Oh Sh...

[Bobbie]

My husband broke his left wrist 14 yrs ago which ruined his golf game and life - he was a great golfer and played almost every day. The last two summers his friend talked him into playing on Fridays. He's semi enthused again and went to shoot "a bucket of balls today, slipped on the curb and landed on his left wrist. He thinks it is broken, going to have it x rayed tomorrow. He is clausdaphobic and can"t stand casts - was on anti anxiety meds the whole time he had a cast. He also caught my crud and is coughing. It sounds like a TB sanitarium here.

I feel a little better but still have coughing jags.

Our younger son lost his job. A trifecta!

Exorcist, anyone?

[beth22]

So sorry, Bobbie. When it rains it pours, doesn't it? I have bronchitis. Doctor thinks I should take doxycycline. I will wait another day. My daughter is going out of town, so if the doxy kicks up the c diff, I can't do any transfers right now - not until she gets back in a few days. Always something.

[Bobbie]

Many times bronchitis is viral. Think it's smart to wait a day. Posting about sputum cultures tomorrow.,exhausted tonight. I hope my husband does not have a broken wrist. He loves golf. He watches every tournament and points out each hole where he shot....."

I think I feel a little better today. I hope. Hope you do tomorrow.

[beth22]

Are you coughing up ugly looking stuff too? Doctor seemed to indicate that this meant it was bacterial, but when it comes out of the nose, it is often viral. I don't know what to think anymore or who to believe. If it is viral, it should start to get better.

Hope your husband doesn't have a broken wrist. Maybe it is sprained.

[getwellsoon]

So sorry Bobbie, hope its not broken also and am glad you are feeling some better. Coughing is good, it means the crud is finally breaking up. Liz, make sure you need that atx. I read that a lot of times bronchitis is viral also and doesn't need meds. Are you running fever? This is a call for you and the Dr. but I will pray if you have to take the Doxy you will be ok. My poor Grandson is now trying to find a team to play on after getting cut. One of the other coaches called him and told him it was just the head coach who wanted to cut him, none of the others wanted to. I pray he finds his way and keeps his focus. Sorry about your son Bobbie. I know that route, my son in law has been in and out of work for over 4 yrs. He has to work away from home now and the expense is killing them. I love it when they say everything is getting so much better with the economy. I want to know where, I hear of a lot of layoffs lately. Anyway, I got off topic, hope you both do better today and your husband gets good news about his wrist.

[Bobbie]

The economy doesn't seem any better to me, Carol. Do hope your g. son finds a basketball "home." What a heartbreaker for him and your family.

Both I and husband still coughing. He went to ER this morning - wrist not broken - bad sprain with bone chip but better than broken1!!

I think coughing is good, too, because It gets the "gunk" up. If the gunk is white or clear, no problem. If it is yellow or otherwise discolored, not so good.

Asked about sputum tests yesterday. Nurse said they sometime can be very helpful. So why don't docs. tell us that before ordering an antibiotic? Mentioned before I insisted on sputum test in l999 - my 2nd bout with C. diff. Did one but lab lost it. GI (a particularly irritating young man - had to ask him twice to wash his hand, and he didn't like it) insisted on Levaquin. Damn fool.

[getwellsoon]

Very glad your husbands wrist is just sprained. Hope that bone chip doesn't cause problems. The economy is still crappy, I don't care what the experts say. Here in Va. you can't even find a full time job unless its minimum wage. Sad state of affairs when the media lies to you along with the govt. Liz, sorry you aren't doing much better. Hopefully the Doxy won't cause too many problems. Prayers for you, you know that. Hang in there.

[beth22]

Glad the wrist is not broken. The rest will heal without a cast.

Yes, I'm coughing up stuff that is not clear or white, it is yellow and green, so that is not good. The on-call doctor is supposed to call me back with preliminary results. The nurse never got back to me and I had to call Quest myself and ask them to fax. I did not have a fever when this started a week ago, but yesterday I got a low grade one and today higher. I guess I will have to take an antibiotic. Will see if doxy is the right one.

[beth22]

All Quest faxed over was "test in progress", so there is nothing yet. I will start the doxy tonight and hope it helps. When the culture comes, if I need a different antibiotic, I guess I will have to switch, but I truly feel miserable today. Cough is way worse. Doctor said if the color is how I described, that is bacterial, not viral. Actually, she said it was probably both, but the bacterial needs to be treated. I feel as if I can't breathe well, so I will start the meds. SIBO specialist said to take Flagyl at the same time, but regular GI said not to. I am not going to. I don't do well with it.

[pinkangel]

Whew a chipped bone sounds better than a break and he will probably still be able to golf. The economy is still not so great unless you are willing to work for less. Hopefully something will be out there for him. I see my facebook flooded with out of work friends looking for jobs. Most find one but sometimes it takes a while. I am hoping I can find something in June after my thyroid is radiated. This cdiff has taken its toll on the funds. Neighbor is best friends with a lady who runs an employment agency and she said she would help.

Beth I hope you can take the doxy. It sounds like a safer option. The good old days when antibiotics were simple. You rarely hear of them prescribing the old ones anymore. Several years ago I had the cough with green and turns out I had a bacterial infection. My wbc was 25K docs never called to tell me until months later. Luckily I had went to the urgent care and got a zpack because I could not get in touch with them. I dont think I would take flagyl myself. It kills everything and I personally would feel like it would be a greater risk and not to mention side effects.

[beth22]

Well, I chickened out. I will start the doxy in the morning as I am now wheezing too. I e-mailed my GI and he checked the second culture I took in to the hospital lab yesterday, and they, unlike Quest, do have a preliminary, but it just shows normal flora for now. Hopefully, I will know more tomorrow. This is probably a virus, but with the nasty looking phlegm and my higher white count, there is probably bacteria too. I don't want to start doxy and find out I need another antibiotic, so I figured it was best to wait Can't take Pepto at the same time as doxy either, so that is a little bit hard, as I usually take a little with my dinner. I don't think I have had a chest infection like this in 30 years!

[getwellsoon]

So sorry Liz but hope today you get better news. Are you taking something to break up that mucous? You will feel better if it starts to come up. I will keep you in prayers today that you don't have to take anything. Hopefully the fever will be gone and you will start to kick this thing. It took me 3 weeks to kick my last infection, I never had something hang on so long. I think it just knocks us for a loop because our systems arent' up to par. Feel better.

[beth22]

Another sleepless night with the coughing, so I got up at 5:30 and had an early breakfast and took one doxycycline. So far I see no improvement, but I know I have to give it a couple of days. There is no problem with breaking up the mucus. I have more mucus than all the respiratory infections that I've had in all my life put together I think. Never saw so much! I don't know what that means. I had a student that coughed like this for over a week and then went on Zpak and got better. I am seeing the doctor again today and will ask him. Maybe the culture will show something. Quest still has nothing. I won't use them again. Today there were no classes, just an Arts Fair, so I did not go to work. Don't need the whole school sick.

[Bobbie]

We must have a similar variety of "sick." The Mucus Monster has me too.Ick, ick. Went out to dinner, came home, and fell sleep. Husband seems worse. Why in the hell didn't he ask the ER doc to listen to his chest when he had his wrist checked?

[beth22]

Men never think. My husband accompanied me back to the doctor's office. I felt so horrible last night and this morning. I started the doxycycline, but still have mucus too, Bobbie. The postnasal stuff is non-stop, but that does not seem to be infected. Will see if the meds help at all. I'm wondering if I should start the Flagyl tomorrow. I'm really nervous about getting c diff back from the doxycycline, even if it is a low offender. I'm already getting rumbling and tons of gas.

Hang in there, Bobbie. Hopefully we will be on the mend soon. The culture I had done did not show any bacteria in particular, but did show general bacteria. The doctor sent me off to turn in another because I brought in a container to show him what it looked like. He said it was definitely a bacterial infection for me. If the doxy doesn't help, then I will have to switch to a Z pack. This does not seem to be a short-lived virus. Hope it leaves us soon! As Allison pointed out, it is a strange time of the year to get this kind of stuff.