help, cough killing me... breathing problems

[blahblahblah]

Hi, I had a cough for about 5 weeks.. mild cough. I had antibiotics at home so I took them and nothing ever happened.. the last week or so I went to a doctor who gave me a chest x-ray, blood test, and all kinds of cough medicines. Everything came up normal. But still, the cough seemed to get worse..The last few days I've had problems breathing and last night I went to the hospital. They told me I was getting 100% oxygen, and that possibly I had bronchitis. (plus a fever of 100.5) The doctor prescribed a different antibiotic but I am having a hard time breathing. They sent me home anyhow... At night if I get myself to fall asleep, I sleep all night without a problem but its this constant feeling of tightness. I'm only 21, I don't smoke.. so I'm worried.

The feeling of not breathing is exactly like being thrown in a pool of ice cold water. Instantly your chest tightens up.

Also it feels like constant pressure like a 200 LB man is sitting on my chest. and I can't catch my breath. OR not enough air is getting in my lungs so I have to work harder to breath or catch my breath.

Please any advice would help. My doctor blows me off like I have allergies and I know this has got to be more serious.

[1stBarbi]

Blah,
It is very odd - the only off thing is the slight temp. Maybe whatever antibiotics you took at home before going to the doctor covered up what is really wrong. I did that one time & got so chewed out by the doc when I had to take my daughter in because she was catching it & he said - I'm not worried about you but if your kids get it & it's strep throat they could get a lot worse complications! Gee thanks doc! I felt chastised!
Also not to offend you or anything but it could be panic attacks - I have had them where I felt like I couldn't breath & yes you can have them over & over and it does feel like a weight on your chest & you can't breath but your sat rate will be 100%.
Just a though & hope you get better.
Barbi

[YoungLife]

I had the exact same problem happen to me couple months ago. I was diagnosed with Asthma and have been using flowvent, azmacort, and albeutral, ive been fine ever since.

did they give you Amoxicillin and Guaifenesin with codeine for your coughs? those worked pretty good for me.

[krispymints]

i had the same sort of problem 2 summers ago, but it was a little worse, but i couldn't breath. if i cried i would fall to the floor because my breath was gone and i couldn't breath in. turns out it was asthma.

[ESparks]

I agree with the previous replies.

I don't know about the fever, but the rest of the post sounds exactly like asthma...

is it constant? does it get worse if you exert yourself? try giving your house or apartment a THOROUGH cleaning as small particulates such as dust, mold, etc, will complicate asthma greatly, even triggering attacks.

is the cough productive or dry? does it happen everywhere you go or only when you are in certain places?

stress or worry can make the attacks many times worse, so next time you get tight, try not to panic! that is key because you will only get tighter if you aren't relaxed.

Try getting every little bit of air out of your lungs that you can then inhale as deeply as you can. (as if you are blowing up a gigantic balloon in one breath) do this slowly and repeatedly while remaining calm. Asthma is characterized by not being able to evacuate your lungs completely, not by being unable to fill them.

I have had asthma since I was very small, and I am now 33.

Been treated with Theophyllin and an Albuterol inhaler and it is completely under control... has been for years.

I hope this helps! Make sure you tell your doctor that you suspect this may be asthma (I wouldn't rule out bronchitis either though)