I think I have whooping cough

[Mustardfan]

I’ve seen several doctors in the last week about the cough. I’m slightly ashamed at my persistence. (But it’s a REALLY bad cough, with no fever, day and all night) None of them suggested whooping cough. I’ve just looked at the symptoms and I match them, I find it hard to get a breath after coughing. And sometimes make a weird sound after coughing as I try to breathe in. Is my GP going to be interested - will they test me for it? I work for the NHS (mental health). I’m on antibiotics, is amoxicillin the right antibiotic for it? It started 10 days ago.

My middle DD caught it a few years ago and ended up having nearly 5 weeks off work with it. She was coughing so badly that she ended up with two fractured ribs. She had antibiotics and an inhaler along with oral steroids but it was a long ordeal and she was run down for months afterwards.

It's also known as the 100 day cough I hate to say.

Try and get a video of the noise you make - it's very distinctive, and it's also a notifiable disease so your GP should be taking you seriously over it.

Apparently some GPs try not to diagnose it as it is a notifiable disease which can be a lot of work. I had it aged 40, coughed until I fainted or was sick. It was awful.

It's horrible, I had it when I was 7, still remember it!
Example here of the sound

I had it when I was 6 months pg. The coughing was relentless. I would cough until I was sick and couldn't breathe. Over 20 years ago now, but every time I get a cough I'm sure it lasts longer than it did before I had WC.

I am pretty sure I have it and have had it for over a month. I read the antibiotics are only useful if taken in the first 3 weeks.

It really is the most awful, guttural and choking cough - apart from which, I feel fine!

Isn’t it keeping you awake at night? It’s the exhaustion that is affecting me, alongside the discomfort in my lungs/ chest/ throat.

I felt really ill when I had it!

I had it as a young child - Mum was told by Dr that I’d always get bad coughs as it had damaged my lungs, which has turned out to be true sadly.

It wakes me up, when I start coughing - also the noise of the wheeze wakes me. Some nights I don’t cough, but the other night I coughed for 2 bloody hours.

You'll need a blood test to check, I told my GP I thought it was WC because amoxy did
Nothing and my 'chest infection' didn't go. I then went j to the vomiting phase so knew it was something else. It was WC and public health phoned me to find the source but I work in a
Hospital too so that's probably where I got it.
It did last ages and my chest didn't clear for such a long time ... I often slept propped up over the back of the sofa so I could breath properly

Mine was diagnosed by nasal and throat swabs (now very familiar following COVID, but not 20+ years ago!).

I had it when I was about 25. Remember it vividly- felt absolutely fine apart from when the coughing attacks came, at which point I couldn’t breathe and have never been so convinced I was going to die. And of course the horrible sucking in air noise as well. Absolutely grim.

I found that after a little while I could kind of “sense” when it was going to start, and a mixture of holding my breath and sipping water could kinda head off the coughing if that makes sense? Never went on antibiotics and it eventually went away. Really hope you feel better soon!

Just to add, not all adults 'whoop' with whooping cough, that's more of a characteristic of it in children.
OP, it is a notifiable disease, you should go back to your GP for treatment and diagnosis.
Good luck

Coughing till you vomit is common with this.

When we had it the only thing that seemed to help at all was constantly sipping freezing cold water. It was awful-but it did go away in the end.

I was given strong antibiotics much stronger than the usual. My GP had had it not long before me and had been super poorly with it so was very sympathetic at the time x

Thanks for all the replies. I’m now making weird Donald Duck noises, did anyone else do that? Kind of alongside coughing or even instead of coughing.

I think I have it too. The Dr mentioned that lots of people seem to have the 100 day cough, which is another name for it. I have the whoop noise. The Dr listened to my chest and prescribed penicillin for suspected chest infection, but from what I've read there isn't anything that can make it less severe. The strong antibiotics seem to be more about preventing you spreading it, but only work if taken in the first 3 weeks. It's grim, I feel exhausted from lack of sleep. It's not so bad in the day

Yes, this. When I specifically asked whether it might be whooping cough, my GP even said to me that it was caused by the same bacteria as whooping cough, but it wasn't whooping cough.

WTF?

A midwife friend of mine told me a few years later that doctors don't like to diagnose it in adults because they don't want to have to do the notifiable disease paperwork.

My colleague had it was off sick for six weeks. Lived alone said it was scary at night because it was worse

I sympathize with others who have it too. It’s so awful. Like Zapx, I’ve started to find that I can control some of the coughing fits. I too sort of hold my breath and perhaps do some short breaths out, it doesn’t stop it every time, but often does. On another thread someone suggested a flask of hot water with honey by the bed, and I found that helpful last night. I aLao imagine myself lying in the sun on a holiday that I might take when this is all over. It’s reassuring to read that people do seem to get over this.

I haven’t had a diagnosis, I last saw a GP on Monday, I wish I had shown him a recording of my whooping. However, as I said was having difficulty breathing, he gave me Prednisone, a steroid. I started that on Monday, and also re-started omeprazole (I started it before but then stopped after a couple of days). I’ve had a real breakthrough. Sunday I coughed all night and my lungs felt awful, I had hardly any sleep. Since Monday things have gradually improved. Yesterday and today there was much less coughing. During the day was the least. Last night I still have coughing fits with whooping and gagging, however they were very spread out, and in between I slept for two hours at a time, getting about 8 hours sleep I think. I feel more exhausted today, than yesterday, despite all that sleep, I think my body has been keeping me going in some way and has now stopped. I know the GP gave me the steroid due to my breathing difficulty, however I read that it reduces inflammation, and I wonder if others with whooping cough would also benefit from the combination of prednisone and omeprazole. On the cough cough cough thread I posted a link to an article about whooping cough and acid reflux. The GP’s seem to consider there’s not much that can be done for whooping cough, you have to leave it to take its course, however maybe these two drugs, taken together could break the cycle of coughing?

I'm at the end of week 3 of a "chest infection". Coughing fits until dizzy, worse at night...hmmm. 3 weeks of antibiotics and now on Prednisolone too. Sore ribs from coughing. I'm also down half a lung from Long Covid right now which doesn't help.
I'm going to work tomorrow and if it sets me back again I'll ask the doctor about it on Monday.