pneumonia like cough

[hepcgirlfriend]

Has anyone experienced really bad coughing during treatment?  My boyfriend developed terrible coughing the first week of treatment.  It's not a dry cough, he brings up copious amounts of flem/mucous.  When he first started treatment, he noticed the coughing attack usually began about one hour after his ribavarin dose.  This went on throughout his six month tx, some days worse than others.  Doc told him to take something to help thin the mucous but that made the cough even more productive and worse. He is now 1 week post tx and the cough is getting worse by the day. Now he wakes in the night gagging and choking, feeling like he can't get enough air and you can hear his chest kind of gurgling before he breaks into the coughing attack.  it's pretty damn scary to watch him.  he said it feels like the bad case of pneumonia he had several years ago, but he said it's hard to tell because he feels like **** from the tx anyway.  He has been smoking probably 40 years about 1 pack a day.  Can this stuff cause pneumonia...I researched but could only find a couples references to the subject.  I think he should at least get a chest xray.  Any comments/suggestions would be welcome, thanks

[wilkoff]

ive been on hep C treatment, 1 big pill a day, for 28 days so far. I am coughing up a lot of mucus, it looks like intense healthy mucus, mostly  in 2 different shapes.  a flat rectangle and the crescent moon.  I put a few drops of iodine w/ a little water and the crescent shape separated into 3 small oblong shapes. the rectangle one, when put up to the light,  had multiple shapes in it. one shape was similar to a 'h', and the others small crescent shapes. a few hours later they turned into a tougher mass.  I have a sinus headache that feels like it starts in my nose until I blow or cough it out.  when I blow my nose I follow with a cough or vice versa  and collect a lot of mucus.  thank goodness none of it is moving!!! a lot of allergies are in the air right now, although it doesn't look like allergy possibly irritation combined with the liver treatment.  I rather not see my doctor if I don't have an infection. I have no answers hoping somebody else does!

[flyinlynn]

See your primary care provider. Could be seasonal allergies

Don’t drink iodine it is a disinfectant for EXTERNAL USE ONLY

“ Usage. USP solutions contain elemental iodine, which is moderately toxic when ingested in amounts larger than those required to disinfect water, tincture of iodine is sold labelled “for external use only,” and used primarily as a disinfectant.”

[flyinlynn]

Or try OTC treatments and wait for it to pass

[IMstacie]

someone in another post suggested, Tessalon Perles (need prescription). It works by reducing the reflex in the lungs that causes the urge to cough.  I'm having the same problem, which is how I found this area.  I'm going to talk to my doctor about it.  My back is getting sore  from the coughing.  I can't even talk with out coughing.  It's almost like an uncontrollable reflex.  It's odd I don't cough at night, while sleeping.  2nd month of treatment.  Someone else mentioned gum and yes it does help but I can only chew so much gum!

[seabean]

Before the culture, I had several chest x-rays, which were all clear.  By the way, I'm not a smoker, never have been.  So maybe ask your doctor to have a sputum culture done.  All it involves is spitting in a sterile cup.  The worst part is waiting for the results, seemed to be forever before I got mine back.

Best of health to you & your boyfriend.

[seabean]

During my treatment, I coughed from June until November........every two weeks I would see my HCV tx Dr and get blood work & COMPLAIN about my cough, but nothing was ever taken real serious.  Don't get me wrong, I was given antibiotics, cough medicine, but told.....oh, it's just bronchitis or riba cough.  During the other weeks, I was either seeing my family physician or talking to him on the phone, telling him I was REALLY sick!!!!!!  My problem was that I coughed BAD,  BAD at their offices, but it was at night when it was SEVERE!  I think they both thought that I was being over dramatic being on treatment and all.  Well finally in November, my family dr had be do a sputum culture which came back that I had sudamonas in my lungs.  When those results came in and my doctor called me that night with the results, he was apologizing his *** off.  He said he had NEVER heard of anyone with this in their lungs....................however, leave it me.

[merryBe]

the couch Riba causes has to do with the way the drug effects the mucus lining in the lungs. It can cause irritation and over production very similar to that seen in people with cystic fibrosis. In fact some research suggests it is the same area of the DNA code that is irritated, that produces this similar state.

Usually riba coughing settles down with time, and meds, and subsides after treatment, but his smoking is the wild card. How much the tar and nicotene are adding to already irritated tissue that can barely keep up....and hence the cells begin to overproduce mucus to protect themselves and don't know when to shut off.

he could also have pnemonia. Hopefully he was vaccinated before beginning tx.
If not, or even if done, it would still be good to get seen and checked for this, since HCV tx makes one VERY vunerable to infections,
Check with your doc to see if it is too late to give him the vaccine. If his white count is too low, then no, but if his blood work is still good, it may yet spare him the most deadly form.
For what it's worth, the nicotene patch does work. I ought to know, after trying to quit of and on for 20 years, the patch worked, and it was painless....amazing really.
Smoke free for 15 yrs, it really does make life a lot more pleasant and will increase his chances of SVR, and better overall health hereafter.
mb

[Kristina538]

First up, I suggest your boyfriend gets checked by a doctor as we can't really dx from this forum and none of us are med practitioners.

In saying that,  I also experience/d a 'riba-cough' and was sure I was getting a chest infection (which I'm prone to).  My nurse advised that riba can cause a 'productive' cough and just to make sure it produces clear fluid and is not infected or the beginning of a chest infection.   My partner smokes and coughs regularly but his lungs are clear.  It would pay to check though!!!

I haven't completed tx so can't comment on whether, in your man's case, it's caused by or continues after tx; hopefully someone else will chime in who's experienced similar.  

Congrats to him (and you!!!) for getting through the tx - I wish you both well.

[CoWriter]

Riba can cause a horrible cough.  But I've also seen people get pneumonia during treatment.

I agree with you, he should get a chest xray done.