I know we have some professional medical members on the board so i thought i'd post this. This is rather personal in nature so those of you who don't care to read about my dreadful cold... please stop here.

For the past week i have been fighting a cold which turned into a head cold... then turned into a headache so bad it made me nauseated... needless to say, i was a wreck for a while. I am not gainfully employed so i do not have health insurance and thus cannot go see a doctor about this. (Unless i wanna pay through the nose and go to the ER).

At any rate, even though my symptoms have improved quite a bit, i fear i might have bronchitis or pneumonia. What is the difference between the two and is it easy to distinguish b/w the two as a layman? I still have some sinus drainage and my chest sounds congested when i talk. I feel somewhat weak in the chest and just having enough energy to walk a is sometimes difficult.

I've cut the coffee out entirely and been drinking some green tea past couple of days. Beyond that i was on OTC cold medicine which helped - but this nagging cold is still hanging around. x(

Where I live, we have a clinic for low-income & uninsured people, where they can set-up a payment schedule, or, if they qualify, I think they can get a greatly reduced, "pay as much as you can" sort of thing. You don't happen to have anything like that there? I'm certainly not a medical person, but it really sounds to me like you should go to a clinic. Maybe you can see if you can set up a payment schedule, before you check-in.

No reason why you shouldn't benefit from our free National Health Service (NHS) http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/index.asp

"I've cut the coffee out entirely"

Right there is your headache. Can you say caffeine withdrawl symptoms?

I don't see why you think just because you don't have health insurance that your only option is to go to the ER. If you think you need to go to a doctor call one up and make an appointment. Ask what the office visit costs and take along your checkbook or cash (they're about $35 around here).

Green tea has caffeine in it. Not as much coffee, mind you. Caffeine withdrawal COULD be a partial reason for your headache, the cold itself could be the MAIN reason, especially if your sinus's are plugged.
Any doctor will tell you it takes at LEAST 2 weeks for a cold to run its course. With myself, I have seen one last 3 to 4 weeks. The first two weeks I experience the symptoms you have related. Get some Vitamin C into you. Drink plenty of fluids..If you think you have pneumonia or bronchitis, stay away from the decongestants..(I have mild asthma and mild sinusitis and have been told to avoid most). If your sinus's are draining,they may be draining into your lungs. Its called post nasal drip. This MAY be causing the difficulty with your breathing . Talk to a pharmacist if you cannot afford to see a doctor. They perhaps, will recommend something..IF..your breathing gets any worse, go immediately to the nearest clinic or ER...
P.S. I am not a Doctor, Just a cool old chick that gets nasty colds once or twice a year.:lol: Good Luck ...Hope you feel better soon.:-)

Yeah the caffein withdrawal COULD be it but i doubt that's it. It was just mostly the nausea that lingered on through the day and the cold.

Cool old chick, i appreciated your response and you do certainly live up to your name. I have been pounding the orange juice like it was going out of style and that was helpful. But today the sinus drainage was still there and didn't want to seem to go away.

I was lucky today in finding an previous doctor that i had met several years ago. when i told him my condition, he waived all charges for me and gave me some Levaquin. Very nice guy - there is still some goodness left in this crazy world. :)

chewy-

how are you today?

sophie

Sophie, i'm doing better ea. day. Although the chest weakness is still there - the medication has really helped. That was kind of you to ask - thank you. :)

chewy,

:) :) :)

glad things are on the mend.

sophie