- Jun 23, 2001
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Back in March, I came down with what I thought was a typical cold. These usually begin with a sore throat, then move to a stuffy nose with lots of extra snot, then move to a cough and fade away entirely from there. This illness followed that pattern, however, the cough never faded entirely, lingering until 30 April, when I developed a sore throat again. Prior to it developing the sore throat, the cough was relatively mild, maybe coughing every 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how much speaking or physical activity I was doing. I was able to complete my runs without trouble, but usually would have a coughing fit at the end. During the run, there wasn't much in the way of coughing.
The coughs themselves feel fairly dry. They are not extremely phlegmy nor is it a dry hacking cough. It feels like there is some phlegm or other substance at back of the throat though.
I didn't look in March, but on 30 April, I noticed white bumps on the back of my throat, just one. I attempted to poke or dislodge it with a cotton swap, but my gag reflex prevent this. On 1 May, I scheduled an appointment with medical, however, the earliest available appointment was 4 May because they needed to be able to process insurance paperwork.
Between 1 May and 4 May, the sore throat followed the typical course, fading to the stuffed up nose with abundance of snot, and moving to a cough by the evening of 2 May and very cough-y on 3 May.
At the doctor's office on 4 May, I didn't actually see an MD, rather a physicians assistant who was able to prescribe medication. She listened to my breathing and lungs, checked my temperature, and peered down my throat. She did not take any tissue samples, no nasal swap, throat culture, or blood sample.
She wrote a prescription for Erythrom, a generic version of E.E.S, an antibiotic. This was a thrice a day oral pill, 400mg each. Between 4 May and about 8 May, the illness ran a course nearly identical to what it did in late March. Today, the cough is about where it was in late April. This morning was the final dose of the EES. I have my doubts that the antibiotics did anything useful.
I've been reading at WebMD and WrongDiagnosis, but I don't want to self diagnosis myself. I am not a doctor and my medical training stops after basic first aid and CPR.
But this cough is very annoying because it never goes away. Some co workers suggested Valley Fever and various strains of the Flu, but I don't have the joint pain, rash, or fever associated with valley fever. And it feels much too mild to be the flu, and it also lacks the fever.
Possibly related, for the last few years, I've had an issue with my nose. When I stretch my upper lip in such a way as to stretch the nasal tissue, it feels almost as if the tissue is dry and is being cracked as it pulls. Sinus issue, maybe? I had this looked at when I was active duty, and they basically shrugged. Military medical staff barely have IQs high enough to breathe though, so take that with a grain of salt. At the time, the amount of red tape you have to fight through with military health care made it too much of a pain to push the issue seeing as it wasn't affecting my PT or work.
I am debating whether or not I should make another appointment with the civilian medical and have them actually do some tests.
What does AT Health think?
The coughs themselves feel fairly dry. They are not extremely phlegmy nor is it a dry hacking cough. It feels like there is some phlegm or other substance at back of the throat though.
I didn't look in March, but on 30 April, I noticed white bumps on the back of my throat, just one. I attempted to poke or dislodge it with a cotton swap, but my gag reflex prevent this. On 1 May, I scheduled an appointment with medical, however, the earliest available appointment was 4 May because they needed to be able to process insurance paperwork.
Between 1 May and 4 May, the sore throat followed the typical course, fading to the stuffed up nose with abundance of snot, and moving to a cough by the evening of 2 May and very cough-y on 3 May.
At the doctor's office on 4 May, I didn't actually see an MD, rather a physicians assistant who was able to prescribe medication. She listened to my breathing and lungs, checked my temperature, and peered down my throat. She did not take any tissue samples, no nasal swap, throat culture, or blood sample.
She wrote a prescription for Erythrom, a generic version of E.E.S, an antibiotic. This was a thrice a day oral pill, 400mg each. Between 4 May and about 8 May, the illness ran a course nearly identical to what it did in late March. Today, the cough is about where it was in late April. This morning was the final dose of the EES. I have my doubts that the antibiotics did anything useful.
I've been reading at WebMD and WrongDiagnosis, but I don't want to self diagnosis myself. I am not a doctor and my medical training stops after basic first aid and CPR.
But this cough is very annoying because it never goes away. Some co workers suggested Valley Fever and various strains of the Flu, but I don't have the joint pain, rash, or fever associated with valley fever. And it feels much too mild to be the flu, and it also lacks the fever.
Possibly related, for the last few years, I've had an issue with my nose. When I stretch my upper lip in such a way as to stretch the nasal tissue, it feels almost as if the tissue is dry and is being cracked as it pulls. Sinus issue, maybe? I had this looked at when I was active duty, and they basically shrugged. Military medical staff barely have IQs high enough to breathe though, so take that with a grain of salt. At the time, the amount of red tape you have to fight through with military health care made it too much of a pain to push the issue seeing as it wasn't affecting my PT or work.
I am debating whether or not I should make another appointment with the civilian medical and have them actually do some tests.
What does AT Health think?
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