Cough

[Buckeye]

Hey everyone, first off I do not have c19. I have Had a slight cough ever since my aortic OnX valve replacement with a single bypass surgery on Jan 23. My cardiologist doesn’t understand why as well. He thinks it’s because my bronchiole tubes are irritated from being intubated. He prescribed me Benzonatate 100mg pills to take three times a day. They work about 3 to 4 hours out of the eight that They are supposed to. I also have “Active asthma “ I’m more prone to problems during the summer when mold high humidity and particulates are stagnant in the air. My question is have any of you experienced a cough that has gone on for almost 3 months. I am going to go see my asthma and allergist hopefully today and see what he thinks. Any information would be helpful. Thanks again for all the support.

 

[Eva]

Sorry you have this persistent cough. If you won’t be satisfied with your cardio’s response, try to see a pulmonologist...just my 2-cents thought. Wish you well.

 

[Eva]

Until you see a doctor, here’s some info from Harvard:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/that-nagging-coughGood luck.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Buckeye - I have a cough, sometimes persistent for months and months, for about 8 years. CT scan showed that I have small airways disease which is similar to asthma - it was diagnosed by respiratory consultant whom I am now under. I use a preventer inhaler twice a day, been using that for the past 7 years. I’ve no idea how I got small airways disease but it’s usually due to things like pollution. The interesting thing is that it first showed in my lung fields on CT angiogram before I ever experienced coughing symptoms. The preventer inhaler usually works well, but not when there’s a lot of pollution or pollen around or if it’s very cold weather, or if I get a cold. Your asthma doc should be a good person to investigate your cough.

 

[Buckeye]

Thanks for all the replies. My allergist has given me Zyrtec and nasacort to my arsenal of allergy medicine. He seems to think my post nasal drip and sinus are the culprit. We will see if it works .

 

[Eva]

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[bizinsider]

I'm 6 weeks out of a bioprosthetic valve, root, AA and single bypass. I've had pretty consistent post-nasal drip / sinus drainage since I was in the hospital. Given the amount of time, my doc (just yesterday) gave me Flonase and Pepcid (in case it's acid reflux.)

 

[Buckeye]

I'm 6 weeks out of a bioprosthetic valve, root, AA and single bypass. I've had pretty consistent post-nasal drip / sinus drainage since I was in the hospital. Given the amount of time, my doc (just yesterday) gave me Flonase and Pepcid (in case it's acid reflux.)

The nasacort seems to be working . It really dried up my sinus. Not sure how much the Zyrtec is working since only took it an hour ago. Haven’t coughed nearly as much this morning. Keeping fingers crossed this works.

 

[tom in MO]

Thanks for all the replies. My allergist has given me Zyrtec and nasacort to my arsenal of allergy medicine. He seems to think my post nasal drip and sinus are the culprit. We will see if it works .

I get a cough with seasonal allergies. With covid I explain it to lots of people Zyrtec is an antihistamine. If it doesn't work, try different ones, there are lots of them. It took me 3 tries to find an antihistamine that worked for me. Nasacort didn't work for me, but flonase did. It can be a little rough on the nose, I use a wee bit of petroleum jelly in the nostril as far as I can reach. It helps.

All of these drugs you need to take regularly for a week or so before the full effects can be judged.

 

[wondo]

I have some coughing issues post AVR. I can barely drink water without coughing for some reason. I've learned that if you tilt your head down to swallow it's easier. It's gotten much better over the last couple of weeks, but still is a daily issue. Hurts like hell!

 

[Quarry1]

I too had a heck of a cough post AVR. Mine lasted longer than expected maybe that was partly due to the sepsis I contracted in the hospital. I rolled up at towel and held it to my chest and it helped a lot. I does go away.

 

[KatherineA]

I had a gravelly throat and coughed in the mornings for awhile. Couldn’t talk right away in the mornings kind of thing. The thing that surprised and shocked me was my inability to chant (as in yoga type chants). Since I couldn’t do many poses and yoga relieves my anxiety, I decided to try breath and chanting and this weird tight super old lady voice was all I could do. I sounded like my Mom who is 93 and rarely speaks anymore. I could not make the sound of ohm even. I cried about that for a while. I kept trying for an ohm periodically and finally about 10-12 weeks I could croak out a reasonable facsimile. But, that was an unexpected experience for sure.

a small thing compared the the more serious issues posted above.....

I started putting stuff called Breathe Free Balm on every night soon after getting home. I avoided the incision area directly. It felt good. whether it actuall did anything I’m not sure. But, the felt good part was Good.

 

[slipkid]

I was coughing a lot during my recovery but I probably went through more than most up here, I suffered heart attack, then OHS with double bypass & AVR at same time. Took months for that cough to go away but it did.

 

[wondo]

Out of curiosity, how many of you that have a cough are on Cozaar and/or Lopressor for blood pressure? I was told today by my RN that a cough is a common symptom of those medications.

 

[KatherineA]

Lopressor here
But cough is gone. The last I recall having it was at about 12 weeks out from surgery or about the end of March/first of April 2020.

 

[sarashreen]

I’m in the same situation. Had ROSS procedure on 3/29/22. Cough is not going away. Took Benzonatate 100mg pills twice a day. I have been coughing since had surgery.

Tried below before taking benzonatate :
-Guaifenesin 600mg extended release every 12 hours (Mucinex)
- normal saline spray 3 times a day
- Afrin nasal spray every 12 hours only for 3 days

Stopped Lisinopril two weeks ago as cardiologist advised.

But nothing is helping to stop the cough.

 

[Lynn]

While I realize many, many things can cause a cough, so can certain meds. I was put on low dose ramipril (ACE Inhibitor) for blood pressure prior to surgery and stayed in it after for a while. I had a very annoying cough that would not go away post surgery. Turns out it is a side effect of ramipril. My cardio told me I could go off it if I was willing to monitor my blood pressure and when I did the cough cleared up in about a week. This worked for me, as my blood pressure is fine and I can keep it down without meds but I understand this is not the case for everyone. Simply something to be aware of.

 

[tom in MO]

Lisinopril, used for BP control, can cause a chronic cough as well.