Hacking cough that won't go away-should I see someone?

I've had it now for 3 weeks and am in a mental crisis. I also have asthma and doing allll I can do to function.

Take pseudoephedrine which will help with your sinuses, take tylenol for headaches, take expectorant to help keep things flowing and use DM and antihistamine sparingly.

Drink lots of fluids, eat well, get rest....

I'm also taking l-lysine and upped my vitamins, doubled my asthma steroid inhaler, taking a 12 hour reliever...shaking like crazy (fun doing a haircut or putting on my make up..lol).

My chest is rattling, not much is coming up and it bugs the heck out of me. My husband has the same, as does a few people I've heard about. Oh, my doctor had the same thing when I was there last week. I was put on Zithromax for 5 days. It improved initially, but the cough and rattling..didn't.

Let's see if we can get to some nice scenery considering we're paddling up the same river in the same boat going in the same direction.

I've called the doc, but she didn't call back. I see her on Wednesday anyway...I'll either be better or worse by then. sheesh. I'm thinking I have bronchitis, but if it's viral, all I can do is wait it out.

Hope all gets well on your end. I think I want an x-ray if I don't improve.

q

My son just got over something similiar. It took his cough about 2 weeks to go away. Do you have Mucinex where you are? If so, try Mucinex DM and see if this helps. But I agree that maybe you should give it a few more days to see if it clears up on its own. If you feel that a heavy weight is sitting on your chest get in to see the doc as this can be a sign of bronchitis or pneumonia.

      Laura, have you had a chest xray since starting Remicade?  My doctor ordered one for me after my second infusion just to make sure everything is ok.

      I wouldn't fool around with chest congestion while on Remicade.

Correct, with Biologics or immune suppressors a cough is not something to take lightly but I can't tell you how many times I have gone to the docs with a sniffle or a cough (while being on 6mp) and for her to tell me "Well, it's a virus. Ride it out if you can." Someone with Uc doesn't want to be on antibiotics if it can be helped but please look out for yourself and if you feel yourself get worse over the weekend, don't hesitate to go to urgent care.

I was just discharged yesterday from a 6 day hospital stay.  Had pneumonia.  I am on both Remicade and Prednisone.  Started out 2 months ago with coug and shortness of breath.  My primary did chest X Ray, Stress test, Pumonary Function studies.  No antibiotic yet.  Then I started a UC flare, increased my Pred from 5 mg/day to 40 mg/day.  Flare cleared up in a few days and the s.o.b. improved.  Started tapering the Pred, decreasing 10 mg/wk.  Cough and S.O.B. came back  by last week I was coughing up blood and so S.O.B. I could hardly walk around in my house.  Saw my doctor on Friday, my PO2 was 77 and I was gasping for air.  Was admitted that day.  After enduring every test in the book, I was diagnosed with pneumonia.  (They had to rule out TB, pulmonary embolism and did a bronchoscopy for good measure.) 

By now I'm being followed by a pneumonologist who thinks the UC meds lowered my resistance so I picked up a bug of some sort,  the Pred. masked my symptoms and by the time I tapered down on the Pred, I had developed pneumonia.  There is also some thinking that UC can cause bleeding in the lung.  This is a very long way to say, don't mess around with that cough.  Go to some doctor and get checked out. 

I don't think you need an xray, necessarily- but definitely some antibiotics! Call your PCP first, not your GI- do not ignore it! You have to be extremely vigilant & proactive about respiratory stuff while on those meds. I had pneumonia twice while on Remicade, first time also on pred, 2nd time just on Remicade & Imuran. However, difference being- 2nd time I caught it I went to my PCP right off, & was put on antibiotics. Cleared right up. First time landed me in the hospital for a week! Call first thing Monday AM, even if your cough seems better- if you're using OTC meds the improvement could be solely due to them. Your PCP may want an xray, they may not- they'll be able to tell if it's pneumonia by listening to your lungs. They generally use a Z-pak for this, & it's never bothered my UC too much.

Ok-wow, maybe I am not overreacting about this cough still hanging on!! I will call first thing Monday and get it checked out-I have never had problems from z-packs either, if that is what they end up doing. I'll push for that if antibiotics are needed.

Q-I am exhausted too! Are you feeling any better today? I can't get a good night's sleep-between the pred and this cough, I am worn out. It stinks.

The entire time I was Humira, I had no issues with getting sick more often-in fact I tended to stay healthier than the rest of the family. I was hoping the same would be true on Remicade, but maybe it won't be. I am going to think positive though-I'll get past whatever this is and be good to go through summer at least!

Hi..not necessarily feeling better, still tired and coughing a lot without anything coming up even though it's "rattling".

I started some echinacea just to see if it would help...lol...interestingly, my butt is quiet. I'm sure it won't last long.

I also have weaned my antidepressants to 37.5 and the emotions have opened a lot. Could be coincidence, however....I did a lot of pacing and feeling sorry for myself this evening (my husband is working)...so had to let it out and then try to calm myself. I'm actually more angry at this point...but I'm not used to things not being taken care of "eventually"...even my flares don't last like this!

Hope you don't get any worse and that it doesn't hang on as it has for some.

Just think of all the standing or sitting stomach exercise we're getting....

q

Aleve is an antiinflammatory. I'm very sensitive to it, but for some it might work if inflammation in the lungs is an issue. Makes my asthma worse, but I've never used it when I had UC.


q

It's not recommended to take it with UC...it's classified as a NSAID. But I take aspirin for headaches...doesn't bother me. One can only find out by trying it I guess.

I'm somewhat better today....last night coughing took me to the limit already. I downed Robitussin cough suppressant (not the one with expectorant), and it helped in the way that when I woke up, I actually coughed up something. My husband calls them loogies....lol. It was more satisfying than just foamy saliva.

I'm getting the ticklies now (but still rattles in that one upper chest area around and just below the larynx....I stopped the expectorant and will be drugging myself with the suppressant. I think the very act of coughing a thousand times a day is what's perpetuating this particular virus. After three weeks of this crap, I'm ready to move on, but oh my....I'm absolutely zonked.

I told my husband I need to be rebooted...like my brains have been scrambled and should be set straight again.

Do make an appointment if you're getting worse or not improving at all. If you have any colour to the phlegm (loogie), you likely have a bit of an infection. Otherwise, maybe a suppressant will be a good thing now that the virus has had a run for over a week already.

Let me know what happens....I truly feel for you.

I see my GP on Wednesday...for a physical. I'll see if she's any better as well, since it seems we had the same thing. I have the option to stay home...she talks all day...ugh. I hope her empathy factor is good that day, I have a few things I need to discuss, but still ticked I never got called on Thursday. I have to formulate a question as to what to think when I don't get called.

Hope you get more sleep tonight.
quincy

Q-I am glad you were able to actually cough something up-I hate the foamy stuff myself. And glad to hear you are somewhat better. Still-3 weeks is just too long!!! Mine has been about half of that and I have just HAD it with this.

I think it is good you'll be seeing her on Wednesday-but I hope you keep seeing improvement between now and then.

My loogies do have color to them. Not as much being coughed up today, but I am still going to call. They usually can squeeze me in same day if I call first thing, and I would rather have it checked out to be on the safe side. I'll let you know what they say...

As far as the aleve-I guess if I need to, I will try it-I avoid NSAIDs, but am not really sure if I am sensitive to them or not, to be honest.

UGH Tinypete!!! That is awful. I guess you are right-when we are already sick, I suppose these things take longer to resolve. But December is a LONG time to be dealing with that-I am sorry. And then to end up flaring too-that just plain stinks.

I went to the GP today and he said my lungs sound fairly clear, but my sinuses are infected. He wanted to try levaquin, which I have never taken. I told him I had never taken it, and told him I needed to clean whatever I take with my GI first. I had also mentioned I have taken z-packs without UC problems, so he said let's start with that and if it doesn't clear up in 3-4 days, add the levaquin. So I filled the z-pack and called my GI and left a message to make sure all of this is ok by him. Levaquin looks to be int he same family as cipro-which I have only taken once, but it was before UC.

Hopefully I can get all this junk knocked out and stop coughing so much!