Post Ablation-cough and chest discomfort

[Kim_1970]

I am 2 weeks post ablation.  Dr did Pulmonary Vein Isolation, and TEE prior to ablations.  I think it took from 8:30am until around 1:00pm.  1 hour during it I was just "laying there" as xray broke and they scrambled to get portable xray to finish job.  It took a long time for me to "come to" as I think my family could finally see me around 5:00pm.  So I was out for quite a long time....?  
Next day I developed this odd cough/chest discomfort.  Dr said due to esophogial (something) and others have suggested its due to anesthesia?  Inflamation/ water retention...? My fingers are not swollen....
Its not a cough where I am coughing up a lung and a lot of junk.... Its as if I have to keep clearing my chest and trying to cough something up but very little produces. My chest feels "full"??
Dr put me on water pill for it and after 2 weeks I still have it.  Its in my lungs for sure, as it feels deep and feels sore and irritated.  No fever and feeling ok otherwise.  
Anyone have any ideas?
I asked nurse and they said they can prescribe me Zithromax (antibiotic) if I want.  
I am also on Pradaxa, Corguard, Prilosec, Magnesium, Potassium, and now added Plavix as I has some flashing in my vision a few days after surgery and then again last night with a headache.???? They said it happens sometimes after EP study.
I feel like I am just about to turn the corner on my recovery, but not quite.

They say all this is "normal" but wanted to ask my fellow ablation friends...

I must mention I started getting tinnitus one week after starting Metaprolol and it has not gone away.  Now Dr has me on BB Corguard for recovery for a few weeks.  I saw tinnitus is side effect for that one too...  
I am hoping to get off all pills asap and see if it goes away eventually...?

Perhaps the cough lung or chest congestion is side effect of one of my meds???

I am 41, generally healthy and moderately active.   I have a very sensitive system.
Thanks for sharing your advice and experiences.

---I appreciate this forum so much!!--------

[Claudia1968]

I had my third ablation for my A-fib April 7, 2016, it's 2 months now & I've had a cough ever since. I feel like I need to cough up mucus but nothing comes up.  If I take a deep breath it seems to make me cough worse or especially when I lay down. I had a chest X-ray & it showed nothing. No one seems to know why, the good thing is, I haven't had any more A-fib episodes. I'm now 62 which my problems started in my early 40's. I had an AV Node ablation with a pacemaker when I was 49. It didn't seem to help. I also had a mini stroke this past xmas, before this final ablation I was in A-fib 80% of the time. I'm hoping the cough will eventually let up, it's a wait & see I guess. I also feel like I am just now getting back to normal, I was really tired the first 6 weeks. It will all be worth it if the A-fib stays away!!

[Wayne711]

Ive just had an ablation for ventricular tachycardia however they were unable to induce the rhythm. It almost seemed useless and agitated my heart for naught, with all that being said i also developed a pulmonary embolism from my bed rest post ablation and ICD placement. Oh and im 31 lol. I now have that same type of cough its kinda of annoying. Im not coughing anything up or anything like that its just like my body is irritated chest and heart mainly and i guess lungs too from the blood clot. Im about 3-4 wks into my recovery now. Going for another ablation in about 6-8 wks. I trust this one will be a successful one. Ventricular tachycardia is dangerous but for me now its more annoying.

[DeltaDawn23]

Are you on a blood pressure med?  Some of those will cause a cough.  It may be worth checking into.  Good luck.

[MichelleP_3811]

I didn't have the same type of ablation as you but I did feel that my heart felt unsettled for quite some time afterwards.  I developed a lot of ectopics to the point about 5 weeks after I was throwing maybe around 15,000 a day.  I was not monitored but based it on how many I was feeling a minute.  But even when I wasn't throwing the beats and even when the bad bout settled down, well frankly anytime I feel like I might start throwing ectopics my heart feels unstable is the best way I can describe it.  Like the signal is kind of not steady and this feeling and throwing ectopics in general makes me cough sometimes.  It not necessarily a constant need to cough but wonder if you are feeling a bit of this as well.  Do you notice any ectopics?

The other thing I wonder is if the transesophegeal thing maybe irritated something and indeed caused some sort of chest irritation or lung inflammation.  Even being in a hospital in general can expose us to infections especially since we are there during a vulnerable time health wise.  I would say if your cough persists and you really sense that it is coming from a lung issue to try the antibiotics.  The last thing you need is to get full blown pneumonia on top of trying to heal from the ablation.  Do you have a fever?  Well not sure I was able to help much but I do hope you feel better soon.