Okehampton Medical Centre
A
Anonymouse 5 months ago
Great
I forgot to mention the four bouts of pneumonia - two caused by aspiration of vomit whilst sleeping(quite frightening when you wake because you cannot breath) - I did tell my Okehampton GP at the time, he wasn't concerned - and two that I guess was caught from the community - my mum and others around her had pneumonia also around the same time, though she had recently been in hospital for an operation requiring a stay. I was still working - in engineering - when I mentioned to a colleague that I was feeling breathless, after treatment, and returning to work a week later, the pneumonia moved to my other lung, and I needed further treatment, still working, and again commenting on my breathlessness to a colleague, whilst at Exeter airport, at the Devon and Somerset fire training centre. This time, walking down hill, and on the level was just fine, but climbing back up the hill to go home was an extraordinary struggle - fifteen paces and I would have to stop, with my muscles screaming in pain, and fighting for breath. I had coughed up a blood clot, which I told Okehampton, and later coughed up black phlegm, which I also informed them of. My sats as taken at home, are normally around 96, but a few months ago they fell to 93 periodically, and I was bringing up pink phlegm, and coughing persistently - I told Okehampton. I had been feeling awful a few weeks ago, months perhaps, and vomited as I got ready for work (still went to work) - as I washed away the vomit, it became very easy to see, against the background of the stainless steel, strands of what I assume to have been Candida - in the same way that you can do the spit in a glass check for Candida, but on a much larger scale, strands almost covering the whole of the sink, 300mm long strands, and strands branching off of it, like a mycelium. I had stopped the fluconazole, the rash was returning/worsening, so I started the fluconazole again - 450mg daily (now on 150mg, but I think it may not be enough). After time on the fluconazole again, at 450mg daily, I felt so much better, almost no cough at all but that which is normal to clear the throat, sats 98, which is so unusual for me, and no rash/skin pain - scalp still a problem though (bio-film), but a little better. I reduced the dose to 150mg again recently, and a little skin pain has returned over the weeks, and sats have dropped a little, so 450mg is it seems the necessary dose - for how long, who knows? Urine better on the 450mg, at least I can pee properly again now. But the cough, the cough everyone who knows me, mentions, has all but gone. Observing these things has helped me to be able to help myself - and I have certainly had to do that!
Clare B.