update still coughing... 6 1/2 weeks

[jeric]

I posted awhile back, about a chough for 4 weeks and had tried a pred burst and changed asthma meds to Advair 250/50 with no help.

Now it has been 6 1/2 weeks with a dry non-productive cough. Though my peak flows have been good (500).

I saw my PCP 5 days ago because in about 6 days I will be out of my Advair and wasn't sure if I was supposed to keep taking that or go back to my Flovent 44mcg.

Well, my dr said that my cough didn't sound like an asthma cough. She said that my lungs sound clear and my peak flow that she took was very good.

So she said that she thinks that I have bronchitis... she said that she thought I had inflammation of my larger bronchial airways. That I did not understand, because doesn't the peak flow meter measure my larger bronchial airways? and my peak flows are good, so how can it be that they are inflamed due to bronchitis??

Also, she said that she doesn't think that this is bacterial, and that it is a virus but she said she was prescribing me a z-pack because of how bad I sounded.

I'm a bit scared at what may happen after I'm out of the Advair, I hope my asthma doesn't go out of control or get worse!


My doctor didn't really let me ask any questions she just hightailed it out of the room and I'm a bit confused now... I have finished the course of antibiotics and am still coughing it has not imporoved at all.

Most of the time my cough is dry and non-productive, how ever sometimes and it seems to be mostly at night it is productive and most of the time it is white or clear and every so often it was a bit of a rusty look to it.

Also my lungs have started to feel sticky, almost like there is glue in them. My heart occasional feels a bit off kind of floppy feeling I'm not sure what that is, but it doesn't happen that often.

Do I just wait this out, or follow up with my reg. doctor, or should I get a new doctor considering how short my regular one was with me?

Thanks!

Jess

[Texheart]

Thanks for your statement.  Jess, I will take your 6 1/2 week cough and think I had died and went to heaven.  In January, I contacted a virus at a large Cancer hospital.  (no, I did not have cancer) I coughed from January 31, 2007 until June, 2007.  I would cough so violently that I would vomit and this gave me some relief. Yes, I wheezed with this and sounded like a train whistle and a freighter's horn. I coughed up cup fulls of phelgm.  My pulmonary function  test was at 25%.  My peak flow was at 250.  I have asthmatic airways. The doctor here stated, "it is not at all uncommon for a cough, following a BAD viral infection to last 6 months or longer in those with asthmatic airways".  My suggestion is ask your doctor if you can get a nebulizer (I found a great little one for under 50.00) and get an RX for the medicated vials.  I now have one of the best pulmonary doctors seeing me.  I am also a heart patient.  I wish you a quicker recovery than what I had.  I am so much better but some wheezing has remained and some mucous coughing.  It may take me another few months to feel like my old self again.  I now avoid crowds, church, malls and carry the hand santizer with me at all times.  I also carry a mask in my purse and use it if necessary. Doctors have advised me to stay away from sick grandchildren, also.  Good Luck and may you feel better soon.

[jeric]

The CT was negative now I'm waiting on the results of the pulmonary function tests.

[jeric]

The CT was negative now I'm waiting on the results of the pulmonary function tests.

[jeric]

Don't know but when I called the office on Monday they wanted me to have a Chest CT (w/ contrast) and pulmonary function tests... which I had done on Wednesday.


The nurse who set everything up said they should have the results by Friday and that they would call me... but after my CT the tech said I would have my results in a week.

So now I have to just wait for them to call.

Though I'm just about going nuts with impatience waiting for that call!! :S

[heartache]

Wondering what your chest images revealed, if anything?

[jeric]

As for using neb treatments at home I don't think I could do that I hate them so much! Also the neb treatment barley made me feel any better at the drs office.

Also since my asthma has never really flared before and It's been quite mild especially as I've gotten older and since the pred burst didn't work my drs believe that this is not my asthma.

However, it could be just a virus hanging around, I'm not sure and neither are my doctors but they (or at least this new one) just want to make sure it's not something else.

So far the Benzonatate hasn't been able to stop my cough and I never heard back from the office about my chest x-ray, however by the time radiology got to my yesterday I'm not suprised.

[jeric]

Thanks I saw a different doctor today and I did have a fever today (which she said was impressive given the fact that I take 150mg of Indomethacin a day)

She also gave me a neb treatment because everytime I tried to breath in deeply do she could listen to my lungs I would start to cough and she wanted to be able to hear what was going on with my lungs (no other doctor did this before) She said that she could hear some weezing.

She was a bit concerned about the fever, and since it had been almost 4 weeks since my last chest x-ray she wanted me to have another one, which I will be getting the results of tonight.

She checked for post-nasal drip which was not present and ruled out GERD because I'm already taking meds that would treat that (though I'm not taking them because of GERD).

So she gave me a script for Benzonatate 200mg to see if that will stop my coughing.

If nothing is better I have to call her Monday and she said that we will do Pulmonary Function tests and possibly a CT of my lungs.

[National Jewish Health]

The peak flow is a measurement of air flow in the large airways, but not the smaller airways.  If you had bronchitis, your lungs were unlikely to be clear.  It is highly likely that you would be raising a lot of phlegm and not have a dry cough.  And, if you did have bronchitis the cough would most likely, but not necessarily, be caused by a virus

The cause of your cough remains obscure.  It may or may not be asthma or may be asthma with something else superimposed.

Note, however, 6½ weeks may seem like a long time but that amount of time barely even approximates the length of time to call it a chronic cough.  It is not at all uncommon for a cough, following a bad viral infection to last 6 months or longer in a person who has asthmatic airways.

I believe your doctor has done as much as she is capable of doing and maybe no one could do any better, but that is what you should hope for, as you seek consultation with a lung specialist.  And that is what you should do.