Long standing cough

I do know how you feel I have had a cough with disgusting catarrh for ages off and on. We cannot see our doctor and we only get a phone consultation for two weeks time. Waste of time completely every time I get it I have to take cough medications until it eventually goes.
My blood pressure tablets are known to cause a cough but this is like a chest infection. Our doctors do not give out antibiotics at all I self test for covid to put my mind at ease.

When I had a constant cough I was diagnosed with Asthma, it might be worth another trip to the Drs. At the very least they should give you an X-ray.

Statins can cause a cough I believe.

I have variously been told it was, post-nasal drip, asthma, might be GORD. I have had two chest xrays that were both clear and every lung capacity test shows that it is excellent for my age. Several times the cough has descended to my chest and it is clear I have a respiratory infection, which is then prescribed for, but I still return to the persistent cough.

I have just stopped bothering about it. Whatever the cause, it is clearly trivial with no knock ons to any other medical problem. I am currently on no medication for any purpose. So I just live with it.

My dear MIL had a persistent cough but no apparent cause. The medical profession finally decided it was a nervous cough. It never went away. DH on the other hand had a cough after Covid and breathlessness as well. He’s been for a chest X-ray and an assessment at the Covid centre being referred for physiotherapy.

Personally,I’d be pushing for more diagnostics, especially as it arouse at the time of Covid

I had a cough. My GP diagnosed acid reflux. I started on Lansoprazole one a day and it disappeared.
I wouldn't discount acid reflux as you may not have any other symptoms apart from the cough.

I have been on lansoprazole for another reason. I was on it for a month. I kept coughing.

It is closer to a chesty cough and I have been on antibiotics a couple of times when it has turned into a respiratory infection. It goes for a month or so, then comes back. last time, it didn't even do that, went from cough to part of a much larger more universal bacterial infection, the infection responded to antibiotics andthe cough went from slight, to chesty to slight again witjout a break.

As I said, I have given up taking any interest in it.

My mother had an ongoing cough. I read something alarming in the media and insisted she went to the doctor, half expecting it was something nasty. Asthma. She didn't have breathing issues, per se, just the cough. But the inhalers did help.

Years ago I had an ongoing cough. It lasted for ages. It reached the point where I was coughing up blood and was sleeping on the sofa sitting upright. I even developed stress incontinence. I actually worked for the NHS at the time and don’t, in retrospect, know how I managed to drag myself into work each morning. One weekend I went to the walk in centre but they told me if my sputum wasn’t green it wasn’t an infection so they gave me nothing. Eventually my doctor ( who I worked for) gave me antibiotics and the cough went away. I certainly don’t advocate the over use of antibiotics but sometimes I think doctors have gone too far the other way. Recently I had a cough; tried to read a story to my grandson but had to give up. I bought a Beconase nasal spray and it cleared up so it probably was a post nasal drip. I know ENT doesn’t seem like a very glamorous part of the NHS to work in but it’s an area of the body that’s very interconnected and I find it quite interesting. Can’t help but feel that the OP’s cough is a result of covid though and it worries me that not enough is being done to help people with long covid type symptoms.

Have also got horrendous cough..copious amounts of phlegm...since having covid in March..but strangely a cough wasnt one of my symptoms for the 10 days that I tested positive....have had 3 lots of antibiotics but it just persists

Mine is quite minor compared to some above, but I do have a husky little cough every morning just for about ten minutes. I've had it for so many years now that I've stopped worrying about it.

Rosiebee please get some tests done, others may have decided to live with it but you haven’t had any tests done yet.

Please insist that your GP investigates it properly. It can be a sign of lung cancer - it probably isn’t, but having seen the ad campaign a while ago about not delaying seeing a doctor with a persistent cough, I find it totally unacceptable that when you do, the GP doesn’t attach enough importance to it.

I know it’s not the same thing but my late husband went to his GP because he was experiencing pain in his shoulders and had been told it could be a sign of a certain type of lung cancer. The GP dismissed it, diagnosed a trapped nerve and prescribed pain killers. It WAS a trapped nerve - trapped by the sizeable and inoperable tumour at the top of his lung, which later set up a massive infection which killed him within three months. The abysmal statistics for early diagnosis of cancer in the UK speak for themselves.

I had a cough which lasted on and off for about 3 years. I was eventually nagged into seeing my GP who thought it was asthma. The inhalers didn't help much but I eventually realised it was linked to stress. My cough definitely got worse when work pressure was getting on top of me. I'm retired now- no cough.

Thanks for all replies. I should have said that I was sent for an x ray. Results came back clear. I sometimes cough up clear phlegm and when it is bad, my salivary glands go into overdrive and my mouth fills up. Sorry, that sounds awful. I'm not in pain with the cough which is probably why I've put up with it so long. It just gets me down sometimes, hence the posting. Also as in one of the replies, I've been mortified to have the occasional leak. Another phone consultation next week. Thanks again for replies.

Rosiebee

Thanks for all replies. I should have said that I was sent for an x ray. Results came back clear. I sometimes cough up clear phlegm and when it is bad, my salivary glands go into overdrive and my mouth fills up. Sorry, that sounds awful. I'm not in pain with the cough which is probably why I've put up with it so long. It just gets me down sometimes, hence the posting. Also as in one of the replies, I've been mortified to have the occasional leak. Another phone consultation next week. Thanks again for replies.

Ask your GP for a CT scan if the x ray hasn’t shown anything up and you’re still having symptoms. CT’s can pick up a lot more than a plain x ray and it may lead to a more accurate diagnosis and a better treatment option for you

My blood pressure pills were making my cough worse. Read the Patient's Leaflet carefully and asking there are alternatives available.
I changed my tablets , I still have a cough but its not as bad.

My chronic cough turned out to be Asthma and Bronchiectasis. I guess I can live with it…although the cough is sometimes embarrassing in a social situation.

My chronic cough which ive had for 5 years has finally been diagnosed ...I had a scan .. a patch showed up and they think its been caused by radiation damage from Breast Cancer treatment ... Ive had a Pet Scan which will show up any cancer in that area, I am waiting on these results ... fingers crossed ..

Rosiebee is your BP medication anything ending in 'Piril'?? Of so it is highly likely that it that which is the cause of your cough. These are some of the cheapest bp medication and therefore used by GP's. However for some of us, they can be the cause of a really dreadful cough. Mine was so bad that my whole body was out of control each time I had a bout. Always got far worse whenever I was tired for any reason

Needed the Consultant at the local chest clinic to order my GP to change this prescription. Once that was done took about three months for the remains of the chemically induced cough to leave my system. Worth checking to see if the cough is being caused by medications.

Undiagnosed Asthma can also be the cause of a cough. I complained about a cough that I always got when I got tired or run-down for years to doctors, but it was finally a Respitory Nurse who suggested it was caused by asthma, started me on medication for that - and it was like a miracle cure in no time at all.

Thanks again. My BP medication was changed to Losartan and slowly the cough has eased up. DR did say that it could take a few months to get Ramipril out of the system but I'm not coughing half as much as I was previously and not as badly. Leaks have also stopped. Hopefully this will now sort itself out.

Ace inhibitors like Lisinopril and Ramipril can cause a persistent cough- so you need to talk to your GP to check and see if you should change to a different (ACE2) medication- if it is the cause.

Two things . Some blood pressure medication can cause a tickily cough so that could be why your cough is ongoing . The other thing is if you have a cough which lasts more than 6 weeks your doctor should consider sending you for a chest X-ray as it can be a sign of cancer . Don’t want to worry you too much but your doctor should be ruling this out . I hope that you get this sorted soon .

Sept 1st and I can happily declare that my cough seems to have worn itself out. I do have a very tickly throat and a sharp intake of breath can set me off but that awful hacking cough has faded away. Thanks for all replies. I've had my last phone consultation today, really appreciated being able to talk to the doctor even if I couldn't see him. Happy Bunny