Asthmatic bronchitis, how long does it usually last? Could I have something else?

[Joe_K]

I have been sick for about 2 months now.  I started with a cold, but then something weird happened, and I started getting shortness of breath.  For no reason, it would happen more at night than during the daytime.  I immediately went to the doctor.  He said it was Asthmatic bronchitis.  I wasn't too worried, at the time I figured it would go away fairly quickly, but it has persisted for another month and a half.  There are days when I feel fairly well, then all of a sudden I get the tightness back in my chest, and I get dizzy.   The dizzyness turns into a headache if it doesn't go away after a few hours. When the tightness comes to my chest it feels as though my hands and feet get very cold, and sometimes I get a tingling in my hands and feet, like they are falling asleep. I tried to take advair, but it made my throat very sore, so the doctor changed me to Floradil.  I was also taking some Asmanax, Prednisone, and antibotics.  None of this helped much.  
I am 38 years old, smoked 3-4 cigs a day for about a year 6 years ago (just call it stupidity) I have never had any history of asthma, bronchitis or anything else.  I have been healthy for the past 6 years and haven't had much of anything other than having a cold or slight flu.
I have had an x-ray, and an echocardiogram, because my ECG came back as abnormal with my right side of my heart as working too hard, but the echo came back as negative for pulonmary hypertention.
How long can this last?  Could I have COPD?  Why am I getting cold feet/hands,  and headaches?

[123annie]

A related discussion, acid reflux to meds was started.

[bronchitishelp]

It is becoming all to clear that drugs are limited in effectiveness when it comes to fighting pneumonia or bronchitis. Antibiotics are the answer as far as doctors are concerned.
But I came across this ebook that opened my eyes to a lot of the things and help me understand the subject. I was having difficulty dealing with it because I didn

[National Jewish]

It is unlikely that you have COPD with the history you have presented.  The most common cause of the tingling and coldness is hyperventilation, which would explain a lack of response to the medications given to you.  The most important test for you to have when you are having these symptoms is a pulmonary function tests to see if you are having bronchospasm (asthma) or not.  This would not show up on an x-ray.  Speak to your physician about these possible steps.