Persistent cough after supposedly had pneumonia??

Question

I asked this question earlier but found something new to add.
I have a question for anyone who might be able to help. A month ago I suddenly got a cough and throat hurt a lot so doctor told me bronchitus and would be gone in a week or two acter taking meds. Took meds but cough never wenty away. So he preschribed some zpac thing and said that should handle it but it didn't. So he finally said it was pneumonia and I tyook those shots for 4 straight days, but that ended friday and I still have a cough and swear I'ma ctually getting worse everytime he tries to help. Before it was just a cough. But now I still hae a slight cough (as long as I dont do anything physical) but I'm starting to get a lot of sinus pains and having hot streaks and trouble sleeping at night andjust feeling overall sicker. I'm only a 24 yr old guy and was very active up tilt his point and I'm just getting beyond frustratted here as no one or thing seems to be helping me out. Is this sort of thing normal to be going through if I'm just getting over pneumonia? Please help.

AI'm no longer feverish or anything like that but still feels like my throat is always tickling and clogged so after a while I do have a forced cough but mostly just to clear my throat and the tickling of it. It is also producing a little, but not a lot of mucus or very thick either. I never mentioned before because I just remembered a month and half ago when I first got bronchitus I noticed what I believe are my tonsils (web like thingies on both side of my throat) one side actually appears to have either gotten very very small or even disappeared while the other is still there looking same as always. Is this normal at all or could this be causing a my continuous cough or throat clogging somehow?

I did just have a blood test and the doc said it looked ok, i also did a simple breathing test with my allergist where i just blew in a tube to test my lung capacity i think andt they said i did fine at that.
As far as allergies I do have a lot of allergies including animals and we do have a cat. however I'm taking allergy shots for a few years now and have always been around the animals and environemnt and never had a reaction like this. It's just very confusing and frustrating and seems like the doctor doesn't know how to help me.

Yeah my allergist gave me some allegra D that I take every morning and it hasn't really changed much. I noticed over the last day that my right side of my throat is starting to get sore again, which is why I was wondering about the tonsil thing. I am definitely thinking of going to see my doctor again and see if he can reer me to ear nose throt dr though. Because my current dr. rarely even looks in my mouth when I visit. He listens to my lungs for a second to see if he hear wheezing and then just prescribes drugs if he does. And my allergist can probably only do so much.

Thanks for all your help. I'm thinking I'm going to go see him one more time just to see if he can help me at all if I really press him, and if and he doesn't offer anything new I'm gonna see what ENT doctors there are in my area. Thanks again for the help.

Answer 1

Pneumonia is not a one week recovery. It is a very long term recovery and if it was bacterial it is even longer. I had pneumonia several times and have some lung damage from it. Each time the recovery time got shorter but some of the symptoms are caused from scaring and sensitizing of the bronchial tubes, which may even take a year to get completely back to normal. In my case they finally figured out I have a thyroid disease which makes me susceptible to pneumonia. You should be able to notice a steady but slow return to normal.

Answer 2

I would consider getting a second opinion. I would think the antibiotics should have taken care of a sinus infection even if it developed after your pneumonia. Sounds like you were on some pretty strong antibiotics. Gradually over the period. A persistent cough is not something to let go. Did he ever blood test you for Mono or the like? What about a nasal smear to test the mucus to see if it's a resistant bacteria? You may need to see a pulmonologist, or ENT.

Have you tried taking allergy medication? This would help pinpoint if it might be allergies. I would try some Claritan D, this is the decongestant type that would (that is why it has the 'd' rather than just claritan) it is over the counter available without a prescription, but you have to ask for it from the pharmacist as they are now required by law to keep it behind the counter. If it helps in a few days you may need to see an allergist.

Edit
Even with shots you can still have allergy problems. Anyone can develop a new allergy even if they have been exposed to it all your life. For example for years I took Motrin, all of a sudden out of nowhere I took it and had an severe allergic reaction to it. You can develop new allergy triggers at any time.

Chances are your doctor is just as frustrated as you are. Since your allergist hasn't been much help I would see an ENT or Pulmonologist. An ENT if your sinus is worse than your chest and you feel your sinus might be draining into your chest or the post nasal drip is causing the cough, which sounds to me like it could be the case. Especially since your coughing seems to be triggered by your throat at this point and the mucus is not thick or yellow. You should see a Pulmonologist if it's your breathing that is more of the problem.

2nd Edit. I would ask for a ENT referral they can help you with the throat problem and if you have a sinus problem. They can also do a nasal smear, which you blow into a plastic they then check it for resistent bacteria. I would also look into a new regular doctor in the long run, if he doesn't take much time with you he is NOT doing his job. Not to mention he should not just prescribe something without fully checking you. He should be checking for post nasal drip, looking in your nose. Pressing on your sinuses, etc.

Answer 3

You are more than likely using a inhaler that helps dry your lungs out or has a steroid in it.You can have a cough for several weeks after a round with pneumonia, I don't know what type of pneumonia you had but there are several types, If you may need a follow up and you can chose another doctor if need be.Ask about the pneumonia shot,it may keep this from happening again

Answer 4

You might have some persistant post nasal drip that is causing the cough reflex. You also might have asthma. Arrange for a general physical so that your doctor will have the time to check out everything and order some blood tests. Just curious but have you recently aquired a pet that you might be allergic to?

Answer 5

Please, see your dr., and if all he does is listen to your lungs, insist (nicely) on x-rays, to see what is going on inside your lungs, bronchia, etc. If he won't do that, then please insist (nicely) that he refer you to an ear, nose, throat specialist. Hopefully this dr. will do the x-rays and find out what is going on-other than refer you to ENT dr. But, maybe the ENT dr. would be better. Plus, with sinus pains, it could be sinusitis (sinus infection) as well. I wish you the best. Take care.