Nearly four months with cough and congestion - help!

[Habbyhadno]

I'm posting here as it's next to impossible to see a doctor in my town.

I've had congestion and a productive cough since early December, so three and a half months. I've been on three different types of antibiotics (the first lot made no difference, the second and third lot made it marginally better but as soon as I finished the congestion/cough returned).

I tried to make an appt last week to see the doctor and they texted saying they couldn't see me and I needed to go to urgent care, which is what I had to do the previous two times, but I can't keep sitting in urgent care for hours on end for a non-urgent problem.

I'm starting to worry now that it's something serious as I've been consistently ill for so long. I was putting my child to bed and lying next to her tonight and all I could hear was my lungs wheezing. Has anyone else had something like this and did it go away? What should I be doing? Genuinely at my wits end with this.

Do you have a diagnosis of asthma? Or COPD?

The fact you can hear wheezing suggests that you have one of them and antibiotics are probably not the treatment you need.

When you see someone are you saying 'I have a cough and coughing up sputum' or 'I feel short of breath, tight chested and wheezy'?

Because you will probably get different responses depending on what you emphasize.

No, I don't have either of those to my knowledge.

I've been saying that I'm exhausted and have been coughing up phlegm for months, but they just listen to my chest and say I haven't got an infection and then give me antibiotics anyway which help marginally, but then it returns.

At this point you need bloods + an X-ray to rule out an infection, but that is much less likely than something else being wrong.

I've had this from March until August last year. I thought I was never going to get better but did fortunately. I think sleep deprivation, breastfeeding, loosing too much weight combined with preschooler childcare viruses took it's toll. Once i started getting more sleep and was able to exercise i got better. Im not saying you should exercise if your chest is bad but i just wanted to let you know how things can change and how awful I felt. At the time I felt worried like you say in your post.

Your GP should offer you a chest x ray, sputum sample check, a physical examination and blood tests if you've had a chronic cough for 4 months or more.

I think you need to push them for this and say it is NHS policy. Hopefully this will put your mind at rest.

Thanks Monkey!

I have still been exercising, but taking it easy, hoping it might help to kickstart my lungs and clear them out.

I shall put those suggestions to the doctor when I get to see one, I'll probably have to go to urgent care again, maybe first thing on Monday. I think the lack of continuity in care isn't helping here.

Glad you improved. I've genuinely never been ill for this long, I feel like it's part of me now

Is the wheezing definitely coming from your chest or your throat/upper tract.

That may sound a stupid question.

Yes, the wheeze is definitely from my lungs.

But you said that when they listen to your chest they say there is no infection, this suggests they're not hearing rattling there (or whatever the medical term is)

@soupfiend do you mind me asking what to do for a wheeze that is in the throat rather than chest?

It could be slient reflux, it causes congestion, mucus, wheezing, coughing, runny nose, post nasal drip.

Thank you!

How are u now what was it please