I’ve got pneumonia!

Pneumonia and an ear infection. So, now we know why I’ve felt like crap for the last two weeks.

I finally was able to be seen by a doctor today. Fortunately, even though I no longer have health insurance from work (long story involving layoffs, rehires at half-time, and unfair practices lawsuits from the union), I at least get limited coverage through the college I’m attending. It’s just damned hard to get an appointment because the docs are only on campus a few hours a day, most of which are while I’m at work struggling to bring in enough to pay my rent and buy some food.

Um, so, anyway, I got checked out today (no, not like that). Long story short, I had to wait so long to get the appointment, my immune system had already fought off the worst of it. So no more fever, but I’m still having trouble breathing when I try to do such strenuous activities as walking across campus, laying in bed, or breathing. The Nurse Practitioner took a look at me. She wrote down a crapload of notes in my file. She checked again. She called in the doctor, who also took several looks at me. Apparently, there was fluid, redness and inflammation in my right ear from an infection that was just beginning, as well as a frothing, bubbling sound in my lungs whenever I’d breathe, hence the pneumonia diagnosis. That certainly explains why I’d been having trouble breathing, and why the coughing only gets worse when I lay down (I’ve had to resort to propping myself into a seated position with pillows to be able to sleep lately).

I’ve been put on a series of antibiotics, which should help clear up both problems, and I’ve got a follow-up appointment for next week. Hopefully, my symptoms should be all but gone by then.