Physical illness sending me over the edge

[Grace]

I have copd and just recovered from yet another bout of pneumonia. This flare up lasted 3 months. Please get Vicks and use it on your chest and throat every hour. Get a vicks vaporizer and Vicks vaposteam and have that running around the clock. You need a nebulizer not just a couple inhalors. I get flare up of bronchitis several times a year and the anxiety is unbearable knowing another three months of devastation. It will get better. Breathe as deeply as you can. Make yourself so it. Cough! Hold a pillow to your chest and breathe and cough. Nice around as much as you possibly can. I also take the pills called tesselon pearls. Not sure of spelling. They really break up the gunk. Did they put you on steroids? I had to take four rounds of prednisone this time, but it finally worked God be with you! You are in my prayers.

I meant move around as much as you can to break up the gunk! It really helps. Broth is better than tea for me because of the salt.

Water water and water. Having suffered the most severe child abuse, my heart hurts for you! Keep your thoughts focused on getting better as best you can!

 

[Grace]

I am so sorry that I came across as ordering these things. This was my first response to this site. I haven't even written my story yet. Too painful now. Please get better!

 

[ShodokanJenn]

It's okay, @Grace . It was a good response.

I can't use Vicks. The smell is a massive, massive trigger for me - just a tiny whiff, and I am shaking, sweating, throwing up, and losing touch with reality.

I had a bag of IV antibiotics and two liters of fluid at my follow-up appointment this morning. I completely forgot to ask about a nebulizer. If my temp hasn't come done by Saturday, I'm supposed to go to the ER to be admitted. They are trying to get a sputum sample from me. But even though I've been keeping the culture cup in my lap, I keep forgetting to use it. I've got until tomorrow morning to get it in, or I have to wait until next week. I hoping it's not needed.

I had childhood asthma pretty bad, but this is very, very different. I've had bronchitis many times, and THAT is very different. I've had single-lobe pneumonia several times before, and even THAT felt very different from this. None of those things resulted in this much of a suffocation sensation, nor did they cause this much fluid and pus and blood. My white count has actually dropped since Tuesday, which isn't necessarily a good thing (I have issues with my immune system).

But despite all that, I feel a bit less sick over all.

Mentally? I'm still in the land of reality, but I'm right on the edge.

 

[joeylittle]

Now to use those grounding skills BEFORE I get to that point again...

This is a great thing to remember. We always can benefit from anticipating the (likely) anxiety response. Nothing ever went wrong with starting to use the skills proactively, before symptoms even start.

Good work, staying committed to tackling the problem. I know how tiring it gets. Hang in there.