does any one have trouble with persistant dry cough

[notcrazy712]

I read an article in  my local paper that really shook me up.I have been going to the DR and Eye Dr for six months I have had consistent dry eyes and inflamed corneal tissue red blood shot intense burning like always feeling sunburned  eyes. I have also had stiff sore mscles along with feeling that my legs wer just not going to support me , other things I have just thought was part of getting over 40 frequent bathroom trips and always dry mouth thirsty. I have had blood test done for diabetes, thyriod ect then I read this article that descibed my symptoms to a T except for this frustrating cough which for years has been diagnosed as asthma but in my experience the asthma medications do not work. So two quetions is brochitits type cough a symptom and what kind of diagnostic test are available to test for sjogrens syndrome.I swear I have almost convinced mysel that I am crazy before reading the article about this syndrome

[NY922]

Biotene is very good for dry mouth i have to use it daily because of sjogerns , I also have lupus and RA and osteroatrhtis I am immune supressed , i am on paqunil among other meds , see your rhuemy and get cked, bitoene helps and you need to keep your mouth moist or it will cause dental problems , as well as eye drops and alot of lotion my hands and feet get dry as well as my face so i always have to keep lubricated , i have that presistant cough and had it for a while i finally decided to see my rhuemy and she said i have costochronditis ( tieze syndrome) painful as heck , but then i devloped phuemonia and lung infection, so take care of that cough ....

[cino]

I have had a persistant dry cough for many years. I have had varoius bouts of bronchitis, but the cough I have is just a dry cough. When i say many years, I am talking about a good 25 years. I am now 56. It wasnt until about 10 years ago that I finally got "some help.  I was coughing for 14 months nonstop, day and night. I had to take time off work because I could not talk on the phone as I would immediately start coughing. It was dry, it was barky, it was irritable and I had a hoarse throat for 6 months. After many extreme tests, including tests for cancers and autoimmune diseases, nothing came back positive. Finally, I changed doctors, and it took him about 2 - 3 months to finally give me a treatment that would help. He repeated the asthma tests, but they came back "inconclusive". He said in his opinion, it was an asthmatic cough and he was going to treat me for asthma. For almost 3 months, I tried all kinds of inhalers and sprays. He was determined to help me and told me to go buy a nebulizer. He put me on Atrovent, Pulmacort and Respolin at the same time. I had to put 3 of these nebules 4 times a day round the clock. I was on antibiotics as well.  Finally, after doing this for about a month, my cough stopped.  I STILL have the persistant cough on a daily basis, but nothing dramatic like it was before. My doctor said he can tell I'm in his office when he hears me cough. But now, as soon as I get a cold, he puts me straight onto the antibiotics, sometimes even prednisone, and all 3 medications in the nebulizer and it "controls" my cough, but the cough just never goes away.

[Bella_Keiko]

I hope you are feeling better.

I couldn't help but notice your post about the dry cough and I'm wondering if you have been able to see a doctor about that yet.  I have a couple of possible causes you might want to explore, that is if you haven't already gotten it taken care of.

1)  hyper reactive airway--due to inhaled irritants or a chest infection.  The irritant or infection is gone but the cough lingers.  And because of the inflammation, any little thing can set you off.  Perfume, cold air, dry air and solvent fumes can set you off.  Even exertion is a trigger which is why some doctors mistake it for asthma, and this might be why you did not respond to asthma treatments.  The key to fixing this would be trying to turn off or turning down the cough reflex long enough so the airway can get a break and the inflammation can finally resolve itself.  Then avoid irritants in the future.
2) GERD--believe it or not, a dry, persistent cough can sometimes be the one and only symptom that patients experience with this GI disorder.  An EGD would diagnose this.  And even after the erosions have healed, emerging science suggests there is a need for cancer screening--especially if there is a family history of throat/esophogeal cancer.

I hope that helps you or someone else who might be reading.

[krndhn]

I forgot to mention  in my last post that I also have the leg problem - so bad in fact that I've seen an orthopedist.  I've always been very physically active, and walked several miles a day and suddenly I couldn't walk to my mailbox without sitting down before returning  - no way!!!  She ordered me a handicap hanger for my car because I was unable to walk from the parking lot to the office for physical therapy.  Even  therapy didn't help.  Since I had had a spinal fusion 12 years ago she ordered an MRI which did show some changes in my lower spine, that could be causing the problem and gave me pain meds.  No thanks!  I've done more researching and found that many lupus and Sjogrens patients also experience this problem with the weak and painful leg muscles.  I've about decided that either the Sjogrens or the medication for the lupus is the culprit

For the dry eye and dry mouth, there are over the counter  treatments for both.  There are several eye treatments - i like Systane eye drops the best, and Biotene toothpaste and a drymouth spray that work fairly well.  You also have the option of having the tear ducts plugged, but most insurances don't cover that - mine doesn't.

I'm no expert - I've had to find out for myself because my rheumy hasn't been all that forthcoming with information.  Google  Sjogrens and you can get a lot of information there.  Hope this helps...keep in touch...Karen

[notcrazy712]

Thanks  I am going to call my insurance on monday to see if I have to have a referral to go to a rhuematoligst. I cant begin to tell you have crazy I have felt. I am not a person who ever goes to the Dr unless I am SICK. These past few months I have felt horrible but it all seems so vauge and the Dr and Eye Dr seemed almost patronizing about my symptoms, I was begining to feel like I was just complaining too much and I needed to just get over it only I couldnt ignore the sore eyes. Are there self help  things to alliveate symptons

[krndhn]

No, you're not crazy.  It's always possible you have Sjogrens - have you seen a rheumatologist yet?  A rheumy will know what test to have done - Sjogrens is an auto-immune disease which does can present with most of the symptoms youo've mentioned.  I was diagnosed with this about 5 years ago- at that time my GP sent me to the rheumy because I was having a problem with me heels upon awakening  - they were very painful and hard to walk right.  He did a schwermer test to determine the amount of moisture in my eyes and asked if I had dry mouth, which I did.  He also did some blood work, specifically an ANA test, and diagnosed me with Sjogrens Syndrome.  He also gave me a prescription for plaquenil

I too have a dry cough - just started recently.  I haven't seen him yet to find out if it's connected to the Sjogrens, but these auto immune diseases seem not to follow  a set pattern of symptoms.  It would be a good idea to make an appointment with a rheumatologist.  Keep in touch and let me know what you decide.  Good luck