A week last Sunday I took a mate around Llandegla’s red route. He’s relatively new to MTBing, but pretty fit – we had a top time and got round pretty rapidly.

Anyway late that evening I felt a bit chilly and shivery and went to bed early – felt like a spot of real manflu coming on… Took Monday off work sick – headache, aching limbs, chest pains, and thinking of ton’s thread a couple of weeks ago thought I’d better call the doctor. Doctor diagnosed a chest infestion, but possibly, on the outside, a blood clot 😯

I took the prescribed antibiotic and a couple of co-codamol half an hour later and had some pasta. This is where it starts going a bit pear shaped…

I stood up and went into the lounge and promptly passed out and began fitting – a bit concerning to my wife and two young boys. Ambulance arrived along with a nurse neighbour who calmed the boys down. Got to hospital and spent 4 hours in resus with pneumonia and sepsis and a rock-bottom bp of, my wife recalls, 55/33, (the paramedics had been unable to put a line in at all) This leads on to 2 days in intensive care, ingesting gallons of IV antibiotic, and a few days on a general ward. I got out yesterday, still with pneumonia and a nice HAI, but feeling loads better.

As one who troubles the health service staff infrequently I have to say that they were all outstanding – esp. the resus and intensive care folk. From the look in some of their eyes when I’d come round from yet another unconscious fitting episode, it must be v. stressful too. Thanks guys you were superb, and genuinely saved my life.

Anyway, how long do you think I should give it before getting back on the bike? Maybe some gentle turbo spins?

thats nothing, i’ve got a gnarly papercut that keep opening everytime i wash my hands! 🙄

AKA:

f**king hell dude, thats intense… i’m glad you’re doing better and out of hospital! its too easy to rush back into things and end up worse off for it… did the docs give you any advice about exercise?

Follow your doctors advice closely. Last thing you need is to do too much too soon, follow how your body feels. Will probably be knackered from getting off sofa to turn on the telly for first few weeks, let alone turbo sessions.
This comes as both a nurse and somebody who had 3 months off last year after post viral myocarditis – probably due to doing too much too soon after a bad chest infection.
Hope your feeling better soon, take care, and let the family fuss over you – it will let them feel they are doing something.

MTFU!

😉

Not as bad as my toe! Just take it easy and your wife will tell you when your ready to ride again if she’s anything like mine.

Hope you are feeling better soon!

While not as severe as you by a long way, I’m becoming concerned that for the last 8 weeks I’ve been running between 40% and 70% and seem to have had a string of illnesses which have left me fatigued. Even doing something faily mundane is leaving me washed out. Both my wife and I think that I over do it after illness and I should take it easier.

So I’ve been doing some research and came across this article which had some interesting info on getting back into it – perhaps a bit too much but provides someinteresting reading, especially the comments.

Bike radar article

WIMP,

Thankfully you made a good recovery, best wishes, Was it the Maelor.

I had similar happen last year – had a bit of a cold, turned into alot of a cold which eventually turned into pneumonia and an abscess on my lung. Que loads of pain and morphine, a couple of days in intensive care (ther was talk of an induced coma but thankfully that never happened) followed by 8 weeks of no booze due to the antibiotics I was on.
Having said that I recovered well and managed to go watersking the week after I got out of hospital (against Docs advice) – I was not trying to be contrary just that I needed fresh air and exercise as it certainly helped my frame of mind.
It was pretty scary (moreso for the wife as I was out of it on morphine) so I’m glad to hear a happy ending. Apparently when you get pneumonia ‘in the prime of your life’ its a steep decline and but a quick bounce back.

man up 🙂

Cheers all and yes project, it was the Maelor and their shiny new critical care unit(s).

Alas, no morphine. Which was a shame.

no morphine with a BP like that! Would have finished you off! Scary stuff that though!