A smokers nightmare and I've been treated twice in three months for it. My first treatment was towards the end of August when I had a difficult time breathing and heavy pressure on my chest. At first the doc thought I had pnemonia, but x-rays revealed an infection in the upper left lungs (so they said). They gave me some Zithromax that seem to put a stop to the infection, but I never really got rid of the cough. In November the cough got worse so back to the doc I go. Another set of x-rays and after listening to my breathing the doc says its bronchitis again. Zithromax again along with Extuff to clear the lungs (which hasn't happened).

So a question for any docs on the board - how long does it take to get the conjestion out of the airway?

This has put a major set-back in my enjoyment of fine cigars. I used to smoke every night but have cut back to only a couple on the weekend.

Hopefully this stuff will go away soon. And before someone says "quit smoking", give me an alternative instead. LOL

I had bronchitis several times as a young person and never had it treated. I am pretty pain tolerant, so it was never a issue. However in early adulthood I had a case so bad I tore part of my left lung with coughing. The result was- I became very susceptable to bronchitis. Asthma meds were prescribed for me when it didn`t clear up as fast as they wanted- and once you are on those meds getting off is tough. You get used to more capacity than you had before, and any less is very scary. As I am a biker when the temp hits 18 or so I always get a good case of B, but half the time it goes away without meds. Basically the gist of this whole twisted mess is that - you will prob get it more often, but your body will prob heal faster once you get used to fighting it. Drink lots of water also- it is the equivelant to the guifanisin they give as an expectorant. To answer the heal time- a bad case for me will be a week or so before I see a doctor or it begins to get better. Keeping up and around and sitting up instead of using a recliner helps a lot too- even though its not a fluid issue-it does seem to settle.

And obviously I am not a doctor-although my doc lives a couple doors down! He also reccomends I quit smoking and riding motorcycles in the winter, so his advice is questionable!

Hope you get better soon.

Bronchitis is typically caused by viral infection. Zithromax is a macrolide antibiotic. Antibiotics treat bacteria.

In other words, antibiotics are not useful for treating the primary infection in almost all cases of bronchitis.

Prescription of antibiotics for bronchitis is a classic mistake alot of older or unskilled physicians make...unless the primary infection was determined to be caused by bacterial infection. But again, it's almost always a viral infection.

The reason why antibiotics tend to help is because the primary viral infection allows secondary bacterial infections to establish, but in the end they won't get rid of a persisting viral infection.

I prefer not to give advice since I am not your physician. But if I were you, I would seek a second opinion.

Also, bronchitis is not usually apparent on a chest x-ray, sometimes there is a little increase in certain markings called hylar vascular markings, but if something was seen in the left upper lobe is was most likely not bronchitis (an inflammation of the bronchi)

As Sobek has said, bronchitis is usually viral and not amenible to antibiotics.

If you inhale, stop. If you smoke indoors, be certain that there is very good ventilation to remove secondhand smoke.

Try one of the DM cough syrups, they will help loosen sputum and stop the cough.

Thanks for all the information. Very educational.

Maybe the x-rays were to confirm there wasn't pnemonia present? But the first doc did state the infection was in the upper left lung which I thought he determined from the x-ray.

I was also under the impression that it was a bacterial infection since Zithromax was prescibed. Its intersting that two different docs had treated me the same way for bronchitis when in fact they may have been treating what lead to bronchitis.

Docbarry, each week preceding my visit to the doc I was self medicating with Robitusum DM. It got rid of the violent cough but the overall symptoms remained ... hence I visited the doctor.

Perhaps all I have left over now is the residual flim my lungs are trying to expectorate. My chest is no longer painful so I think the infection has passed. And I do try my best not to inhale any smoke, but as a previous cigarette smoker for many years its almost a natural reflect to bring the smoke in.

Thanks all.

Getting sick sucks!!! Although I don't have bronchitus I have had a nasty little cold the past couple weeks which has really limited my smoking. Last night was my first cigar in a week and only second of the past two weeks.

Over the past few years I have been getting a mild cheast cold that starts in August and seems to end in june. It comes and goes, good at times and bad at others. My doc put me on a steroid inhailer and an Albuteral inhailer. It got to the point I was using the Albuteral inhailer 5 tp 10 times a day (2 puffs each time). After many trips to the doc's and much complaining, he put me on Advair. I take 1 puff 2X a day. Its been over 6 months now and no chest colds, no asthma type attacks. Even when I get a cold, my chest stays free and clear. I'm sold on Advair, maybe it will help you. Good Luck

Dude, that sucks.... Cigar smokers nightmare.

quote:

Originally posted by jesse52:
Over the past few years I have been getting a mild cheast cold that starts in August and seems to end in june. It comes and goes, good at times and bad at others. My doc put me on a steroid inhailer and an Albuteral inhailer. It got to the point I was using the Albuteral inhailer 5 tp 10 times a day (2 puffs each time). After many trips to the doc's and much complaining, he put me on Advair. I take 1 puff 2X a day. Its been over 6 months now and no chest colds, no asthma type attacks. Even when I get a cold, my chest stays free and clear. I'm sold on Advair, maybe it will help you. Good Luck

This is precisely why we don't take medication meant for others.

You have asthma. He doesn't. Just because the same general region is affected does not mean the same medicines apply.

Here is something interesting to me:
I have ulcerative colitis and take a medication called asacol every day.
I have not had a cold or the flu since I have been taking it even though my wife, my employees, etc. have had many colds and the flu over the years. I keep telling the doc to look into it but they don't think there is a correlation. But I haven't had a single episode of any consequence for at least 10 years.

Sobek...very true. I never had asthma growing up. I did develop a mild case of it in the past year or so. Purhaps Hard Ash is developing new problems that he never had before. I just thought his symptoms sounded like mine when I started having problems. It couldn't hurt to ask his doc about it. Hope my info can help.

you can tell I'm not healthy, I smoked a Exodus 1959 toro last night while walking the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights with the family and thought it tasted nasty!