Chest issues....yeeeech

[andrew]

Hi all
I had a very annoying dry cough for three or four days and decided to go to the docs on Thursday. He had a listen to my chest and gave me Amoxicillin Forte twice daily. No issue there and in fact if it hadn't been for the cough I would have felt fine. Anyhoo...the cough persists (6am Sunday now) to a point where this morning I've coughed so darn much (still a dry cough) that my chest feels restricted and it's an effort to draw breath. I think that part of it is that it's dark and cold and that always exagerates things. Not sure how to explain it. It's not like I'm short of breath, it's just a bit of an effort to take a breath. I have a feeling that perhaps the coughing fit that I had when I woke up (conveniently at 4am ready for the start of the next World Cup match) has agitated something.

I've tried ventolin, cough suppressant (which has worked for the cough) but the situation continues. Any tips? I feel that if it continues much longer I'll head down to the medical centre when it opens.

[Luce]

My main symptom before I was diagnosed was a cough that just kept getting worse, despite antibiotics and cough syrup. My coughing got harder and hurt more, leaving my breathing shallow because it hurt to take a deep breath. I left it until I coughed up blood and that led to chest x-rays and diagnosis.
So I guess you could be having a flare, have you had lung involvement before? The only other thing I can think of is if you've had a recent medication change it could be an allergic reaction, or that you have a chest infection and amoxicillin isn't the right antibiotic for it.

[Lightwarrior]

I hope you are feeling better as you read this. Did you go back to get re-checked? I agree with Luce, you could be having a flare. Do you take any ace-inhibitors i.e. lisinopril, norvasc??? Don't wait to long.

[Sangye]

Andrew, the only sign I have of my lungs hemorrhaging is a dry cough and breathlessness. And last summer when they hemorrhaged I didn't even feel that out of breath. We thought I had pneumonia and after several rounds of IV antibiotics I finally started coughing up blood. Please don't wait. You need an x-ray at a minimum. If it shows "atypical pneumonia" ask for a chest CT, since lung hemorrhage doesn't always show up well on x-ray.

Take care of yourself, friend.

[pberggren1]

I'm scared for you Andrew. It is aweful living in the unknown. Like Sangye said I would get it checked out immediately - x-ray and then CT maybe.

[andrew]

Thanks guys. My main involvment was lung and kidney so yes, I could be having a flare. Can't believe I didn't think of that. I'm definitely not coughing up blood and my GP knows Wegs and treats several other WG patients too. I have made an appointment with him again tomorrow. I can breath as deep as I ever could and there doesn't seem to be any mucus or anything so, because it was a bit of a strain to take a breath, I was thinking inflammation somewheres which of course kinda ponts maybe to WG. Duh! I don't take any ace-inhibitors.

Strangely enough, after I wrote the first post I thought I'd take myself out for a drive to at least get my mind off it. As soon as I stepped outside in the cold air I felt great and my chest felt very clear. Soon as I sit down quietly somewhere it starts to annoy me again. I'm currently at my parent's place getting looked after like a big baby lol!

Thanks for the tips on the x-rays too. I'll have a long chat to the doc about it. He's a reasonable bloke so shouldn't be to difficult.

If it gets too awful there's a hospital about 5 minutes down the road.

thanks again guys, you make me feel better already :-)

[andrew]

Hey guys. I had a 'screw this' moment this afternoon. I had just awoken from 45 whole minutes of unbroken sleep with what felt like a truck on my chest. We have an after hours GP clinic here that once again I had forgotten about (I was about to go to the ER - mainly because of the way I felt but partly because I knew you lot were watching!). I called them expecting to get an appointment at 3am but instead got one at 4.10 this afternoon. It can be a lottery as to what kind of doc you get at this clinic but the one I got today was awesome. He asked a bunch of questions about how my WG presented initially leading me to think he had actually heard of it lol! Anyhoo, he listened to my chest heave and wheeze and prescribed a Symbicorte inhaler. He gave me the lowdown on how to use it then told me to call him by 8pm if I wasn't feeling any better. Neve had that kind of service from the clinic before! Anyway, I took my first dose about three hours ago and am actually feeling human again. I have another dose in an hour.

I guess you guys can relate but I was in a bit of a panic.....no...honestly I was freaking out. Having to put all that effort just into taking a breath was, and still is, doing my head in.

He wants me to see my GP tomorrow anyway and mentioned that I should get x-rays if I'm not feeling significantly better by then. I'm going to see how sleeping goes tonight and take it from there. There's a nice, big Lazy-boy recliner in the loungeroom.....right in front of the TV....with the World Cup on it..... :-)

[andrew]

Hey guys. I had a 'screw this' moment this afternoon. I had just awoken from 45 whole minutes of unbroken sleep with what felt like a truck on my chest. We have an after hours GP clinic here that once again I had forgotten about (I was about to go to the ER - mainly because of the way I felt but partly because I knew you lot were watching!). I called them expecting to get an appointment at 3am but instead got one at 4.10 this afternoon. It can be a lottery as to what kind of doc you get at this clinic but the one I got today was awesome. He asked a bunch of questions about how my WG presented initially leading me to think he had actually heard of it lol! Anyhoo, he listened to my chest heave and wheeze and prescribed a Symbicorte inhaler. He gave me the lowdown on how to use it then told me to call him by 8pm if I wasn't feeling any better. Neve had that kind of service from the clinic before! Anyway, I took my first dose about three hours ago and am actually feeling human again. I have another dose in an hour.

I guess you guys can relate but I was in a bit of a panic.....no...honestly I was freaking out. Having to put all that effort just into taking a breath was, and still is, doing my head in.

He wants me to see my GP tomorrow anyway and mentioned that I should get x-rays if I'm not feeling significantly better by then. I'm going to see how sleeping goes tonight and take it from there. There's a nice, big Lazy-boy recliner in the loungeroom.....right in front of the TV....with the World Cup on it..... :-)

[Sangye]

Wow Andrew, I'm sure glad you went, but I think you need to get to your regular doc as soon as you can even if the inhaler makes you feel better. (If it's Wegs, the inflammation could be relieved by a steroid inhaler.) I'm happy your parents are there to help you. Please let us know how you're doing!

[renidrag]

Andrew: How often are you using the Simbicort? I do think it is a steroid inhaler, so I a limited to two hits, twice a day, other than that I carry an emergency inhaler for special times. I think I have used it less than a dozen times. It is called Albutirol. Not being able or comfortable breathing is terrifying, even when you know it will happen from time to time. Best of Luck,
Dale