Cough for 6 months

[ST676]

I have been having a deep cough with wheezing and greenish thick phlegm for 6 months now.  The phelgm is coming from my lungs and is often like strings.  When I breath it makes a whistling and rattling sound.  I initially had a bad cold and then the cough just never went away.  I have taken 3 courses of AB's, had a normal chest x ray in Jan and the oxygen levels are normal.  I had a basic breathing test done and that was normal.  When the pulmonologist listens to my lungs, she says I have very harsh breath sounds and wheezing.  When I cough she said some of the sounds clear a little.  I had a sputum test that was normal.  I am now waiting on bloodwork and am scheduled for allergy skin testing and asthma tests.  I am extremely exhausted all the time. I have taken at least 10 different inhalers, clarinex, antibiotics, antacids, and nasal spray. Nothing works.  I now also have a small lump behind my left ear (not sure if it is related in any way or not). If this was due to allergies or asthma, wouldn't the inhalers and meds have helped?  What other possibilities could there be or should I be trying something else or getting another opinion a this point.  I am 37 and have never had a history of asthma and have no history in my family either. Nobody else in the house is sick.

[brenda959]

i've had the same symptoms for years. been diagnosed with copd. but my results of blood gas were normal. i haven't had any other tests to speak of but my question is this. i was diagnosed with asthma app 10 yrs ago. i'm now 49, and i've always had the pghlem probem. until just this week. for two days i was constantly coughing up the yellow/greenigh pghlem. why now, after all this time am i coughing up the colored pghlem?

[National Jewish Health]

Wheezing is a non-specific sign that can occur with asthma, bronchitis, airway collapse such as with bronchomalacia, bronchiectasis, a foreign body, excessive mucus that is difficult to clear or a growth in one’s bronchial tubes.  And there are other causes.  Greenish thick phlegm is definitely not characteristic of asthma, except when associated with a condition called allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) or allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) but then mucus plugs are expelled, not thick phlegm.

You had a “normal sputum test.”  What kind of test?  Was the sputum cultured for fungi and tuberculosis (TB)?  That should be done.  Given that this has been going on for 6 months, it is probably time for you to have a CT scan of the lungs and/or a bronchoscopic exam.  If your pulmonologist is unwilling to proceed with further testing, then yes you should seek a second opinion.

Good luck.