Pneumonia/Good questions to ask my GP

[6.5_lives_left]

Hi all
I have unfortunately been struck down with bacterial pneumonia. Not feeling too bad at the moment, considering.

I fell ill on Friday. I contacted the GP Surgery on Monday where a doctor told me to go to the local hospital. I was transfer to a different hospital on Monday morning and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday evening with medicine and a letter which has also been sent to my GP. I contacted my GP and had a phone call back from them but unfortunately my brother took the call and told them I was asleep. They are going to call back today.

Can any one think of good questions to ask my GP? (Not necessarily about pneumonia specifically).

Questions I t:hought of are:

• When can I return to work
• When can I ride an electric bike
• When can I ride an ordinary bike
• When can I drive a motorcar
• What are my test results and what do they mean
• What appointments/check ups should I do and when do they happen

The hospital already want me back in 6 weeks time for a chest X-ray.

Does anyone have any general advice on how to get the best from my telephone meeting with the GP.

[Jdsk]

Great questions, and it's wise to write them down so you don't forget any.

Once you're over the acute illness there might be some interest in why, where and when you got this. What was the organism, and have they been into that already?

Then there's the risk of something similar happening again, which depends both on your health and future exposure.

Hope you're better soon.

Jonathan

[6.5_lives_left]

Thanks Jdsk

Great questions, and it's wise to write them down so you don't forget any.

Will do

Once you're over the acute illness there might be some interest in why, where and when you got this. What was the organism, and have they been into that already?

Yes, the hospital doctors asked me about my occupation, my work and home environment. I recall they were interested in dust and damp. Unfortunately I have both in my home. My house needs a good spring clean and I need the roof fixing. I have been using a dehumidifier to manage the damp until I can get that done.

I was surprised that they didn't try to get me to cough up a sample of the bug. Unfortunately I didn't have a cough initially and couldn't cough while ill.

They took lots of blood samples, small vials and larger bottles. My brother who used to work as a lab technician in a microbiology lab told me that they can use the large bottles to detect what the bug is. I am not sure how that works.

Then there's the risk of something similar happening again, which depends both on your health and future exposure.

Hope you're better soon.

Jonathan

Yes, I would like to get the vacuum cleaner out and clean up but I fear I might make things worse. My brother who I live with has asthma and hates me using the vacuum. I can only use it when he is out of the house for the day.

[Vorpal]

Great questions, and it's wise to write them down so you don't forget any.

Once you're over the acute illness there might be some interest in why, where and when you got this. What was the organism, and have they been into that already?

Then there's the risk of something similar happening again, which depends both on your health and future exposure.

Hope you're better soon.

Jonathan

Obviously the OP will need to know the bacteria that caused the illness to determine the cause, but most bacterial pneumonia is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, or other bacteria which normally live in the respiratory tract. It generally only becomes a problem when someone is vulnerable due to other illness or problems, which is why pneumonia is a common secondary infection after flu. It does seem to occur repeatedly in some people, and the trigger or other cause cannot always be determined.

This is what Web MD have to say about it https://www.webmd.com/lung/bacterial-pneumonia

They haven't said anything about the environment. I think it unlikely that damp of itself would affect it, however, mould can, and living in conditions where it is too cold all the time can leave one susceptible to illness.

[Jdsk]

They took lots of blood samples, small vials and larger bottles. My brother who used to work as a lab technician in a microbiology lab told me that they can use the large bottles to detect what the bug is. I am not sure how that works.

There are three main families of investigations to identify the organism from specimens of blood:

* Culture, where the organism is grown and identified.

* Specific antibodies, to detect your body's reaction to the organism.

* Looking for the DNA or RNA of the organism. (Sometimes called "molecular" methods.)

The turnaround time for the results ranges from minutes to weeks.

(And we're all a lot more familiar with two of those families of investigations after the last year!)

With your severity of illness you've probably also had several biomarkers measured, mostly to look for damage to individual organs and for inflammation.

Jonathan

PS:

I work on information for patients about laboratory investigations: Lab Tests Online UK
https://labtestsonline.org.uk

All comments and suggestions welcome.

[6.5_lives_left]

PS:

I work on information for patients about laboratory investigations: Lab Tests Online UK
https://labtestsonline.org.uk

All comments and suggestions welcome.

Thank you Jdsk, that is a wonderful website.

[thirdcrank]

If you are using a mobile phone or if you can put your landline onto some speaker function, then try to have somebody with you. I'm not talking about corroboration of what's said, but if you are under any sort of stress it can mess up your memory. Somebody else listening-in may help you get a clearer understanding of what was actually said. This is no different from the value of being accompanied to a face-to-face consultation, but it might be good manners to alert your GP that you have an audience.

[Mistik-ka]

The suggestions above, including the WebMD link Vorpal suggests, are all sound and sensible, The NHS information here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pneumonia/ duplicates enough of the WebMD information to inspire confidence in both sites, but also offers some additional details.

If you have not been vaccinated against pneumonia (see NHS information here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinat ... ccination/ ) or if, like me, you can't remember all the things you've been vaccinated for, it would be a good idea to ask your GP whether you should be given the vaccine now. (But your GP will probably raise the subject if you don't.)

[6.5_lives_left]

Vorpal, Mistik-ka,
Thank you for the links to the websites.

By following the link I found a guide for the time for different stages of recovery. They were much longer than I was expecting.

I will add questions to my GP about Covid vaccine and pneumococcal vaccine.

ThirdCrank,
Good advice. I had a look at getting one or both of my landline phone and mobile phone to work on loudspeaker but I think they are too old to be able to work that way (My mobile phone is the type with real buttons). I can't change the equipment so it will have to be a one-to-one call after all.

I still haven't spoken to the GP. She has called two days running but I have missed the call each time. Fingers crossed she will get through today.

Many thanks to you all.

[Jdsk]

In case there's any confusion with the nomenclature:

Streptococcus pneumoniae = S. pneumoniae = Strep pneumoniae = pneumococcus, and is the name of a bacterium that is a common cause of the disease pneumonia, as described above. But there are many other organisms that cause pneumonia.

So the pneumococcal vaccine described above is protective against the harmful effects of this bacterium, and not against other organisms that can cause pneumonia.

Jonathan

[Vorpal]

Vorpal, Mistik-ka,
Thank you for the links to the websites.

By following the link I found a guide for the time for different stages of recovery. They were much longer than I was expecting.

The recovery time can vary quite a bit with age, diet, etc. Besides what the GP says about when gentle exercise is ok, I think it is wise to be aware of how you feel, and not to push yourself, as overdoing it can cause a relapse.