Alleries, Asthma?? I can't get a straight answer.

[niteangel2]

I am 38, female, and a smoker.  I started getting short of breath 1st of February - just happened all at once a few days after a cold.  Went to the doctor and he said it was an upper respiratory infection.  

Got better after about 3 wks then we slept in the cold on our boat - 2 days later I was wheezing again.  Went to a new doctor around 1st of March.  He said it was bronchitis and that it sounded like I had a "touch" of astham (is that like being a "little" pregnant? lol).  He gave me an inhaler and cough syrup, but not antiobiotics.

I've seen him a couple of times since then.  About 3 wks ago was the last time, because I was still feeling short of breath and wheezing a little.  He put me on Clarithromycin 500mg.  Also said he thought allergies were causing most of my problems.  He did a series of chest xrays and blood work including cardiovascular tests -- my lungs are normal and all of my blood work was normal.

I don't feel ill, but I still have the cough and sometimes there is still a little yellow or brown flecks in the phlegm and then other times it's just clear or white.  I'm coughing mostly because my throat and chest feel ticklish and itchy.  I can't say that I really feel short of breath anymore, but my chest just feels 'funny'.  A little short of breath maybe sometimes - other days not at all.

How do I make this cough stop?  I never coughed before this started 1st of Feb.  Haven't had bronchitis since I was 24 yrs old, but I just can't seem to get completely over this and am getting afraid and frustrated.  Please help.

[angie1962]

I have had a cough since 2-2007 i have been to the dr 6 times since then i have been treated for ear infections, sinus infection, asthma , gerd, The cough is still here, It appears to be worse when i eat or drink, sometimes i cough so much i void my food, I had a upper Gi and a barrium swallow this past week ,, it showed significant reflux and the blood work showed i have ph phyolic, I have been on antiobiotics, cough medicine, nexium, cinclair, prednisone, among other things, i am now on two different antibiotics with the nexium, do you think this could be allergy related, my physician said since the predisone didnt kick it that he feels its no allergy related, However i do sneeze and woke up this am with a runny nose...help

[J-J]

it sounds like you have both, because allergies usually makes you drip alot so maybe when you are sleeping, while congested if you are, some of the snots from your nose drip down into your throught which makes your body cough it up later, i think it is called nasal drip or something along those lines, and as for asthma, there is an official test you can get to see if you have asthma,it sounds a little dangerous but it is safe,l i took it not to long ago (unfortunetly i have asthma), what happens is , you breathe in different types of medicines that would set off an asthma attack, one at a time(5 different medicines),each time you breathe in a medicine they make you blow into a machine as hard as you can, that shows a graph of how well you breathe, obove average or below average, after every test, they let you breathe  in a reppelant (medicine that stops you from having asthma attack and if none of the medicines set you off, you don't have asthma, but THEN you could have sports endused asthma and thats a whole different test.....well good luck hopes this helps