I think i have pneumonia but im not too sure!

Posted by alexandriadel01 @alexandriadel01, Dec 4 11:32am

Hello! I’ve gone to an urgent care already but since i was negative for covid & flu they didn’t do much for me! I’ve had a fever for 5 days now 103-105 , i can’t stand without getting super dizzy! when i sit up i start to feel weak in my legs and feel like im going to pass out , i feel super hungry but can only take 3 bites and then feel super bloated and have no appetite, recently today on the 5th day loose stool just showed up, bad night sweats , puddles of sweat in my bed every night! tylenol is not working , i have a wet & dry cough , heart races when i do anything , but only thing is im not wheezing like people with pneumonia usually would. i can take little breaths without coughing constantly but i do get very tired easily ! pls help any opinion matters 🙁

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@troubletwo

WOW is my big word! My hubby and I, and not young, got what you are talking about. My hubby has double lung cancer so hit him much harder. Told of course, the viruses going around are viral. We did our best, with all the symptoms that you mentioned for 10 days and then decided we needed help. Our family doc. was on vacation so went in to a clinic and I guess by these number of days passing an x-ray was given for hubby stating that he had pneumonia, and myself thought as having possible bronchitis. Long story short both went on two separate prescriptions of anti-biotics for bacterial infections and finally after a month we are now feeling we have beat this monster. So many unknown viruses circulating that the medical field are not prepared for how to treat - try this, try that, and hopefully with lots of time all will return to normal, and I guess we experienced such and I hope time has now remedied your problems. Tough road to travel!

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Thank you so much! I’m glad you guys were able to get what you needed! Stay safe out there!

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thanks for the concern everyone! I went to get a chest x-ray at a different clinic and it showed I had pneumonia. Make sure if you're feeling sick to go get more than one opinion if your gut is telling you different!

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@thisoldewe

Hello alexandriade101,
I am sorry you are feeling so poorly. Yes, it’s possible that you have flu but I am concerned about “getting super dizzy”.
Perhaps, another try is called for. Go to a different clinic, doctor or ER.
A second opinion always helps ‘cement’ your course of action.
Do take good care. Let us know how you get on.

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Hi! Thanks for the concern, I did go get checked out again and I did have pneumonia unfortunately

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Oh alexandriade101,
I'm sorry to hear this, but so glad you now have the correct care in place. You have been pro-active with excellent result. Well Done You !
So now, rest well, drink fluids and take your meds. A return to health is just ahead!
Take good care of yourself.

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@kndaustin71

alexandriade101 - I do hope you begin to feel better soon. But I stand firm on seeing a physician as soon as you can as 15 days of the symptoms that you are describing is a tad longer than how viral infections present. I say this as a nurse of over 45 years, 20 of which were at a Leadership and Executive role. I have worker with some outstanding NPs and PAs during my career and have a great deal of respect for those that have experience, educational merits and compassion for their patients. Hoping your symptoms abate and that you are back to normal soon.

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I, too, am not sure where implication of denigrating NP/PAs came from.....but the important thing is that you finally were evaluated for pneumonia, which was positive and promptly treated. Your symptoms reflected that waiting 10 more days was not going to be beneficial.
So glad you are now on the right track. Feel better soon!

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@kndaustin71

I, too, am not sure where implication of denigrating NP/PAs came from.....but the important thing is that you finally were evaluated for pneumonia, which was positive and promptly treated. Your symptoms reflected that waiting 10 more days was not going to be beneficial.
So glad you are now on the right track. Feel better soon!

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I’m so sorry I saw your other comment towards the other person and didn’t even think to see who you were replying to and thought it was to my message 😂😂 I was sooo confused, sorry for the misunderstanding!!

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@alexandriadel01

I’m so sorry I saw your other comment towards the other person and didn’t even think to see who you were replying to and thought it was to my message 😂😂 I was sooo confused, sorry for the misunderstanding!!

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NP Just stay well! These threads can be very confusing.!

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@sueinmn

Please, do not denigrate NP and PA's - they are the first line of care for many people, and are as capable of ordering x-rays and other diagnostic tests as a physician. Many are better at dealing with viral illnesses than the docs, because they see them al day, every day

Also, since it was Urgent Care, the NP advice may well be based on what is being seen in their community right now. Recently my grandsons had the same range of symptoms for over 10 days each, and it was just a nasty virus that is working its way through their school. That said, at 10 days, a chest x-ray was ordered for each of them - no pneumonia.

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I don't think this is to denigrate NP and PAs. This is to acknowledge that institutions are using NPs and PAs because there is a shortage of MDs and/or NPs and PAs cost less than an MD.
The fact remains that NPs an PAs have less training and much less clinical requirements. They can make the doctor more efficient, but they should not be making a diagnosis. Where was the triage in this case?
I remember going to Urgent Care in Florida on a Sunday for extreme diarrehia and weakness. I had had a flu shot that week. The PA sent me home saying the cause was my flu shot even though I told him I had been on antibiotics for 10 days and asked him if that could be the cause. (I had read the enclosure to antibiotics!) . No blood work, no stool test. The next day I called my doctor and over the phone she sent me to the Emergency room, and I was in the hospital for a week with C-diff. My potassium was so low I could have been in real difficulty! And I have been given incorrect information from NPs on more than one occassion. I have friends who say the same.
We want our medical personnel trained to the maximum and we should make going to school very cheap for specializations that we need very much and all benefit from.

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@vic83

I don't think this is to denigrate NP and PAs. This is to acknowledge that institutions are using NPs and PAs because there is a shortage of MDs and/or NPs and PAs cost less than an MD.
The fact remains that NPs an PAs have less training and much less clinical requirements. They can make the doctor more efficient, but they should not be making a diagnosis. Where was the triage in this case?
I remember going to Urgent Care in Florida on a Sunday for extreme diarrehia and weakness. I had had a flu shot that week. The PA sent me home saying the cause was my flu shot even though I told him I had been on antibiotics for 10 days and asked him if that could be the cause. (I had read the enclosure to antibiotics!) . No blood work, no stool test. The next day I called my doctor and over the phone she sent me to the Emergency room, and I was in the hospital for a week with C-diff. My potassium was so low I could have been in real difficulty! And I have been given incorrect information from NPs on more than one occassion. I have friends who say the same.
We want our medical personnel trained to the maximum and we should make going to school very cheap for specializations that we need very much and all benefit from.

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While PA's have significantly less training than a doctor, Registered Nurse Practitioners have not only a Master' degree or PhD in nursing, but also 6000 hours of RN in person practice before they can be a RNP, taking significant course work & a registry exam.

In fact, our health clinic Urgent Care is staffed with RNPs, not PA's for just this reason. And the South Texas "stand-alone" ERs, their equivalent of Urgent Care, are staffed with both, with a connection to a triage doc as needed.

PS My daughter, an ER nurse for years, would have sent you directly to the ER - her rule of thumb -"If you might need an IV, go to the ER"

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@vic83

I don't think this is to denigrate NP and PAs. This is to acknowledge that institutions are using NPs and PAs because there is a shortage of MDs and/or NPs and PAs cost less than an MD.
The fact remains that NPs an PAs have less training and much less clinical requirements. They can make the doctor more efficient, but they should not be making a diagnosis. Where was the triage in this case?
I remember going to Urgent Care in Florida on a Sunday for extreme diarrehia and weakness. I had had a flu shot that week. The PA sent me home saying the cause was my flu shot even though I told him I had been on antibiotics for 10 days and asked him if that could be the cause. (I had read the enclosure to antibiotics!) . No blood work, no stool test. The next day I called my doctor and over the phone she sent me to the Emergency room, and I was in the hospital for a week with C-diff. My potassium was so low I could have been in real difficulty! And I have been given incorrect information from NPs on more than one occassion. I have friends who say the same.
We want our medical personnel trained to the maximum and we should make going to school very cheap for specializations that we need very much and all benefit from.

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My point exactly! In fact an astute, experienced nurse, if reviewing your symptoms, history etc. could have very well been able to identify signs/symptoms of C-Diff! Many of the NP's graduate from a BSN program and go directly into a Practitioner Program with absolutely no clinic (Hospital, Clinic, LTC) experience and are not mentored by a physician upon employment! Let me see an experienced, over 20 years, RN (or LPN in some cases) that has had direct patient care contact rather than an NP who has just graduated from NP school. To boot, the insurance companies are charged just the same as if you had seen a physician.

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