Still awaiting diagnosis

[Dog20]

Christmas 2017 I was ill with a cold, resulting in me feeling very poorly and losing my voice for a couple of days. The subsequent cough lasted months and I still cough at least once a day now. Since then I have been very tired and get out of breath easily. Although I can usually walk a good distance, anything other than that is beyond me. Minor activities such as walking up the stairs or doing up shoes are exhausting. I tried to run last week but had to stop after a few metres due to coughing and breathlessness. I also get random mild chest pains.

I have had many blood tests and cardiac tests, none of which proved conclusive. As a 46 year old of previously good health I am finding this very debilitating and frustrating. The impact of this on my life has been huge but recovery still seems to be way into the future; sometimes I wonder if I ever will recover after having this for over a year.

Were part of the tests tests for asthma?

I should add I have had numerous blood tests including thyroid and pertussis and thyroid, all of which have been negative.
At one point doctors thought I had an electrical problem with my heart and would require a pacemaker, but the cardiologist has since said there's nothing wrong with my heart. I am not a particularly anxious person but this whole situation is getting quite depressing. If anyone has any suggestions as to what this might be or how I can improve my condition I would appreciate it.

I was given an inhaler early in the investigations but this made no difference unfortunately so I think they've ruled out asthma.

Have you had a chest x ray? Could be walking pneumonia.

Have they actually done a test where they measure peak flow before and after using the blue inhaler?

Have you tried a course of oral steroids?

Yes I've had 3 chest xrays, all of which have come back clear.
Breathing seems to be harder in the cold weather. It's a bit like having a partially blocked nose when you have a cold, but it doesn't improve when I open my mouth. I also get lightheaded sometimes when I'm walking as if I've had a couple of glasses of wine.
In June 2018 I did a walking test and my heart rate and sats both dropped. I've done an exercise stress test since then, which cardiologist said was OK. My pulse is average, about 65bpm resting, and blood pressure on the low side of average.

No I haven't had any medication and haven't done the peak flow thing. I am due for a cardio pulmonary exercise test next month, perhaps that will show something useful.

I will enquire about asthma when I next see the GP in case that's something they've overlooked..

The thing is I wasn't diagnosed till a (asthma trained) friend suggested it and I had to ask the asthma nurse directly st the survey to be assessed. A lot of gp surgeries have moved all asthma care to nurses so gps aren't up to speed.

They (gps) kept asking - do you have asthma? At that point I answered no. As I wasn't diagnosed. They took peak flow eventually which showed a lower peak flow than normal for my age but I was only given a blue inhaler. Correct management is via brown or other steroid inhalers. Which I finally got after seeing the asthma nurse. Who promptly told the Gp off.

Phone asthma uk to discuss it all. This was just my personal experience of course and I really hope you find some answers soon.

Sometimes you can develop asthma after a bad cough that remains or improves after a couple of years.

My triggers are cold air, central heating, coughs, smoke, chemicals.

At the surgery

Just wondering, but have you had a tilt-table test done?

No tilt table test done, that's not been mentioned so far.