At my wits end - Stinking Cold

[LMW1990]

So, I have had the worst cold I have ever had for the last 10 days it is not easing in anyway.

I'm pretty sure I have sinusitis due to the colour and texture (lumpy - sorry TMI!) of the crap coming out of my nose which is also bloody and when I cough. It's even coming out of my left eye which is red and sore.

I have a chesty cough which is driving me crackers.

It gets worse on an evening/night. I cannot breathe. It is unbearable. Both nostrils are completely blocked, my mouth is as dry as a bone and I keep panicking because I have episodes where I cannot swallow and feel like I'm choking.

I can't get a GP appointment for another week and I feel pathetic going to the Walk-in (which is connected to our local A&E) with a cold.

But I am wiped. I cannot sleep. I have tried:

Ibruprofen
Cocodomol - for when I feel like I've been kicked repeatedly in the face
Decongestants
Steaming my face
Vicks - which now just burns as my skin is raw
Drinking loads of water - did nada except made me constantly need a wee.

Any other suggestions? - in particular to help me breathe!!! I'm desperate!!!

fuck that. Poor you. I've been off work since last Thursday and I thought I was ill. I don't have any suggestions because it looks like you're already trying everything, but I hope you feel better soon.

Take day/night nurse. Honestly I had this a couple of weeks ago and it was the only thing that helped clear my nose

That does not sound like a cold op, you might need antibiotics. If the walk in centre has doctors (ours is shit and only has nurses so you can't get prescriptions) I'd go there tomorrow morning.

I Think You're doing everything you can unless you've got a humidifier, or stick the shower on for a while if you have an ensuite bathroom.

Vicks on soles of feet?
Double decongestants (ie pills and nasal spray)?

Get well soon

Use a nasal spray? I use sudafed sinus ease but any of them in that range should do the job.

Oh gosh you have my sympathy op, have had a stinker like this in the past and it is beyond awful. I think the not sleeping makes everything ten times worse too.
Can recommend the nasal sprays that you squirt directly up your nose, they do tend to buy you a few hours sleep which helps you to feel better.
sleep propped up on loads of pillows. Take loads of warm showers or baths, sip water and suck ice lollies to ease your dry mouth and sore throat.
Hope it passes soon

Do you have 111 where you are? Might be worth a chat with them for advice.

Sudafed.
Dries up the nose and then this stops the drip drip down the throat which causes the cough.

Really strong garlic is meant to be an excellent decongestant but I've no idea where you would get some [useless]

Sleep sitting up, steamy bowl with menthol crystals beside bed, night nurse tablets - the liquid is foul, maybe take an antihistamine too if that's ok to take along with night nurse?

Sorry op, you sound really not well and I feel for you. Oh, also, don't blow your nose too hard as that can push gunk into your sinuses

For tonight have a brandy or whiskey before bed. Or a short like drambuie, tia Maria, neat. Ideally a Benedictine. Those monks know a thing or two.
And do make that GP appointment anyway.

@MaggieAndHopey - fuck that indeed! I was off all last week (work pt) and I am due back in tomorrow. I think they will take one look at me and send me home to be honest - I look even worse than I feel and that's quite an achievement. I dragged myself out for food earlier and I looked like a bloody leper - my eye looks horrendous.

Have you tried stopping everything for a day or two, to give your body a chance to fight it without a load of drugs getting in the way? I have the world's worst immune system and seem to get every sodding lurgy going, but the last few times I've skipped all the drugs and drunk buckets of hot water with fresh lemon, ginger and honey. I seemed to recover a lot quicker, weirdly.

Episodes where you can’t swallow and feel like you are choking - plus bloody nose eye discharge sounds like a walk in clinic visit to me first thing in the am to beat any queues. Explain thise things and wait for doctor and I don’t think they would think you should not have gone.
I am so sorry you are miserable right now. I know it seems impossible but you will get better and feel back to normal.
For dry mouth ice chips/sucking on wet clean cloth really helps.
Or breathing I can’t think of anything more than you have done or been suggested above.

Thanks all!!!

I've had night nurse in the past and that seemed to knock me out if I remember rightly so I'll be off to get that tomorrow! Right now I'd happily let someone knock me out!!

@givemesteel the last time I went I saw a nurse but I'm really not sure if they have Drs. I work for the NHS in a different hospital and I'm really tempted to get one of the consultants I work for to help me tomorrow. I'm absolutely beside myself.

I've had sinus issues in the past due to allergies and I can't tolerate nasal sprays. They make my nose bleed terribly. I take a daily antihistamine tablet but I don't think it's making any difference.

I actually don't mind when my nose is runny and it's productive/ coming out - when it stops and gets dry that's when I can't breath (I assume due to inflammation more than anything else). This morning I blew my nose and hard lump of mucus about the size of 50p came out! I was horrified.

FlibbertyGiblets - I'm routing in the Christmas cupboard for left over alcohol!!! Great idea!! At least If I can't sleep I'll be merry

Feel your pain. I’m suffering similar (without the unable to swallow bit) but am 18 weeks pregnant. So can’t take anything other than paracetamol and a sinus rinse. Dh helpfully bought all the drugs under the sun. But I can’t take them. I’m so bloody sick of being ill.

@ememem84 that sucks!!! If it's any consolation the drugs don't seem to work!! Hope you feel better soon

Thanks. I also don’t have the gross goopy eye you said you have. But the sinus pain. It’s horrible. And the cough. And the snots. Waaaaaaa

Stupid baby stealing all my stupid immune system and stupid colleagues spreading germs about stupidly. And stupid dh for assisting in the getting me pregnant. Bah.

Today has been one of those I hate everything and everyone days. I can’t gym. I can’t do anything other than snot into a tissue. And rest. If I rest anymore I will become one with my duvet.

Horrible isn't it!

It's like Chinese water torture of a night. I get 30 seconds of being able to breath and then instant double blockage! Arrrggghhhhh!

I’ll be honest, I think you need to see someone.

I don’t go easily but I ended up with pneumonia and actually cried and hugged the nurse when I got antibiotics. Go see someone.

Hope you feel much better soon.

You do need to be seen, this is awful. I get so cross with the worried well clogging up the system when someone like you is in such a state.

Not much in the way of suggestions OP as it sounds like you're doing / taking everything, just to say I feel your pain (literally, right now..) and by the sounds of it it might be time to see someone In your case. I've had my stinking cold since last Monday; completely lost voice middle of the week, voice now back but ridiculous cough, and the blocked sinuses are giving me earache which is excruciating. That and the hacking cough, which DP also has so we take turns to wake each other up before one of us gives up and goes into the spare room for the remainder of the night. One thing you could try - I had a really hot bath this evening, just for 20 minute - also had a whiskey which may or may not have helped - I think the steam did help ease my chest and maybe clear my sinuses a little. I hope you get well soon OP - it's so rubbish, and especially when you say 'I've got a cold' which doesn't sound that bad but it can be absolutely AWFUL. Feel better!

I guess I just figured it would get better and was just a cold but I am getting a bit concerned that there's more to it. I hate wasting NHS resource and working in a hospital I see how stretched services are.

I'm doing everything I can to take my mind off things but it gets to this time and DP needs sleep so he won't listen to me rambling on about anything and everything, though bless him he's been great in making me endless tea, doing the cleaning and watching box sets with me so I don't feel too miserable.

@lemonyfuckit sorry you feel pants too!! It's bloody awful. Hot water is like hens teeth with our not so great preesure/boiler but I did mange a somewhat warmish bath topped up with the kettle earlier and actually it did help!

Agree with pp you need to see someone! Even better if twin can get one of your colleague consultants to take a look!

In the meantime- what decongestants are you using? Off the shelf decongestant is no good imo, you need the stuff you can only buy from a pharmacy with an active ingredient of pseudoephedrine, not phenylephrine.

*if you. I have no idea if you have a twin!

I'd go see a Dr. My Mum thought she had a viral infection and she was poorly for 3 weeks. She ended up getting taken to hospital with a sepis score of 7 and diagnosed with a double chest infection which is community based pneumonia. Me and my Sister got told that night had we left it any longer to phone the emergency Dr we'd have been spending the night in Resus not in a cubicle in A&E. When the Dr spoke to my Mum on the phone he said she sounded ok and he didn't see the need to come out and see her. She could barely talk or breathe!