Feeling a little better...

[Mike From Michigan]

Good news, my recovery is finally progressing. The thrush and ensuing canker sores are gone so I am eating better.. I am also sleeping better (albeit it with a slightly improved dry mouth problem) and the pain is now very tolerable w/ meds. However, I am still often getting the sweats one minute, the chills the next.

The biggest problem for me right now is breathing. I get some periods where my involuntary cough mechanism goes into hyperdrive, making it hard to breath and talk (I am getting a small attack at this very moment). The slightest thing can trigger a cough, like a deep breath or talking so I've been using sign language (my made up version!) when that happens. However, all my coughs are dry, unproductive coughs, and of course they hurt my sternum. The Drs. seem a bit baffled and have given me various inhalers and cough syrups, which have varying degrees of results. Luckily this does not happen when I sleep for some reason (knock on wood). I am getting another chest X-ray tomorrow so we shall see if that yields anything. When I get this problem licked I'll actually be feeling pretty good, all things considered. I am able to walk for 30 minutes at a time and could even go longer but I don't want to push it at this point.

Thanks for your kind replies to my last post...

 

[Debrinha GT]

Happy to hear that!

Happy to hear that!

Hi Mike, I'm very happy to hear that things are getting better. Just keep your chin up and you'll see that you'll be back to normal in no time, after all, time flies! Take care and God bless!

Debora from Brazil

 

[bvdr]

Mike, it is good to hear that you are improving. I hope the cough soon clears up and that the x-ray report is a good one. Are you on any medications that could explain the cough?

 

[Sherry]

Mike, I'm glad to hear you're doing better. You were really fighting it in your last post. The alternating sweats and chills are baffling. Are you running a low grade temp at all?

 

[Marge]

Betty asked:

<<Are you on any medications that could explain the cough?>>

Yeah, that occurred to me too. ACE blockers do it for me. At the hospital they put me on captopril even though I told them all the -il meds give me a horrible cough. They didn't listen and I had to fight to keep captopril off my list of medications at discharge. Same type of dry cough you are describing. I believe some people get the same cough from beta blockers.

PS ... I had the chills/sweating for a while too. Annoying but I think they are "normal" after this surgery.

 

[Abbanabba]

Glad to hear you're on the mend, Mike. Hopefully you will get this bothersome cough sorted out and improve with even bigger leaps and bounds.

All the best
Anna : )

 

[LAC]

Mike,
So glad to hear you are doing better!!

 

[Lois Lane]

Glad to hear you are on the mend! Hope the cough gets under control soon.

 

[HarryG]

Glad to hear your feeling a little better, that darn cough will go away and when it does I am sure you'll be feeling much better.

Keep up with your recovery! Keep us posted!

 

[Karlynn]

Mike, it's so nice to hear you are feeling some improvement. I would ditto the question on a med causing the cough.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Mike,

Your cough triggered by talking sounds EXACTLY like what I experienced after a couple of months on ZESTRIL (an ACE inhibitor). My Cardiologist switched me to COZAAR and the cough went away. After surgery, the ACE inhibitors were discontinued. I've had NO such symptoms from my Beta Blocker (Toprol XL).

'AL'

 

[Rich]

Hi Mike,
That sounds like a big improvement.
I hope they can get that cough under control, I'm sure it is very uncomfortable at this stage.
If you are walking 30 min at this time I would say you are on your way.
Keep your chin up and don't let all this get down, better days are coming.
And enjoy some of this, at least to some extent because you will be back to the 'old grind' before you know it.

Rich

 

[Georgia]

Glad to hear things are looking up.

Are you on an antihistamine or Flonase for allergies? Allergies can certainly cause that kind of cough. Are you on something for esophageal reflux? It can also cause a dry cough.

That coughing can drive you crazy WITHOUT a sternotomy. I certainly hope someone can find a cure for your problem.

 

[Mike From Michigan]

Thanks for all your replies....

Yes, I've had a low grade fever for over 10 days now. As for all of the drugs that people suggested might be he problem, I am not on any of them. I am seeing the Dr. today and this (the cough) will be the major topic of discussion...

 

[Sherry]

Hi, Mike,
After my surgery seven years ago, I developed a low grade fever that wouldn't respond to antibiotics and had terrible sweats, especially at night. I did have a bit of a cough (not what you have mentioned), but another problem involved not being able to rest on my back, which made sleeping a nightmare. I eventually was diagnosed with a pericardial effusion (fluid in heart sack and in the lungs). They drained it and put me on a short course of prednisone which eventually cleared it up. Other members have mentioned this over the years (I've been on this forum since the beginning so I've heard many patient stories.) I don't mean to alarm you, and I may be way off in terms of what's going on with your recovery, but at least you have the info and can ask your cardio today at your appointment if he can check you for this. I wan't armed with this information and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I wasn't getting better. Take care and let us know what you find out.