Hello everyone....my internet searching has lead me to this board hopefully for some insight.
I am 35 years old and was diagnosied with Asthma back in 1994 and for the most part haven't really thought anything more of it until recently.
Back in November I came down with a "cold" and that is nothing new but what was new is that all of a sudden my heart was racing....I ended up at the hospital because the pulse was so high I couldn't hold a water bottle without seeing it bounce in my hand. They did and EKG and said that it was tachycardia (high pulse rate). I left thinking nothing more of it. I assumed I must have taken seomthing that increased my heart rate.
This week I came down with another "cold" / virus and it quickly dropped to my lungs. I called the doctor because I was having tighness breathing as it felt like the lungs were filling up. By the time I got to the doctors office I had a temp of 102 and once again tachycardia (they put me on an EKG machine)....this time I knew I hadn't taken anything that would increase my heart rate. I didn't take any cold medicine and I don't drink anything with caffeine. They took a chest Xray to make sure it wasn't pneumonia and said the x-ray was fine. Said it was the Flu and gave me Tamiflu and told me to do nebulizer treatments every 6 hours as needed. My husband has come down with the same thing and I have noticed marked differences between us, most markedly is the mucous production. I have gone through 2.5 boxes of tissues trying to keep on top of clearing my sinuses of a thick mucous (almost membrane in consistancy) while he has maybe blown his nose a dozen times. I am also continually clearing a deep wheeze phlegm from my chest. Where he has coughed barely at all.
I started to look online for some answers as the racing heart has me scared and frightened and I know it isn't normal to have this... and I find it very strange that it is happening when I get these "colds" that effect my respiratory system. Looking on the internet can be very dangerous, because you can talk yourself into a diagnosis and make it fit....I had origionally started searching on thick mucous production and tachycardia and it lead me to CF. As I read I fit some of the profile but not other parts. I have in the past few years suffered from bouts of extreme abdominal pain, that may or may not end in a bout of diarrehea. I continually have issues with the sinuses as far as congestion and pressure. I have bouts of thick cervical mucous (once agian, memberane like). I have hypertension (which I have had since grade school).
On the other hand, I have no problem gaining weight (I am considerably overweight).....I do not have any of the clubbing mentioned. Even though I have constant sinus problems I don't have growths. I haven't had any lung infections. On the whole, I don't have issues with breathing until a sickness comes along, and then it causes havoc with my respiratory system.
One thing that I thought was interesting is that the sweat or skin has a salty flavor to it, because I have a dog and my dog loves to sit and lick me.....she could careless about licking my husband. She will give him a *kiss, come over and lay next to my leg like she was sitting down to a dinner plate.
I don't konw, just trying to figure out what is going on with me as doctors don't seem to have time to actually sit with patients and be concenred with a total picture. They look at each thing and treat it as individual components, not trying to connect the dots!
Any help in dissuading me would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.