.. especially if all this is turning out to be what I thought it was in the first place.
Now I had to call work and take a day off.
MON Morn: Literally a hell night for sleeping. Grossly uncomfortable bed no matter what position I pressed (I have a spinal issue that plays havoc with my neck nerves). The echo cardio tech arrive near noon. Cool watching my heart live on a camera. But I had to wait to 3pm to get an interpretation of that test.
Doc said I am clear. Strong heart…. no issues.
“Can I go home now?”
Checking out took another 2 hours. UGH. I made it home early evening.
You’ve suffered far more than me, chuq…. but I do know a little about what you went through at the hospital. Seems we were both lucky for all the effort. I’m looking at this as a shot across the bow; I better watch what I am doing.
The older I get the more I realize I am not 30…..take care hope you be better. chuq
BTW.. you mentioned you think you are still 30. Imagine for a moment if we all were that 30 years old we think we are, and how damned smart we’d all be for our age. 🙂
No matter how smart I am I still think I can heal myself….and idiot’s journey. LOL chuq
Think of that Vulcan.. live long and prosper.
shazbot! chuq