HORRID cough... cough syrup & A SEIZURE

[Sunnytoday]

Need advice. I feel terrible, to be exact. However, I'm doing fine with the storm, it's nicely to our west, and all we are getting is a bunch of tornadoe warnings and rain and some gusts of wind and some flooding but our house is high enough thankfully that we are floating yet (grin).

Ok, so I have this absolutely terrible cough, in part due to inhaling stomach acid during a really bad night about 5 days ago due to gastroparesis (damaged stomach nerved dx'd by scan a few years ago).

I've tried everything to keep this cough in check, I'm on my inhalers every four hours (combivent and xopenex) and am chucking cough drops, and drinking lots of water, eating chicken soup, and today I tried cough syrup (Diabetic Tussin).

Bad idea.

I've only had 2 seizures so far that have been seen by my mom, but today was the third.
My seizure this time was short, and I got that weird feeling, like something really bad was about to happen, and then I feel disconnected and just weird all over, and then I realized I couldn't swallow my food, and then told mom how strange I felt and FINALLY got that bite of soup swallowed after trying maybe thirty times. I sat on the couch for about 2 mintues feeling awful, and then, it was over. It maybe lasted 2 minutes. But boy, did I get a migraine immediatly after that, and my legs are really bad now, they are really like lead, much worse than this morning. It's similar to the last one, but this one was a LOT nicer, i.e. shorter, sweeter, no jerking, and no loss of speech, although afterward it was REALLY hard to get my thoughts lined together into one sentence.

Ok, so I can't take cough syrup according to mom, she think it could've done something in connection with the seizure?

Yes, no maybe?

I can't stop coughing. My back hurts really bad at the bottom of my rib cage, and so does my neck in the front and back, and my joints all hurt (that could be from the storm). My mom says at this point it's bronchitis and if it gets any worse it's pneumonia, and I think we will try to get into my PCP this week, but it may be impossible with this storm. The schools are closed due to flooding.

I'm sleeping on three pillows, and that's not helping (yeah, the 3 hours of sleep)

Anything else I can try to do? I don't want to kick off any more seizures but i HAVE to stop this coughing!!!

So, ANY suggestions are SOOOOoooooOOO welcome!!!!!
~Sunnytoday~

[jensequitur]

Oh yeah, and your body can move the c*** in your lungs faster if it's wetter - so water is good for that, too.

[jensequitur]

Sunny, that sounds like the simple partial seizures I've been having.  That feeling of dread and disconnectedness is known as an aura, when it turns into a grand mal seizure.  Avoid flickering lights, bright lights, and try to get lots of sleep.  They happen to me when I haven't slept enough, which is all the time, these days.

Tussin just has guifenesin and dextromethorphan in it.  All that alphabet soup means is that your lungs are opened with the G, and your throat is soothed with the D.  

When I was having the shortness of breath, it started to turn into bronchitis, and there was a couple of hours one night when I could NOT get a breath.  I finally went into the bathroom and turned the hot water on, and steamed up the bathroom.  It really helped me to breathe better.

Also, a warning!  When things aren't moving quickly enough down there, your colon has more time to absorb water, and you know what that means...  To avoid feeling like you've drunk a glass of quick-setting concrete, drink lots and lots of water - more than you would ordinarily.

[Sunnytoday]

Hi there.... my stomach seems to be an acid pump... I'm on Prilosec in the morning and Prevacid in the eve. per doc.'s orders. If all else fails i can throw in Zantac.

My neurologist was trying to get me on a new acid med. but my insurance refused it. I presonally would love to control it better, I'm careful with what I eat (VERY careful). But, it just doesn't help. I suppose with my food sitting down there at least 3 times the normal legnth at least it sorta would make it go bad.

i will take my scan results for the gastroparesis with me to NYU.

I'm going to my PCP this afternoon.

My cough syrup did not have codein in it... you were right. I can not take codein, that makes me feel all loopy. This was just Tussin. My seizure could have been the total lack of sleep. (I found that with my seizures that seems to kick them off)

Note, my other two seizures that my mom saw I had a loss of speech and limb jerking, this one all I had was that feeling of dread and disconnectedness, like something bad was about to happen... it never really developed into that full grand mal. I can't really explain that feeling and it's only happened those three times. It's just the weirdest feeling ever. So, I've now had 3 in the last 2 weeks. Not a good record.

Ok, bye for now.
~Sunnytoday~

[monotreme]

Hi Sunny,
   Cough syrup that you buy without a prescription does not have codeine in it.  Please take the gastroparesis diagnosis to NYU with you.  It is another piece of information.

   Have you ever tried an over the counter heartburn remedy like Prevacid??   Maybe you need something to stop the acid for a few days.  Or you can ask the doctor about going on Prilosec for a short while (only use one box of pills and it is only once a day).  Both of these are available without a prescription but run it by the PCP just in case.

  Elaine

[Sunnytoday]

Wish~wow, thanks for the great ideas, I'm going to put a few to work. No more cough syrup for me. I'm going to try some of the rubs, and yes, I'm coughing up junk when I lay down, otherwise it's just a wracking cough. I had mom massage my back, it really helped it feel better, as long as she didn't push very much. I sat up to sleep last night and it looks as though I'll be doing the same tonight.

Rena~I can't wait until I just FEEL BETTER for an entired week, wouldn't that just be the grandest thing ever... trust me, i would totally settle for chatting about other people's problems and not having any of mine own! (laughing!) When that happens, we will party!

As far as the cough, my stomach hurts to much from it to really laugh, which stinks because I do a lot of that. (laugh)

As far as the seizure, my mom took one look at me and knew something was wrong and told me to lay down immediatly, but I had on shoes (i think) and so i really don't remember if my toes pointed. (I can't move them much on my own, actually due to bad leg/foot/toe muscles-nerve coordination now).

I am calling my PCP in the morning, so I will let you know what comes out of that.
Thanks for your advice, I will heed it!

Our weather here is calming down, just rain squalls now in our neighborhood, and i quit watching the TV (ignorance is bliss when it comes to hyped up weather coverage)
~Sunnytoday~

[Rena705]

Gee sweetie...you just keep coming up with these things don't  ya...we will talk to you even without all these awful things ya know! tee hee

Seriously though, I would be concerned about  pneumonia myself.  You said that you inhaled some of the stomach acid and it may have permeated your lungs and that is why you are constantly coughing...you lungs are trying to expel the foreign object.

I think you should see your pcp if you can and if not, I would get to the nearest ER.  I know that the situation in your area is pretty dicey right now but I have had pneumonia and I can attest to the pain the coughing causes your WHOLE body!  It is incredibly painful and feels almost as though every muscle in your body has been pulled.  My cough got so bad that I was hanging over the bucket because I could not stop coughing and I felt like I might cough up a lung...not an exaggeration my dear.

I have had seizures but none that I was aware of...did your Mom notice if you were posturing?  If your toes are pointing downwards and your feet are stretched down, that is what posturing is...this may be the cause of the severe weakness in your legs and it was always like the pain of exercising too hard and pulling my muscles for me.

I am sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time of it my dear.  If that cough continues, at least call the pcp's office and see what they suggest, they might want you to go directly to the hospital where you can get a chest x-ray right away.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help and I sure hope you start to feel better soon.  Let us know what you decide to do which I really hope is to at the very least call the doctor ok?

Lots of Hugs,

Rena

[wishforchange]

Hi,
Sorry you're ill in a hurricane, and I thought I was having a bad day.

Re cough medicines, most of them contain codeine.  This suppresses the cough reflex but also suppresses gut movements.  It may have had something to do with your difficulty in swallowing.  Just an idea, don't have a phd in the subject.  Or you may be allergic to codeine products.

If the cough is productive, annoying as it is, let it be.  Better to clear the airways than let it settle on your chest.  Menthol chest rubs are really comforting, if you have any.

There is the old fashioned treatment of inhaling over steaming hot water, to loosen any mucus.

Try to sleep sitting up as much as you can, so the phlegm doesn't collect on your chest overnight.

Keep your chest and neck warm, to encourage blood supply to the area.

If you can tolerate paracetamol (is it tylenol in US?), works great for headaches.

Check the colour of your phlegm, if you are producing any.  If it is greenish you need antibiotics.  Grey or red means there is blood, which can come from escessive coughing.  Also keep an eye on your temperature.

Onions are good for treating infection, the good old fashioned chicken soup also is comforting and antibiotic (apparently).

You might want to ask your mum to massage you a bit on the upper back to help you release phlegm, it's what physios do to cystic fibrosis sufferers.

If any of this is nonsense bear in mind its 2.30am here and I am nuts.  Get well soon.

wish