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'Just a cold'? No, it's worse than that
Jan. 19th, 2026 10:05 pmI've been suffering from a cold since just past Christmas. It's gotten worse, despite hot soup, tea and care.
5 days ago, on Wednesday, at 7-8am I had a terrible coughing fit that made some muscles in my side feel like I was being knifed there. My Sweetie convinced me to go to the emergency room. About 4 hours later, I had been examined, poked, X-rayed and diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. I was given 2 different antibiotics [Amoxicillin & Azithromyci] as a 5-day course that ended today.
I was also given 3 other drugs: Prednisone - a corticosteroid medication - for the inflammation, an albuterol inhaler & benzonatate gels to ease coughing. The examining doctor said that I was in really good shape - everything considered - and thus did NOT need to be immediately hospitalized. Back home, I flopped into bed and have been slowly recovering over the last 5 days - seeking to rest between coughing fits.
Currently, I feel SO much better than I did, but am concerned since [a] the antibiotics courses are finished but I am still unwell & [b] - given my typical rate of recovery it is extremely likely that my condition will not improve. Also, why 5 days now, when the 'norm' used to be 10-14 days of medication? The probability of relapsing and feeling worse again just depresses me.
5 days ago, on Wednesday, at 7-8am I had a terrible coughing fit that made some muscles in my side feel like I was being knifed there. My Sweetie convinced me to go to the emergency room. About 4 hours later, I had been examined, poked, X-rayed and diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. I was given 2 different antibiotics [Amoxicillin & Azithromyci] as a 5-day course that ended today.
I was also given 3 other drugs: Prednisone - a corticosteroid medication - for the inflammation, an albuterol inhaler & benzonatate gels to ease coughing. The examining doctor said that I was in really good shape - everything considered - and thus did NOT need to be immediately hospitalized. Back home, I flopped into bed and have been slowly recovering over the last 5 days - seeking to rest between coughing fits.
Currently, I feel SO much better than I did, but am concerned since [a] the antibiotics courses are finished but I am still unwell & [b] - given my typical rate of recovery it is extremely likely that my condition will not improve. Also, why 5 days now, when the 'norm' used to be 10-14 days of medication? The probability of relapsing and feeling worse again just depresses me.
