Bronchitis?

Dear all! Has anyone experienced anything like this that can give me some reassurance?
Two and a half weeks ago I started coughing. No previous cold, fever or infection. It started with a burning sensation in the chest and only a little mucus came up with the cough. I went to the doctor but she could not hear anything on my lungs and my CRP was normal. The cough gradually got worse, i and after a week I got an X-ray of my lungs which showed no signs of inflammation. My doctor thought it was a virus (no covid - 3 x negative PCR)
My cough has now become so violent that I am close to vomiting and I cough constantly. It is impossible to sleep at night as I have a terrible tickling sensation in my chest. I feel like my chest is full of mucus and sometimes I manage to cough it loose but nothing somes up. Furthermore, it is even more troublesome for me to cough now, as a few days ago I apparently strained the muscles between the ribs, due to the violent cough. It now hurts insanely all over the right side of my chest every time I breathe and cough. I have been to the doctor several times….
Today my cough is even worse, and feel so ill. My CRP is still normal, which scares me, as I do not understand, that I can be so ill without elevated infection numbers. I am a smoker, I have smoked for many years and I fear it is something more serious. My anxiety is sky high!
Have any of you had bronchitis with normal CRP and without fever? I'm so terribly scared, and can see no end to it all. I will be so grateful to hear from you!
Best regards from Denmark
Britt

I get bronchitis almost every year and rarely run a fever with it. Normally mine goes away on its own but can take 2-3 weeks. A couple times I’ve needed antibiotics. Yes, the cough is the worst. I don’t know if it’s available over there but I find Mucinex helps the mucus to loosen up so I can cough it out. Also steam helps. Boil a pot of water, drape a towel over your head and the pot and inhale the steam. Adding eucalyptus essential oil to the water helps speed things up. Lots of fluids to keep the mucus moving.

This is probably a bit of a daft question, but have you tried propping yourself up in bed at night? Whenever I get a bad cough I struggle to sleep and sleeping more upright helps.