Cough That Has Lasted 14 Weeks

[black_cat51]

hi, i have a horrible cough that has been going on for 14 weeks
i have had:antibiotics x 2 courses (neither of which made me feel a jot better)
cetirizine (in case it was hay fever) - not a jot of difference
Omeprazole (in case it was silent reflux) - not a jot of difference
a high contrast chest CT scan (completely clear)
The cough is sometimes productive, sometimes dry - at first i was having trouble breathing on occasions. It gets worse at the end of the day
What now? i am a 40 year old non-smoker and am mightily peed off. I will go back to the GP, but anyone have any ideas?

[jno]

are you on any drugs ending in pril?

[black_cat51]

no

[jno]

oh well. They make you cough. I stopped coughing (after three months) when I came off one.

[Hopkirk]

Have you been sent for a chest x ray?

[black_cat51]

vile, isn't it? I swear i have consumption

[black_cat51]

no, no chest xray

[Hopkirk]

Oh hang on, what's a CT scan?
Probably a more advanced thing than a chest x ray.

[Old_Geezer]

Ah, that must be what is causing mine. I'd forgotten that was a side effect. Thanks.

[ubasses]

Are you on Statins?

[black_cat51]

yes, but only started them 1 month ago

[hc4361]

Has your doctor considered asthma? My only symptom was a cough and occasionally trouble breathing.

[anneasquith]

you are young to be on statins ?

[Ann]

My friend's husband has had a very similar cough for ages like you. He went for tests which had to be grown in culture and 2 weeks later they told him he had whooping cough at the age of 70! His wife then started coughing, she had tests and it was found he had passed whooping cough on to her too. It seems it is making a comeback so please get yourself checked out.

[jno]

Ann's right, whooping cough is on the rise. Any idea if you were ever vaccinated against it?

http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2014/aug/08/return-victorian-diseases-gout-tb-measles-malnutrition

[retrotv]

Idea:

Superclean your bedroom and anywhere you spend lots of time.

Boil wash the pilowcases.
Replace the pillows. Use anti-allergy covers on the new ones underneath the pillowcases.

Steam-clean the carpet, the bedframe and the mattress.

Vacuum the room in 3D including floor, walls and ceiling.

[Sqad]

I agree with hc4361, asthma must be a consideration.
Go back to your GP and suggest, gently,a short course of steroids, either by mouth or preferably by inhaler.

[slaney]

Yes asthma seems to have been the only common cause of a chronic cough not to have been treated.
Have you had any lung function tests - peak flow measurements etc?

[black_cat51]

thanks all, asthma does seem the most likely candidate. Perhaps i wiil return to the GP this week. I am not actually whooping, but was a bit at the beginning

[retrocop]

My cough has lasted five weeks.CT Scan and chest X ray clear.Been on 3 different ABX.coughing up submarines and trolley buses but now tickly.Tested for whooping cough.Negative.Given inhalors.Makes cough worse.No history of Asthma.I firmly believe I contracted this from breathing re-circulated cabin air on a recent holiday flight. Have you flown any where recently.You are peed off? I am about to attend a pre op assessment today for impending major surgery and am terrified I may fail the respiratory/lung function test whereas my lungs are normally strong.

[black_cat51]

well, it looks like i might have whooping cough!