Hi all, I'm hoping to get some further
advice as I'm quite frustrated and a bit
worried.
Here's the background:
Me:
- I am male, 30 years old...generally
fairly fit & healthy.
- I have had Asthma since I was 5 years
old, but have had no serious attacks these
last 15 years.
- I used to be a smoker (13 years in
total...about 5-a-day) but have almost
stopped completely these last 12 months
(the odd couple in bars) and have not had
a single tug in 4 weeks.
- Other than my Asthma reliever inhalor I
take no regular or prescription
medication.
- I generally get Hayfever every
year...meaning lots of blowing-my-nose due
to pollen allergy...but it's never
serious, just annoying.
- Apart from the odd cold these last few
years...I don't really get ill.
- Since March this year, I have worked
nightshifts (14 x 8-hour shifts per month,
with the rest of the time being free
time).
Now:
- About 3 weeks ago I developed a cough
out of nowhere. A chesty cough that
sometimes (say 10% of the time) brought up
phlegm. This phlegm has been clear, yellow
or green and has been fluid or
thick...might be dependent on what I've
just eaten.
- After 2 weeks, the cough wasn't going
away. No other symptons, just the cough.
After some particular heavy fits I finally
saw the Doc who reckoned Bronchitis and
prescribed a 10-day antibiotic program and
sick-leave.
- The coughs are irregular...I might sleep
peacefully a whole night. During the day I
probably have one bout every hour, of 4 -
8 coughs each.
The problem:
- These last few days the coughing fits
have resulted in a quite scary complete
tightening of my airways. I cannot move
any breath in or out and have to violently
burp to force them open again. It can be
up to 30 seconds until I start breathing,
and a couple of minutes until the
breathing is normal.
- These last 24 hours I vomited twice
during a cough fit, shortly after eating.
Small amounts of undigested food came out.
Note: I have had no Asthma-related
wheezing issues during these weeks. Which
in itself is very unusual in my
experience.
The first time this happened I went to an
all-night clinic. It was a saturday night
and the place was busy with disrespectful
drunks so all the staff were a bit rushed
and stressed. The Doc there reckoned what
I was experiencing is normal for chest
infections and prescribed calm.
But still, I fear my cough because if I
can't control a coughing fit then at the
end of it I will not be able to breathe
and will just have to sit still and burp
until my airways open up again.
Can anyone else add or complement any
information or experiences?
