Acute Bronchitis?????

Hi-I have been sick for almost 6 weeks.....a week after this came on I went to the dr and they said bronchitis.  I had been coughing, wheezing, and not feeling myself.  I do not smoke nor am I around smoke.  They gave me prednisone, cherratussin(cough syrup), Zithromax(antibiotic)and Benzonatate(pearl pills).  Two weeks later I still have the same symptoms even worse....I end up going to the E. R. because I can't breathe.  They take my bp and it is 176 over 110 and norm is 110 over 80.  They said that was from coughing but that scared me.  Then they gave me an albuterol breathing treatment and a lidocaine breathing treatment.  They send me home with another cough syrup and Biaxin(antibiotic).  I started to feel better when I started the Biaxin and thought this was over, but  it's been almost a week and a half and I am still on the Biaxin and I am starting to wheeze and cough again.  I feel my tubes tightening up.  What is going on and why is this happening.???????  I use a vaporizer and I boil a pan of water.  What else can I do?????  I don't want to live like this!!!!!!!!Help please!!!

Thanks,
Misty

[National Jewish Health]

What you describe suggests that you have developed an obstruction to airflow, within your bronchial tubes, possibly in response to a severe viral infection.  The initial diagnosis of bronchitis and the treatment prescribed, both by your doctor and in the ER, was reasonable.  However, the sub-optimum response to therapy suggests that this may be something other than bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis or asthma.  Quite possibly, you might have one of the following:  1) reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS), or 2) acute bronchiolitis obliterans, each of which can be precipitated by a severe viral infection.  You will almost certainly require further testing such as pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and perhaps a CT scan of your lungs.

You should request consultation with a lung specialist, called a pulmonologist, without delay.  Your doctor may assist you with referral to a person he knows to be of high quality.

Your high blood pressure (BP) is also worrisome, at 176/110.  Some elevation of BP, although not usually of this magnitude, can occur during the actual act of coughing, but should not persist when you are not coughing.  Your doctors should not assume that cough is a full explanation of your high blood pressure.  You will probably need 24 hour monitoring of your BP soon, and therapy begun in a timely fashion.

Good luck

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