Isn't there a big difference between the two? I am asking for myself here. :oops: For about a week, I have had what started as a cold develop quickly into a nasty head cold which took my IQ down to beneath room temperature in Antartica with the windows and doors wide open. I do not do well with headcolds.:sad2: It was really looking like a sinus infection and then the last two days, maybe three, it has been draining big time into my chest. I have been hoarking up a lung and my chest hurts from coughing. Today, it feels like an elephant has planted himself on my chest and my back is killing me. As I am pasty grey, hoarking, having cold sweats (no fever), and am generally miserable, I crawled into the walk in clinic tonight as I have things to do this weekend. You can hear crackles when I breathe sometimes, especially after a hacking-up-a-hairball fit. The Dr. asked me over and over if I was spitting stuff up and truthfully I am not, just very occassionally. He checked my throat twice and asked me if my throat was sore a few times. Nope. I can just feel the drainage. He listened to my chest, said "ohhh" and "ahhh".:roll: He then told me I have "bronchiitis". :smt108 "Or pneumonia". :smt017 "Whatever".:shock: And then wrote me a script for Biaxin. :dontknow: I am to go home, rest for a few days, and take plenty of fluids. yay. That part, I understand.

As I am not at the top of my game presently, should I be taking a cough suppressant? Will Biaxin help with both pneumonia or bronchitis? Should I just spin a wheel and figure out what one I have? Or does it matter?

Leigh, I'm guessing here since I'm without the benefit of an exam and all, but it sounds more like bronchitis to me. Bronchitis is an inflammation of the middle and large airways usually caused by something (ie drainage) getting in there and irritating the airways. Your SI drainage would certainly be the culprit here. The symptoms are (you'll relate to these) hacking cough usually without sputum production (and if there is sputum, it's usually clear or white) and chest pain/pressure (your elephant). The doc would have heard crackles because your alveoli are collapsing under the pressure of the coughing and then "crackle" when they pop open again afterward. It literally sounds like rice krispies in milk. Bronchitis is usually not visible on chest x-ray aside from some overexpansion of the lungs due to some airtrapping. Pneumonia, on the other hand, is an infection in the lung. The airways fill with nasty yellow/green/brown crud that can occlude the airways. Fever is present. A productive nasty cough is present, too. Chest x-ray (I'm surprised one wasn't ordered) shows a fluffy mass in the affected area of the lungs. You can also hear any and all nasty breath sounds.

The Biaxin sounds like a pretty good course of action. It won't do much for the bronchitis other than taking care of the sinus infection, which would stop the drainage and stop the irritation of the airways. IF it is a little pneumonia, Biaxin is an appropriate antibiotic for that as well. Beware, though, Biaxin is very hard on the digestive tract and you could soon have more in common with sweet young Curran than you've ever wanted. :sad2: Hit the yogurt early, my friend! Also, don't mess with the cough suppressant if you're having any sort of productive cough. That's the body's defense mechanism to move the crud out. If you're just having that hacky, irritating, keeping you up all night, dry, nonproductive cough, feel free to give the suppressant a try. If the cough suppressant doesn't seem to help, you might ask your doc about borrowing Iain's albuterol for a day or two. Here's the good news, sorry, the cough might stick around for a couple of weeks after the cold/drainage are gone. It takes a while for the inflammation to heal and the cough to go away. **dodging whatever rocks Leigh can hurl this direction**

Gosh, Leigh, I hope you're feeling better soon. Bring on the chicken noodle soup and Gatorade!

Thanks, Lori. :hug: I was just astounded that it seemed like he was guessing what it was, especially with the "whatever". eeek. I have not had this Dr. before and could see him saying "it could be a horrific and debilitating lifelong disease... or you have a hangnail. Whatever." to someone.

I spent the night hacking up a lung, possibly both of them and must say everything hurts now when I breathe. For most of the night I sounded like I was barking. Great. The cough suppressant did nothing for me. If it actually helped at all then I would be afraid to think of how I would have been since I was coughing nearly continuously as it was. No productive coughing at all, so I might give the cough suppressant another go. I pretty much gag and almost vomit when I take cough mediicine, so I always use it very sparingly. No idea why, but I have always been that way with the stuff so I always wait until I am virtually at the end of my rope before reaching for it.

The only good news I have presently is that my head seems to be much clearer!

Biaxin was tough last night in that I doubled over from the cramps for a few hours. I am on 2x500 mg once daily. Freaking horsepills. I have had it before and it is indeed rough on the system. I just hope it works in this case. :sad2: I am lucky in this respect as I usually only get abdominal pain and not uh, the other associated problems with the med. lol

I was eyeballing Iain's ventolin last night and think I might use it anyway as I have had an inhaler before, long, long ago. Definately will see how today goes and likely will need it by night.


Here's the good news, sorry, the cough might stick around for a couple of weeks after the cold/drainage are gone. It takes a while for the inflammation to heal and the cough to go away. **dodging whatever rocks Leigh can hurl this direction**

Yeah, I sort of remember that when I had bronchitis a few years ago. Yippee yay.

**grabs rocks and hurls them at elephant on my chest instead**

Ugh, sounds like it was a long night. Regular OTC cough suppressants don't tend to do much. Maybe you can call the doc's office and get a script for a cough suppressant with codeine or some Tessalon Perles (they work great, good for a night's sleep, too). The albuterol would probably help more than anything, but of course I can't tell you to do that as I'm not a doc. Feel better soon, Leigh!:hug: