Unexplained cough for 5 weeks

[janetruth]

I have had a cough for over 5 weeks now. I wasn't sick and it basically popped up out of no where. I haven't ran a fever at all. I went to the doctor, and my throat isn't swollen or sore, and my lungs are clear. When I cough I stop breathing. Its as if my throat closes up completely. It takes me a a bit to catch my breath, but before I am able to, my chest goes to hurting from not being able to breathe. Once I am finally able to breathe again, I feel exhausted. I have no energy lately and it seems that no matter how much sleep I get, I don't feel rested. Also, this cough happens when I walk about 10  steps, even if I'm sitting down watching tv and try to laugh. And I have been waking up choking from not being able to breathe. When I went to the doctor on Saturday my blood pressure was 137/98 and my heart rate was 96. He prescribed me antiobiotics and a steroid and wants me to come back in a week if the cough isn't gone. I was on antiobiotics about 3 weeks ago and they didn't help. He can't understand why I'm coughing either for the above reasons.Then he got to asking me about whether or not I've been tested for heart disease. Well what I'm wanting to know is what is causing my cough? It's really starting to worry me, but without having insurance and the money for doctor's visits coming out of pocket, I can't afford to go from doctor to doctor.

[janetruth]

Went to a different doctor on Friday. Turns out I have Pertussis. He prescribed me antibiotics but said that it wouldn't really help. Said Pertussis has to run its course. He also told me that it can last up to 6 months and that I easily have 6 more weeks of this to go through. So i have 6 weeks-4 months of this cough left. Also, he told me that it's really only contagious the first 2 weeks.

[janetruth]

Also, my cough is not phlegmy either.