I am a 40 yo male.
For the past 5 years I have been getting extreme coughing fits AFTER a cold/flu, which lasts 14 days on average.
When the usual symptoms clear up (fever, congestion, colored mucus, productive cough,etc), it doesn't fail, the cough creeps up on me over the next few days and gets so extreme, I can barely lead a normal life.
I will have coughing fits so violent that I'll end up throwing up, and then cough some more. I can cough for half an hour, get a 5 minutes break to catch my breath, then it's on again. The cough is non productive, except for clear mucus and saliva. I once broke a rib coughing so hard.
It doesn't matter if it's a harsh cold or just a tiny harmless one. Recentaly, I was probably really sick for no longer than day (sore throat, mild fever, yellow mucus) and it cleared up quickly, but as usual, over days, it started again I have been coughing for almost two weeks now.
People usually think I am just complaining but when they actually witness me coughing over time, they realize how much it is disrupting and debilitating. My wife works in healthcare with elderly and she's never seen someone cough as much.
I get super tight in the chest, my throat tickles like crazy and I just can't help it. Anything will trigger it...walking, shower, getting up, sitting, eating...
I have been prescribed ventilors with cortisoids. They barely do anything. So I am ruling out post-viral asthma. I have been prescibed some pretty powerful cough suppressant and they don't do anything.
I was told it might be post-nasal drip so I have used neti pots and decongestant. Decongestant help a little if I take a bunch of them, but I get a little 'high' on pseudoephedrine and it's not a pleasant feeling (anxiety, nervousness). It's not much worth it. So I think that rules out post nasal drip as well, especially since considering it's a dry cough.
Medecine for allergies doesn't do jack.
It's not allergies. It's clearly not bacterial. It's not post-nasal drip. It's probably not asthma. I figured it might be viral bronchitis and that I am sensible to that, but I am asking here, if anyone anywhere has had taht experience following ANY respiratory infection and if by miracle, they have had success with a specific treatment.