A Swing and a Miss

I have been sick since the beginning of September with a respiratory infection. I saw a lung doctor who wanted to be pro-active in treating it. I got my sputum cultured. I had to wait for follow-up appointments. At the first appointment, I saw the nurse who works with my doctor. At the second appointment, I saw a nurse who was lower in status than the previous nurse. Although the doctor wanted me on IV antibiotics, the nurses did not know how to do this. I was sent to the emergency department.

I was admitted at the hospital, given a PICC line and sent home on two weeks of IV antibiotics. It was very clear at the end of the antibiotic therapy, I was still sick and in need of more antibiotics. I could not get in to see the lung doctor for three weeks. In the meantime, I saw my primary care doctor. I was told I needed more antibiotics and was sent to the emergency department. At the emergency department, the doctor told me it was too much work to submit the paperwork to get IV antibiotics. I was sent home and told to follow-up with my lung doctor.

I finally had my appointment with the lung doctor. He was concerned I was still sick. He asked how long I was on the antibiotics. I stated two weeks. He said I should have been on them for 4-6 weeks. He wanted me to go back on the IV antibiotics.

Next, I had to wait a week before I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor’s nurse. She asked how the IV antibiotics were going. I stated I had not received any. She said she had called the pharmacy. I do not know what happened, but the drugs were not prescribed. The nurse said she would call the pharmacy again.

After a few more delays, I finally received the IV antibiotics today. I was excited. Hooray! Now I might be able to get rid of this infection. I opened the box delivered by the pharmacy. My heart sank when I saw on the paperwork I have been prescribed only four DAYS worth of IV antibiotics. I wanted to cry. Four days of IV antibiotics will not do anything. It actually might make me sicker because the antibiotics will cause the bacteria to become more aggressive as it begins to die off. A short course of antibiotics will not be long enough to get rid of this infection.

After fighting for so long, it seems as though I am at a dead end. My PICC line is in rough shape. It needs to be pulled soon. Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I have no follow-up appointment scheduled with my lung doctor. My lungs are heavy with thick bacteria-laden sputum. And now my one hope of getting antibiotics has all but evaporated. I have to continue on and be patient. Hopefully something can be figure out, and I can be back on the road to better health very soon.