Bronchitis and meds??
#91748 - 07/20/04 08:43 AM
|
|
|
|
|
RachelT
Reged: 07/01/04
Posts: 2350
Loc: Minnesota
|
|
|
Hey everyone!
I consider everyone on this board to be "IBS experts" and am hoping you could help me with this hiccup in my journey to becomming stable:
What started out as a cold 3 weeks ago, has now graduated to this terrible cough that seems to be getting worse and I've almost completely lost my voice. I'm going to see a doc today and I'm thinking it's probably a bronchial infection (as I've had them before) and they're more than likely to put me on some kind of medicine. My question is this...I'm worried that the meds are more than likely going to cause more problems with my ibs and I don't know what to do to counteract the side affects. Does anyone have any suggestions??  I have peppermint caps at home, but is there anything that I should get while at the drug store, or should I just stick to the really safe foods like rice and potatoes and pasta? Fortunately, I will be seeing the doctor that performed the colonoscopy on me, so I'll also be asking him for suggestions, but really, I trust your opinion more than his. Afterall - he is a doctor! 
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Becky,
I hope you feel better! Summer is an awful time to feel like that!
All I have to offer is if the doctor gives you antibiotics, pick up a probiotic to maintain the good bacteria in your gut. A lot of people take acidophilus. You might have to go to a health food store for it.
Feel better soon!
--------------------
Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks for the quick response Christine!!  I'll try the acidophilus. I think my chiropracter has some of that, so I'll give him a call.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I used to get bronchitis all the time- now I'm on asthma meds. So I can feel your pain! I hope you get better. I never noticed my IBS was worse with antibiotics and I have been on a lot, but I never really could tell if something made it worse. If you do get chest colds a lot ask about advair and singulair. I haven't been sick at all since I went on them 3 years ago. But I was wondering if we had the same chiro too. Spooky if we did. I go to Dr. Larson in Elk River and he has all the homeopathic and healthy stuff. Anyway get better soon.
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I was treated for bronchitis and asthma last fall for a while (with prednisone and albuterol and Z-pak antibiotics and several other things) and then we finally figured out what I had: PERTUSSIS. That's right, whooping cough. It's a very difficult thing to diagnose, and many doctors don't even think of it because everyone figures whooping cough disappeared years ago.
Nope. It's on the rise, and is practically epidemic proportions in some parts of the country. Over 100 people were diagnosed with it in Chicago in the last few months. I caught in last summer in Montana from a woman who lived in Idaho, and the incidence of it in a couple counties in Oregon (where I'd visited) was like 45 times the national average.
It's mandatory reporting with the CDC for suspected cases and confirmed cases, but CDC is not doing a very good job of getting the info out to the medical community or the public or the media.
Check out www.pertussis.com -- that's the one site where I learned the most.
And *yes* on the acidophilus if they've got you on antibiotics !!! Good luck with the cough, hope you don't have pertussis, it really is awful. The only good news is that there are two companies that are about to get approval for an ADULT booster shot. (Get out of my way, now, I'm first in line for it.) The shot you had as a kid wears off by the time you're in your 20s and immunizations are not effective for adults, and getting it doesn't give you any immunity either.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
That's exactly what they said I have!!! Did you finally get rid of it?? If so, what did you do to get rid of it. They put me on the z-pack too. Still coughing, but It seems to be a little less.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks Little Minnie! I evidently have Pertussis. YUCK!!! They put me on Zythromax, I really hope it goes away soon. It's hard to get to sleep at night, since lying down makes it worse.
The chiro that I go to works all the way out in Bloomington. The only reason I go to see him out there is because I didn't want to change when I moved to Big Lake. I see him once a month, so it's not so bad.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Unfortunately, there isn't really anything that will help you get over it. Antibiotics just don't really do much. It takes A LONG TIME to get over it, and it completely exhausted me!!
Keeping yourself really well hydrated helps. The more dehydrated you get the harder it is on you. My doc put me on some serious steroids (inhaler of Azmacort) and I think it did make me FEEL some better, but I'm not sure if it made the pertussis better or made the Crohn's better, and it's nasty stuff to take. The antibiotics didn't do squat. Cough syrup didn't do squat. Codeine helped quite a bit, because of the pain and spasmodic coughing and sore ribs and lungs. (I swear, after 24 hours of THAT kind of coughing, even your damn ankles are sore!)
Bed rest and fluids help some, but it's kind of like the flu, where nothing really helps you get OVER it (but time), but some things can help ease the strain a little while you're getting over it. I put eucalyptus oil and lavender on a wet washcloth on my chest when I would lie down, and that seemed soothing. Sucking on hoarhound candy is soothing. My mom got me some lozenges called "fisherman's friend." They're so strong they 'bout knock ya down, but it did ease the throat soreness. Cool showers with lavender soap made me relax some with the soreness from the coughing.
How long did you have this before they diagnosed it? Make SURE they reported it to the CDC, my docs didn't know it was mandatory reporting till I let them know.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Kelly!
I wasn't aware that something was really wrong (other than what I thought was a cold) until I had been sick for 3 weeks. I honeslty didn't have any idea that this was making a comeback and thought "huh, it's a cold, it'll go away"! So when I saw my doc, I had been coughing pretty bad for over 2 weeks. (It started with a sore throat and stuffy nose, and I didn't start coughing until mid-way through the 1st week)
I don't know if he reported it to the CDC, but I'll call and find out Monday.
Thanks for all your help on this! UGH, I hope this goes away soon. How long did it take you? Weeks, months?
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Edited by BeckyT (07/24/04 02:49 PM)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Pertussis is a WEIRD thing to get. Sometimes it takes several WEEKS after exposure before you actually have symptoms. And it varies WIDELY with people in terms of exposure-to-symptom time, degree of symptoms, recovery time, etc.
Near as we could figure out, it was a little over 2 weeks after I was exposed to it before I developed the cough. I didn't think much of it because I had been on a week-long 100-mile trail ride across Montana! (photos here)
I just kept saying, "Well, I inhaled a quart of Montana dust, of course I'm coughing."
The coughing got worse over the next couple weeks, and about the third week of it I was doing the gasping stuff (I don't see how people call it a whoop, but okay). I was exhausted (they say you cough so hard that you can actually break a rib -- I believe it). Went to the doc. Antibiotics. No improvement. Back to the doc. Albuterol inhaler.
Meanwhile, about the time that the pertussis had totally run me into the dirt, my (undiagnosed then) Crohn's starts to really give me serious trouble. I mean, I spent the whole winter sicker than a dog, and by January I was like a staggering zombie.
It's hard to say exactly when I got over the pertussis, because the last of it kind of overlapped with the onset of serious Crohn's trouble, so it kind of runs together in my mind. I would estimate, though, that it was about 4 months from the time I started coughing till the time I stopped coughing. Maybe a little less. The azmacort inhaler was the only thing that helped, but it's big guns and you don't want to casually use that stuff unless you really need it.
Good luck!! (My mom still lives in Illinois, by the way, and she told me there were over 100 cases of pertussis early this year around the Chicago area.)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Well on Tues. it will have been 4 weeks since I started this. I was up until 2 this morning coughing and yes, I was whooping. My ribs don't hurt yet, but my back is killing me. I can't get into many comfortable postitions in bed cause I start coughing. I am absolutely miserable. I've been on Zythromax for 5 days and I'm feeling worse! How is that possible?? Did you go to work when you had it?? I only work 2 days a week, and tomorrow is one of them. I don't think I can make it. I worked for only 5 hours on Sat. and felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck afterward. Tomorrow if I work it would be for 10 hours. Pbbbth, I get exhausted just thinking about it! Did your hubby (are you married?) have to get a booster shot? People (not of the medical field) keep telling me that my hubby should. He just gave blood yesterday, and found nothing when they tested it. Does that mean he won't get it? One more question...how did you figure out where and when you got exposed?? I can't for the life of me figure that out for myself. I work for a dental office, but we're so careful. I was told that you're not exposed unless you actually come in contact with it. So, someone had to sneeze on me or cough on me or something. Nothing like that sticks out at me.
There are some really beautiful pictures on the website for that trail ride you did. WOW!! That must have been fun! Long and tiring I'm sure, but fun. That's something I think I'd enjoy.
Thanks again for all your help and info!
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Becky,
I'm so sorry you're so sick with this! I hope you have someone to take care of you and make some nice hot chicken soup! One thing I thought of though when I read this thread that is important for you and for Kelly. My husband had pertussis when he was four years old - very dangerous for children, he was hospitalized to make sure it didn't get too serious. Here is the important part. They found out he became susesptable to it because the vaccine was not effective for him. Studies have shown that pertussis vaccine is one of the vaccines that does have a higher rate of ineffectiveness (higher than it is for alot of vaccines anyway). The problem of having children who end up with the vaccine not taking is also genetic. My mother-in-law once told me that when my husband and I have children, we should have follow-up testing after the pertussis vaccine to ensure that our children have the pertussis antibodies. With either one of you, it is possible that the vaccine never took when you were a child. If you have children, it might be a good idea to ask your doctor about having them tested for the antibodies - it's an easy test - only involves drawing alittle blood for them to run tests on. Just a precaution. Again, hope you feel better soon.
Mindy
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Eric and I do plan on having children in the near futuure. Thank you so much for the heads-up on that. 
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Aw, Becky, I'm so sorry to hear how this is pounding you. I haven't forgotten what it feels like! I got so exhausted I could barely get out of bed, but being in bed makes the coughing worse, but if you get up, all you want to do is go back to bed! Aaaaaagh.
Quote:
I've been on Zythromax for 5 days and I'm feeling worse! How is that possible??
The antibiotics really don't do much of anything to help pertussis. It's entirely possible you feel worse because the darned thing has to run its course, and it gets progressively worse for a long time. The good news? It DOES eventually get better.
Quote:
Did you go to work when you had it??
Fortunately for me, my office is in my home. I'm an editor and webgoddess. So I didn't have to go anywhere or annoy anyone -- only my dog -- but I was sure worrying people on the phone.
Quote:
Did your hubby (are you married?) have to get a booster shot?
Not married. The problem with shots is that they are NOT effective for adults. There are two pharmaceutical companies who have developed adult booster shots and federal approval for that is pending. The shots you get as a kid wear off totally by the time you're in your 20s. Bummer.
Quote:
how did you figure out where and when you got exposed??
Man, that took me WEEKS to figure out. It was like a mystery game trying to put it together. Here's the key: you can't just casually get it. Someone sneezing on you or coughing on you won't do it. You have to be in very close contact for at least several HOURS in order to get it. I really had to think that over for a long time. Finally I remembered: I spent a half day cooped up in a Chevy Suburban with a woman AND her two kids, all three of them coughing, driving from Missoula to Great Falls, then several hours the next day with them driving from there over past Lewistown. They coughed the whole time. She said they had bronchitis. I didn't start coughing till more than two weeks later, but it all finally came clear when I remembered that trip.
Quote:
beautiful pictures on the website for that trail ride you did.
Yes, indeedy, that was really the experience of a lifetime. I built the website for the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, and my boss sent me on that trip -- nicest "fringe benefit" I ever got!! I am broken-hearted that I didn't get to go this year. I'm not sure I could even get ON a horse now, much less ride 24 miles of rough country in the 100-degree heat! But maybe next year.
Hang in there, punkin, and take it easy, I know how rough pertussis is, but it WILL eventually go away .......
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thank you soooooo much for your support. I need it. I went back to the doc today to get something to be able to go to sleep at night, and he gave me cough med w/ Codeine. Hope it works, I'd sure like to get to sleep tonight.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
So I'll finally respond. Wow I can't believe you have pertussis! Man! I wonder if the tea for lung stuff would make you better at night. The green packages of tea at Cub in the health section- they have one called Breathe Right or something. I love the Eater's Digest but they stopped carrying it.
Anyway I do highly recommend my new chiro Dr. Larson in Elk River. His clinic is called Healing Choices and he gives very personalized care in his little office on Main Street across from the big clinic there.
Hope you feel better! Oh and I'm glad the wind is blowing your coughing germs to the south!  Good luck!
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Thanks for your support Little Minnie. i did get some of that "immune support" tea, and some for the throat too. We'll see if it works.
By the way, I can't see your picture. You might want to make sure it's correct.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Huh. I can see it. I am sure I don't know what to do. Anyone?
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
When I clicked on your post it asked me to sign into Microsoft Passport. I suspect your photo is behind password locked doors not available to those of us who don't use passport. Could this be it?
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Have you tried photobucket?? That's what a lot of us use and it seems fine.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Aha!
#93299 - 07/26/04 06:23 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've been wondering why I keep getting a screen to sign in to MSN! Now I know why! (It comes up every time I'm reading a page where Little Minnie posted!)
Minnie, you could also try www.uploadimages.com.
--------------------
Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Yay!!!! I slept an entire night without coughing. There's one problem though...the cough medicine with codeine can cause C!!!! Well, I think I can deal with it. At this point I think I'm confident enough on how to keep my C at bay, even if I take something that can potentially make it worse. Hopefully I won't have to take it too much longer!! I'm still coughing today, but I don't feel as drained now that I've been able to get some sleep. They want me to be taking it every 4 hours, hmmm, not gonna happen. Taking it at night only will be sufficient I think.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Yay! You slept!! Hey, that's an improvement! I was just going to post over in the LR and see if you were feeling any better yet... now I know! Heh.
Keep resting, and hope you feel even better soon...
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
That's so sweet. Thanks for your concern! It's amazing how much we depend on sleep, and I'm one of those that needs at least 8 hours.
--------------------
~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Crap! I was so proud of myself for downloading my picture and posting it. I can see it and no one else can. Anyway I am not getting how I am supposed to put it somewhere I can get a url address. I just went to my pics and said 'download to internet' and it came up on a personalized msn page but I guess that didn't work. If anyone wants to help PM or e-mail me specific 'for dummies' instructions and I'll try something else. Thanks- sorry about the pop-up ads everyone! 
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Just go to www.uploadimages.com. You just upload your picture (like attaching an email), and then the site will give you the url where your picture is located. Pretty simple!
--------------------
Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
But I would have to join and pay for that. It says "buy domains.com"
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
oops
#93606 - 07/27/04 04:01 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
www.uploadimages.NET!!! not .com.
Sorry, but I'm glad Becky led you to a correct url.
--------------------
Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
