bevshores
In late April, 2009, I hand fed wild King Parots at a rainforest lodge in the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns in far north Queensland, Australia. (I am a 51 year old fit woman and we had just spent 2 months (Jan/Feb) snow skiing in the US - where we skied up to 10 days in a row at times).
Intitially I thought I was having the worst gastric reflux on record, but each day was worse until after flying home to the NSW Central Coast (2 hrs north of Sydney), I staggered into my doctors office and he called the ambulance. I couldnt breath, and the chest pain was at a level 10 out of 10 - I really thought I was going to die.
I spent the next 17 days in Cardiac Intensive care with Pneumpnia turning into Pluerosy, & Pericarditis - with up to 3cm of fluid around my heart causing tamponade - where my heart didn't have room to beat properly. I had fevers that spiked and went several times a day, total fatigue and blood numbers that sent specialists scurrying in all directions. Gosford Hospital assembled a Cardiac Team, a Rispiritory Team, an Infectious Diseases Team, a Microbology Team and by the time this bacteria was done with me, my lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys were effected. (Luckily, it did not go to my brain).
While I was tested for every infectious disease they could think of, it took a couple weeks to get back the first positive - to Chlamydia in my lungs. (I had only heard of teh STD version and as I had been in a manogomous relationship for 30 years I was shocked to the core with this initial diagnosis. I was subsequently for the STD version of Chlamydia and the test was negative).
My blood numbers showed that I could have had cerosis of the liver, or hepititis, lukemia, or a number of other nasty diseases. My CRP was around 499 when it should have been 5. I even had high cancer markers in both my blood and the fluid they drained out of my lungs CA125 of 95 when it should be around 30. I was tested for Ovarian Cancer, with ultrasounds and CT scans which were all negative.
After being on 2 different intraveneous antibiotic courses for the whole time I was in hospital, the pericarditis subsided and I was sent home to recouperate. My blood numbers continued to worsen and fevers continued and a second test showed that I was still positive to Chlamydia. I then went onto 2 different oral antibiotics at double dosage for 4 courses of each, with steriods daily as well... before I really started to feel the fatigue lift and my blood stop boiling (the bizarre feeling that had persisted throughout the illness).
For the simple act of touching and feeding wild (but very tame) parrots my illness was extreme.
Australian authorities can only tell me that this was a form of Chlamydophilia either pneumonia or psittaci (known here as Psittacosis).
In my mind there is no doubt that it was Psittacosis - as we had definately been in contact with parrots and my friend was also struck down by similar, but different symptoms - exaserbated by the fact that she also developed Swine Flu and Whooping Cough, before moving on to a heart beat of only 35, with Doctors telling her that she needed a pacemaker - before finally confirming that she too was positive to Chlamydophilia. (Both our husbands did not feed the birds and did not get sick).
It is now late October and we are both slowly recovering with good and bad days. My heart and lungs have now fully recovered with no residual damage. My liver has been left looking like a "fatty liver" - when it was perfectly normal in the first CTs and ultrasounds taken while I was in intensive care. I seem to have developed reactive arthritis that comes and goes and severe lower abdomonal pain that is still being investigated.
Is anyone in the world studying this bacteria and it's effects on humans? My Infectious Diseases Specialist says that I definately had an extreme reaction - but we have complete charts, and extensive tests to show the slow progression of the infection.
Has anyone else suffered the same symptoms and are any Doctors interested in using my records in their studies?
Intitially I thought I was having the worst gastric reflux on record, but each day was worse until after flying home to the NSW Central Coast (2 hrs north of Sydney), I staggered into my doctors office and he called the ambulance. I couldnt breath, and the chest pain was at a level 10 out of 10 - I really thought I was going to die.
I spent the next 17 days in Cardiac Intensive care with Pneumpnia turning into Pluerosy, & Pericarditis - with up to 3cm of fluid around my heart causing tamponade - where my heart didn't have room to beat properly. I had fevers that spiked and went several times a day, total fatigue and blood numbers that sent specialists scurrying in all directions. Gosford Hospital assembled a Cardiac Team, a Rispiritory Team, an Infectious Diseases Team, a Microbology Team and by the time this bacteria was done with me, my lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys were effected. (Luckily, it did not go to my brain).
While I was tested for every infectious disease they could think of, it took a couple weeks to get back the first positive - to Chlamydia in my lungs. (I had only heard of teh STD version and as I had been in a manogomous relationship for 30 years I was shocked to the core with this initial diagnosis. I was subsequently for the STD version of Chlamydia and the test was negative).
My blood numbers showed that I could have had cerosis of the liver, or hepititis, lukemia, or a number of other nasty diseases. My CRP was around 499 when it should have been 5. I even had high cancer markers in both my blood and the fluid they drained out of my lungs CA125 of 95 when it should be around 30. I was tested for Ovarian Cancer, with ultrasounds and CT scans which were all negative.
After being on 2 different intraveneous antibiotic courses for the whole time I was in hospital, the pericarditis subsided and I was sent home to recouperate. My blood numbers continued to worsen and fevers continued and a second test showed that I was still positive to Chlamydia. I then went onto 2 different oral antibiotics at double dosage for 4 courses of each, with steriods daily as well... before I really started to feel the fatigue lift and my blood stop boiling (the bizarre feeling that had persisted throughout the illness).
For the simple act of touching and feeding wild (but very tame) parrots my illness was extreme.
Australian authorities can only tell me that this was a form of Chlamydophilia either pneumonia or psittaci (known here as Psittacosis).
In my mind there is no doubt that it was Psittacosis - as we had definately been in contact with parrots and my friend was also struck down by similar, but different symptoms - exaserbated by the fact that she also developed Swine Flu and Whooping Cough, before moving on to a heart beat of only 35, with Doctors telling her that she needed a pacemaker - before finally confirming that she too was positive to Chlamydophilia. (Both our husbands did not feed the birds and did not get sick).
It is now late October and we are both slowly recovering with good and bad days. My heart and lungs have now fully recovered with no residual damage. My liver has been left looking like a "fatty liver" - when it was perfectly normal in the first CTs and ultrasounds taken while I was in intensive care. I seem to have developed reactive arthritis that comes and goes and severe lower abdomonal pain that is still being investigated.
Is anyone in the world studying this bacteria and it's effects on humans? My Infectious Diseases Specialist says that I definately had an extreme reaction - but we have complete charts, and extensive tests to show the slow progression of the infection.
Has anyone else suffered the same symptoms and are any Doctors interested in using my records in their studies?