Worried about something seriously wrong with my lungs

[anxious_thoughts]

Hello,

I don’t even know where to begin! For the past 5 months I’ve been coughing and have had bad post nasal drip that won’t go away no matter how many times I use my netipot. It’s honestly driving me insane!

Back when it first began my doctor thought it was a chest infection so she put me on antibiotics and took a chest X-ray but everything was clear and the meds didn’t help. She even gave me a nasal spray to help with the post nasal drip but it doesn’t work. I had to use an orange and blue puffer since my doctor hears wheezing in my chest but I really don’t feel much of a difference after using them. My doctor sent me to an allergist about a month ago and we found out I’m extremely allergic to dusts and cats. The allergist brought up asthma and sent me out for a lung challenge test which I did a couple weeks ago, and now I have to go do a methacholine challenge test next week (which I’m deathly afraid of!)

Anyways, the cough comes and goes. It’s not really there during the day, and I don’t have much wheezing during the day. It all mostly happens at night. The puffers help with the wheezing as well as drinking water.

I have the constant sensation in my throat that there’s phlegm. It’s been like that since my cough started (it started after I had two colds in a row) but since January I’ve started to have a lot more phlegm that’s really thick. The phlegm is also either white or clear and it comes out chunky and only tiny bits. So I don’t think the colour of it is a concern. However, I’m so worried about the wheezing. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and my chest was very wheezy. Every time I took a breath I could hear a rattle and a whistling noise. Before going to bed last night my cough was so bad and I noticed that when it’s bad the wheezing is usually worse.

I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I sometimes will get coughing fits that have the chesty cough sensation. But most of the time during the day my cough is usually just me trying to get the phlegm out. I’m hoping it’s all just post nasal drip for allergies. But I’m extremely worried that I have something sinister and that my lungs will give out any day now :(

[bulan]

I'm sorry, those symptoms don't sound fun at all! I don't have experience with lung issues, but I do have a chronically sore throat, nasal congestion and post-nasal drip from an allergy that developed in 2014. The allergist found out that I'm allergic to dust and mold. That was an eye-opener for me. I think I developed the allergy because the house we lived in at the time also served as our makeshift warehouse, since a bunch of us were living in a small space together, so we had boxes stacked on top of and underneath furniture, and there was absolutely no way to dust everything. Now I live in a place with carpet, and since I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I have an impossible time vacuuming and dusting as often as I should. One website said that people with allergies should vacuum their carpets daily. :wacko: My symptoms have become quite a bit worse with dust accumulating everywhere, and I was desperate enough to hire a cleaning company to come in to help me clean. What's your living situation like there, and are you able to clean it often?

[MyNameIsTerry]

They seem to be thinking about asthma so hopefully they will quickly work that one out for you as usually testing is quick to determine it from tests such spirometry.

Once that's out of the way they can ensure you are using the best inhalers for your breathing. Sometimes asthma sufferers are moved between different types of inhalers because they find they don't help or they are sensitive to certain ones.

If it does turn out to be asthma then please remember it is so common these days and doctors know a lot more about it. People run marathons with it, it doesn't have to interfere with your life and the longer you have it the more you will likely find yourself not noticing it. Having said that, I have found it a challenge with anxiety as you can focus too much on it and anxiety brings it's own issues with changing how we breathe, how focussing affects it, the worry of anxiety symptoms seeming similiar to asthma symptoms, etc but you will learn to separate the two over time.

Hopefully the allergist can help you identify potential triggers in your environment e.g. pet hair, dust, cold winds, etc. You can adjust around things like this and there is a lot of information on helping asthma on the internet from credible medical sites and major charities. Exercise being one of the best things we can do however is best to get a doctor's agreement or at least get new asthma stabilised first.

Also look at things like posture, muscular tension, etc as these can restrict breathing which only makes you worry more about tightness.

Follow medical advice on any worsening symptoms and don't feel guilty for asking for help from your doctor. They are always happy to see patients with breathing concerns just to be on the safe side.

And with you being on inhalers whilst you may not be feeling much benefit yet they may be starting to control it therefore there is less chance of something happening, if at all.