Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Breathing issues...

Okay, so, for more than a month I have had a nagging, dry, unproductive cough, a bit of a hoarse throat (not sore), a heavy chest and a tightness in my breathing, kind of restricted. I went to the DR. and he gave me some anti-biotics in case it was bronchitis or something and asked that I return this Wed. if it hasn't improved. He didn't do a chest x-ray right off the bat because I don't have insurance and it'll cost a few hundred dollars. Well, it's Sun. night and it still hasn't gotten better (I've been taking the drugs since last Wed.). My question is, might this be AS related? I'm a bit worried about the big C, but as of yet, no weight loss, so perhaps I'm in the clear. Complications from GERD? Any hints would be appreciated.

Hey, I have to take meds for GERD, over the counter for now, but it helps...but try a humidifier in your house and bedroom...it works...I would wake up at 4am, dry throat and nose, and had to run water up there...and then at 7am I'd still be dry...and then blow out crazy infected sinuses...yellow and green if really infected...

I got a hot mist humidifier a month ago....in my apt. they crank the heat, I have no control...and it dries everything out...but this thing, by Vicks, has helped...you can get hot or cold mist humidifiers for 30-50 bucks...at a drugstore...try it and see how you feel...

I am on Enbrel and catch loads of infections from my teenage students with autism...crazy, I love it though...hang in there!
Peace
Linc

Pete,

This time of the year with the flu and viruses running around it may take the antibiotics a bit longer to work or you may even end up with a second round of a different type to get rid of the stuff you have.

What happens when you take a long very hot steamy shower? Does it seem to loosen any of the stuff up any? We use a humidifier here like link was talking about. It help keep some moister in th air to keep the furnance from drying the air up so much.

Brent

No, that's the thing: there's nothing to loosen up. It's a dry, unproductive cough, almost as if I had asthma. There's no phlegm, no nasal discharge or wet coughing, just a constant urge to cough, even if I don't; almost like trying to drink a Wendy's Frosty with a straw...you know how the straw just collapses? Well, it hasn't gotten to the point where I can't get air, but the air seems restricted somehow. I hate to have to pay for a chest x-ray that may show nothing at all, but I think I'll have to. I'll wait at least until Wednesday though, just in case. But as of day 6, no apparent improvement from the antibiotics.

Would you consider trying and would your doctor consider prescribing an albuterol inhaler (or something similar) first in lieu of a chest x-ray. I don't know what potential risks are associated with doing this, but I had an albuterol inhaler when I had pneumonia a couple of years ago (and that was after I had had chest x-rays). My thought is that the doctor might be able to narrow down the cause of this cough without the use of a chest x-ray. I don't think an inhaler is a long term solution. I wonder, however, if it could help determine the cause of this cough.

Have you made any changes to your indoor environment such as detergents, fabric softeners, air fresheners, or deodorants/colognes that might have provoked an allergic reaction that manifests itself as a cough?

Good luck.

Pete - same here. Exact. Non-productive cough. Going on and on and on. Went on for two years. Had doctors implying 'it was stress related'...!! Hoarse voice - rasping, sometimes disappearing to a mere whisper. Dry mouth - sometimes tongue tongue stuck to roof of mouth. Dry eyes - have the punctly plugs, bliss, no more streaming eyes and all those eye probs where sometimes I couldn't hardly 'see' the PC screen! Finally FOUR consultants later (heck you couldn't invent this stuff) I was eventually referred to this whizz guy, who checked out my vocal cords on the EMG machine (electro myelogram - checks out vocal cords via a hook up from sensor pads placed around the throat; then these in turn are attached to electrical equipment and hooked up to a screen). Interesting equipment and very interesting consultant runninng the tests - think this was his own breakthrough in using EMG machines in DX laryngial problems (he is ENT and does a lot with opera singers and theatre persons). Lo and behold, Sporadic Dysphonia AND tied up with Sjogrens (was V. glad to cock a snook at the disbelieving clonker doctors )

Now for the weird part. My neck has been throwing wobbies, nuisance. Painful, and getting mild but persistent headaches. So, was referred for some physio. The phyotherapist *refused massage or ANY kind of 'hands on' as there is a slippage of C2 over C3 - she was real nervous that she might cause further slippage and then I'd be in a right bowl of soup with possible paralysis! OK. So, put me on the tens machine. Started with the continuous buzzy-fuzzy-tingly setting, then, went to the pulse. After the first pulse session, I suddenly noticed that my voice was clearing up. Then had another session and a third session. My voice is 'practically' back to normal, and have hardly coughed AT ALL for a few weeks now. Huzzah!

Seems to have cracked it. Going to get my own tens machine, but will have to wait for me to save up for it.

But yes, know exactly 'where' you are coming from. BTW - sucking mint sweets helps and also, having a large bowl of water in the bedroom, keep it near to the radiator: humidity. Plain warm water to drink is quite good as well. Keep the vocal cords lubricated. DON'T drink Coke or sodas, pleeeeeeese. Plain water, and preferably warm water. OK?

Molly
Keeping on Keeping on

Oops, forgot, heavy chest, breathing. Yes. Get the same. Darn painful. Rib cage and fusing. Rib expansion has gone from 4.5" down to barely 2" Down the right side, lower right into the corner of the lung, then also has crept up to another spot just into the chest region. Horrible. The stretching, pulling shoulders baaaaaack - ooh-ooh. That is painful. AS. The darn jig-saw of AS...

Molly
Keeping on Keeping on

Jaybird, if I end up going in, I'll ask about the inhaler; could be a cheaper alternative, but only if it can fix the problem, not just the symptoms.

Wow, Molly, that's a lot of stuff; hope I don't have to wait two years (and pay two years worth of exams) to find out what's wrong with me. I'll keep you posted.

I have COPD so I know how breathing problems can really bother you and make you worry at the same time. I use Advair when needed plus aubuterol and Atrovent.

Your problem sounds more like the one my mom has had since September. They found some white pus pocket on her vocal cords and removed the one from one side doing a biopsy on it which came back negative. She is waiting for them to remove the other side now, because the doctor feared if he did both sides at once her vocal cords may grow together making things worse. To date all he can come up with is her acid refux is causing it.

I did not notice if you have acid reflux or not, but in reading I noticed Jaybird said something about any changes with sprays used in the home or detergents. A lot of those make me cough and gag for a week or more and I try to avoid any changes if we use any.

Brent