PLEURISY DURATION

PAINFUL24-7

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

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
PAINFUL 24-7

ginantonic16

My daughter has had 2 attacks of pleurisy since Xmas, both times she went to the walk-in centre because the pain was so bad she couldn't wait until the gp opened in the morning. On both occasons, she had to wait up to 3 hours, only to be sent to another hospital for tests, which took another 2 hours. By this time she was hysterical with the pain (she's only 17,) it was 3am, and all they gave her was paracetamol! I don't know why they can't find something effective for pleurisy, it's obviously almost unbearably painful. I totally sympathise with you. If you have only been to your gp, I think I would try either casualty or a local walk in centre. As you have already been prescribed meds that don't work, you may get referred to someone a little more experienced than your gp, no matter how hard they try, I'm sure they can't keep up to date with all the available drugs. I hope you feel better soon. Apparently pleurisy can come and go, sometimes only lasting a couple of days, sometimes a couple of months. My daughter's lasted about a week on both occasions. Smile

mum2three

My mother has had pleurisy for 16 weeks now. Along with the severe pain she also feels very ill and I am becoming increasingly concerned. She has had about 10 lots of antibiotics and a chest xray. When the results of this were returned to her GP he told her that there was infection there and simply prescribed more antibiotics. Unfortunately, none of this treatment appears to be resolving the problem and I am concerned that possibly the GP is not doing all that he could to help her. He of course assures her that he is. Has anybody ever had a similar experience to this, as I and my mum, especially, could really do with some reassurance that the condition will eventually right itself.
Incidentally, she is 61 and had a kidney removed 15 months ago.

J from Finland

sue guest

I too have suffered since mid december 2007. My doc gave me tylex (paracetamol + 30mg codine ) & told me to take brufen too. The pain is intense and i felt so ill . It is now the end of feb 2008 & i feel ok ish now but still have slight pain and am still taking brufen. I have just started with another cold & cough ( which is how it all started last time) i am just hoping that i dont get a chest infection an go bk to square 1 . I really couldnt cope again . Hope you feel better soon. Heat packs do help to relive the pain sue x

Conchetta

I'm so sorry, you are having to go through this!

I was diagnosed with pleurisy, Feb. of 08, (the symptoms began in Jan.) I ended up with a pleural effusion. I still have pain in the area, where it started. It's not the same severity but it is constant! I would seek a second opinion, if I were you. It sounds like your Dr. may not understand the pain associated with your condition.

I hope you feel better, soon.

DeborahFranks

I had Pleurisy first in Feb 2008 and then at Christmas 2008.Jn 2009. I have never fully recovered. I thought i had something serious after the pluerisy/pneumonia stopped and had numerous tests. All were clear. I am still suffering and wake up in pain every day around my right shoulder blade, ribs and hip. It is a muscualr pain, with a tight feeling down the side from under my armpit. I have been worried that it could be something more serious, but it doesn't get any worse, or any better. Any thoughts?

Jayne Hughes

Hello,
In reply to the Lady Above,Im currently suffering a bout of Viral Pleurisy Sad

.....and was wondering if the pain your suffering could be musclular,as you thought??.....I know at the moment Im holding myself,as its so painful to breath,and know from past experiance ,this along with coughing,etc,can lead to pain and weakness,possible tearing of the surrounding muscles.
Ive had Pleurisy before,and been left with muscle pain Rolling Eyes

.Obviously you really must get it checked out properly though!!

Just to add to the conversation in general,Im also a Lupus sufferer,and have had a fair ammout of pain during illness.....I find GPs/A&E etc, dont really take the issue of pain seriously,unless it is actually leading to something such as heart attack......if the pain is a symptom,rather than an actual cause which means the illness is dangerously leading to something,your quite likely to leave an A&E dept with paracetamol.
Yes,pain-killers can be addictive blah,blah,but living in pain is a nightmare,it may not be life threatening as such,but it certainly is "quality" of life destroying Crying or Very sad

.
I hope you all find some relief very soon,Jayne

L · Posted by : L Guest Post date: Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:39 pm Post subject:

Hi there

I had my first bout with pleurisy in 2007 which lasted about 2 months, from which I fully recovered, and am now going through my second which began 10 days ago.

I have found that reducing as much movement as possible for the longest period seems to work for me in terms of recovering. It can get frustrating to sit around all the time and get back to doing things too quickly, even if there's still a lot of pain. I highly recommend AGAINST this, because in my experience it only prolongs the pain and inflammation.
At the moment I've been working from home and haven't left my flat in 4 days. I am also avoiding carrying anything remotely weighty, because that also seems to flare things up. Long baths and keeping heat on the painful areas also seems to help, and I now have an electric blanket that I sleep with which eases the tension from my muscles around the painful areas when I sleep.

I think having pain that extends quite low (to the hips or middle) is quite normal. The first time I was diagnosed, I ignored the symptoms for way too long because I thought it must be a pulled muscle. This time I know the signs and so was able to keep it from getting as bad as the first time.

Both times I've been taking Co-codamol and Ibuprofen, which seems to work alright in terms of alleviating pain. But again, it's easy to think you're getting better on the painkillers faster than you are, so put off getting back to normal activity until you feel no more pain when not taking medication.

Hopefully this will be helpful for someone, but I think what's needed the most when recovering from pleurisy is patience. And that sucks!

L