Chronic cough fits could it be asthma??

[MyNameIsMelly]

I am a 31 year old non-smoking female with no history of allergies besides mild hayfever since last year.My coughing started in Jan 2007, daily productive (clear & watery) coughing most of the day and getting worse towards the eve. Then bad when I lay down in bed, easing off when I fall to sleep. Waking me sometimes in the early hours of the morning but improves slightly once I am up and about.
The coughing starts at anytime, always with an itchy throat & streamy nose and always extremely  productive. I have found it is also triggered by spicy, crumbly foods or dry foods. But also helped by drinking lots of water. Sometimes I cough so bad I vomit or retch. My bladder has been affected badly.
Before the coughing started I had no cold, no flu symptoms. After six weeks my Doctor prescribed cough medicine and antibiotics. Then at 8 weeks a asthma 'reliever' inhaler (ventolin) which does not seem to help in the slightest.
I then got a cold and my chest was wheezy so I was prescribed a asthma steroid spray, with a steroid nasal spray and antihistimines.
Within a few days of using the steroid inhaler I noticed about a 50% improvement over my symptoms.
MY doctor says I have asthma but I find this hard to believe. Although the steroid inhaler has helped in some way the reliever inhaler has no affect it doesnt stop the coughing. The only time I was wheezy is when I had the bad cold.
Does this sound like asthma??

[National Jewish]

Yes, this could be asthma.  The improvement with the steroid inhaler is consistent with that diagnosis but not specific.  And, yes, asthma can cause cough, wheezing or both, not necessarily at the same time.  Sounds also like you may have inflammation of your nose, called rhinitis, or sinuses, called sinusitis, and that could be triggering your cough and maybe even the wheezing.  You should ask your doctor to check you for this.

We should, however, not assume that asthma is the cause of your cough and wheezing.  You should definitely have a chest x-ray and, at some point, preferably when your cough subsides a bit more, you should have pulmonary function tests, both pre and post-bronchodilator.