4/06/2012
I'm going to start a profile and a regular update on my wife's coughing problem and hopefully someone that has experienced a similar problem can help us or give us suggestions what to do or not to do in order to get rid of this problem that has developed into a 24/7 agonizing cough and left her with stress incontinence and is now affecting our daily life.
Let me just briefly give a little bit of history..
Greta my wife (48) has been coughing for about 15 years, it started back when we lived in Mexico, sometimes it's less and other times it's worst. We moved to Canada in 1999. already back in Mexico we started looking for solutions. We've tried different medication but none had a lasting effect.
In Canada we started seeing different doctors, specialist who conducted all sorts of studies, Pulmonary exams, antibiotics, chest P.A. & Lat. stomach exams, treated for anti acid but nothing has really worked.
So how is she doing these days and how is she getting by.
She has to have extra strength Halls in her mouth almost all day... as soon she's finished eating, has to take a Halls. she can't fall a sleep with out Halls, besides that having Mentho-lyptus going into your stomach day and night, can't be very healthy but also causing cavity's.
Yesterday we went to Red Lobster, had a great meal together and we wanted to just sit around for a bit and talk but the coughing started as soon as she'd finished the meal and couldn't talk. Today our family came over for chill, and again, soon after the meal she started popping Halls candy's again, one after an other, she gets so sick of the menthol flavour and the sweetness, but she does it just to stop coughing and be able to breath and have a conversation.
Oct 31-2015
Greta is still coughing.
Since I first wrote about it, my wife has had a surgery, a sling put in place because of the damages, coughing has caused.
We've been to the Bastian Voice Institute in Chicago where dr Bastian diagnosed her as a neurological cough and prescribed her anti-depressant, (Amitriptoline) at first it helped about 80% but after a while it was getting worse again, not as bad as before. The side affects were hard to tolerate, gaining weight, being drowsy and a numb feeling. She tried different anti-depressants, none were worth the little improvement over the side-effects.
In April of this year, we both did a 13 day juice detox diet (maple syrup lemon-juice diet.
During those 13 day, she coughed very little and she lost 10 lbs, but as soon as normal eating begun, weight increased again so did the coughing.
Back to square one.
We're now attempting to take dr Christopher Y. Chang, MD http://www.fauquierent.net/cough.htm
advice and engage in an aggressive 3 month 4 stage treatment, 1. Anti-depressant, 2. Allergy shots, 3. Acid and none acid reflux, 4. Antihistamine spray.
If this fails, then we'll look for something else but we're determine to find a cure for this cough that has caused so many physical, emotional and psychological problems.
Anyone with a similar problem or advise,
Feel free to leave a comment or give a suggestion...
Thanks, Johan Friesen
juanfriesen@gmail.com
