1. < Breast Cancer

Constant cough (4 months)

Posted by inquiringminds @inquiringminds, Mar 26, 2020

I have a question. So in 2018 I had a lumpectomy and radiation and since then on Anastrozole until 2023. On November 2018, I had a cold and had a continued cough until summer 2019. It stopped then. On December 2019 I got another cold and since then I am still coughing. Both times I went to a respirologist and 2 ENTs, they did x-rays, C.T. scans, checked for asthma and I don't have anything wrong according to the results - lungs are clear, sinuses don't have inflammation, I don't have asthma - I do have post nasal drip but both ENTs did the camera check and said nothing is wrong. I do neti pot rinses daily, I drink lots of water and fresh Juice, I eat healthy but this is not leaving me, recently when I cough my chest hurts. So I don't get this. It's not a dry cough so nothing to do with anything that is going on now with the corona, no fever, no symptoms, just this darn cough. If it was the radiation which did cause a mild fibrosis on the radiated breast, how come it started way before then? I can't find any info about what to do about this. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

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inquiringminds | @inquiringminds | Mar 26, 2020
In reply to @elizm "@inquiringminds This always is one of those amorphous issues. You have a cough. Doctors test you..." + (show)
@elizm

@inquiringminds
This always is one of those amorphous issues. You have a cough. Doctors test you in all manner of ways and can't find the cause. One thing that you shouldn't overlook is the anastrozole (or any of the AIs) as cough can be an adverse effect from it (and most doctors are not tuned into the gzillion effects which the AIs can manifest in different people. And, if you're like me, your high blood pressure med (and others) may have a similar effect. When you look drugs up on the web, the manufacturers rarely mention cough... instead, look each one up by inputting, for example, "anastrozole and cough," etc. and voila! Mayo also is a good resource for looking up adverse effects of various drugs, and drug interactions.

The second aspect of this issue is, what can a patient do about it? Your oncologist, for example, might say that it's just one of those trade-offs for taking an AI and not worth stopping the AI... and s/he has a good point, which is why many of us keep a big supply of sugar-free cough drops on hand.

My experience with the entire breast cancer journey is that my body/health likely will never be the same; weird things will arise, may come and go, and it behooves me to research them and take them all in stride. In the meantime, I send you blessings.

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Thank you Elizm, the problem is that the cough started before I took Anastrozole so how does that work?

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inquiringminds | @inquiringminds | Mar 26, 2020
In reply to @trixie1313 "@inquiringminds I also use a product recommended by a chiropractor: Nutribiotic Throat Spray. It helps somewhat..." + (show)
@trixie1313

@inquiringminds I also use a product recommended by a chiropractor: Nutribiotic Throat Spray. It helps somewhat with cough as well. You spray a couple shots to the back of your throat. It contains zinc, grapefruit seed extract, and menthol. Keep using the vaporizer and drink water throughout the day as it will help thin out mucus if you have any causing the cough.

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do you order that spray online?

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1 reply
inquiringminds | @inquiringminds | Mar 26, 2020
In reply to @sueinmn "@inquiringminds Three things come to mind - some people do not have asthma, but can have..." + (show)
@sueinmn

@inquiringminds Three things come to mind - some people do not have asthma, but can have an "overreactive airway" condition that can lead to persistent cough or other symptoms. Not sure if there is a treatment or you just have to learn to tolerate it.
Another is irritation or developing allergy to something in your home. It can be as simple as a new scent in a detergent, a candle or the essential oil places in avaporizer or diffuser, new carpet or a pet. And it may be a newly devloped sensitivity to any of those. For example, I was around my daughter's guinea pigs without incident for tears, sometimes they even used to live with us. After a bad bout of pneumonia, I cannot handle them or be around them for very long.
One more thing to check before you give up - the possible side effects of any other meds you are taking. WebMD and RxList are both places you can look. Another resource is to ask your pharmacist to review all your meds including non-prescription ones, for the cough as a side effect or interaction between neds causing the cough.
I know we would love to believe our docs do this automatically, but I can tell you from experience with 2 very good ones, it doesn't always happen. After 4 months of struggling to breathe 2 years ago, the pharmacist figured out my asthma meds weren't working due to their effectiveness being suppressed by another prescription. A dear friend and his wife were at wits end over his persistent cough a week ago after numerous visits, tests and chest xrays all ruled out illnesses and confirmed that his copd is stable. Finally the doc reviewed his meds, stopped one of them and 4 days later he is fine. I will not name the drug here, but it is a very common one, which many can take without incident, others take for a time then develop issues and some people do not tolerate well.
Good luck with this difficult issue. Let us know what you figure out
Sue

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Hi Sue, thank you for your reply. I know that Anastrozole (did my research) does cause a cough, my problem is that my cough started before I took this drug. I was checked for Asthma - no Asthma, I was checked for sinusitis - no sinusitis, I was checked for lung disease - my lungs are clear (according to the x rays, ct scan, MRI, breathing test. Before my breast cancer diagnosis I had a cold and the cough only disappeared in the summer. This has been going on for many years already, they keep giving me antibiotics but they are not helping and I refuse to take them now. I took puffers too for a long time, I took allergy medications and nasal sprays, NOTHING! didn't help at all. so why am I coughing constantly? This is driving me crazyyyyyyyyyy....

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inquiringminds | @inquiringminds | Mar 26, 2020
In reply to @trixie1313 "@inquiringminds I also use a product recommended by a chiropractor: Nutribiotic Throat Spray. It helps somewhat..." + (show)
@trixie1313

@inquiringminds I also use a product recommended by a chiropractor: Nutribiotic Throat Spray. It helps somewhat with cough as well. You spray a couple shots to the back of your throat. It contains zinc, grapefruit seed extract, and menthol. Keep using the vaporizer and drink water throughout the day as it will help thin out mucus if you have any causing the cough.

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I am having a hard time finding a place that sells this Nutribiotic throat spray - any help with that????

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1 reply
sandyjr | @sandyjr | Mar 26, 2020

I had a cough as well. It started in December 2018 and continued until January 2020. I mentioned it to my GP and I mentioned it to my oncologist and they didn’t seem concerned. I looked it up and I am taking anastrozole and I found that yes that could affect it and I also take ramipril. I have been taking ramipril for a long time but have only been on anastrozole since May 2018. It bothered me because of course I thought I might have a long cancer. What I would find is that when I laid in bed at night I had a lot of postnasal drip and I coughed a lot in the night while I was lying down. I also coughed during the day. It was a dry cough and sometimes I will cough for quite a while. I was living on cough drops. Then I had the idea to use a netti pot and I got one and I got the solution to go in it and I used it a few times and I have not had a problem since. The cough was extremely annoying because it seemed to happen at inconvenient times...like when I was in church. I have no idea what it was about but it seems to be gone and the fix was very inexpensive and quite easy to do. Also the post nasal drip has gone away as well. Perhaps I had some kind of infection. I do not know but all is well now.

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trixie1313 | @trixie1313 | Mar 26, 2020
In reply to @inquiringminds "I am having a hard time finding a place that sells this Nutribiotic throat spray -..." + (show)
@inquiringminds

I am having a hard time finding a place that sells this Nutribiotic throat spray - any help with that????

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@inquiringminds VitaminShoppe, Vitacost, Amazon, Walmart, etc. Google it and you can see the costs at the different entities.

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trixie1313 | @trixie1313 | Mar 26, 2020
In reply to @inquiringminds "do you order that spray online?" + (show)
@inquiringminds

do you order that spray online?

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@inquiringminds
I ordered online throught eBay, but it's also at Vitamin Shoppe, Vitacost, Walmart, Amazon. Google it and you can see prices.

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inquiringminds | @inquiringminds | Mar 27, 2020

I tried amazon but it says that it's unavailable so I will keep looking. I live in Canada so it's a bit different than USA. Thank you xx

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1 reply
inquiringminds | @inquiringminds | Mar 27, 2020

Hi Sandy, thank you for your answer. My issue is that it was before I started Anastrozole that I had the cough. In fact, it happened every year whenever I had a cold I would cough for a few months but since I am taking Anastrozole, the cough last a lot longer. Now it's 4 months that I have this cough with no solution. I do use the netti pot daily, I have cough drops constantly, I put a vaporizer in my room at night with peppermint essential oil in it, I put peppermint around my nose and it does ease it for a little bit then comes back again, I had x rays and ct scans both on my lungs and sinuses, clear, I had an asthma test - no asthma, breathing test - clear, so what is it and how can I get rid of it. My girlfriend just gave me a name of a homeopath that helped her friend when she was coughing, so I am going to have a Skype video call with her in the next few days (because of Covid-19 - no in person appt) and hopefully she will help me too.

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1 reply
Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Mar 27, 2020
In reply to @inquiringminds "Hi Ttixie, thank you for your reply - so they checked and I don't have pneumonitins,..." + (show)
@inquiringminds

Hi Ttixie, thank you for your reply - so they checked and I don't have pneumonitins, I constantly have cough drops in my mouth and I have a humidifier in my room to which I add peppermint essential oil, I even put that peppermint oil beside my nostrils and it helps temporarily, I put vicks on my chest, the funny part is - at night I don't cough and I really think that it has to do with the vaporizer but as soon as I get up - here it goes again.I also don't have asthma, they checked and no pneumonia, so I am just going crazy with this. everything they checked for turned out clear - the radiation caused a slight fibrosis but not enough to justify this annoying cough. The respirologist insisted that it's post nasal drip but the 2 ENTs said no. I think he is right but how on earth can I get rid of it? I am doing everything possible to dry it up with nasal rinses and I even tried allergy medication and nasal sprays - NOTHING is helping

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Good morning @inquiringminds- Welcome to Connect. I have a constant drip and cough. My cough is mostly dry. But up until recently with a cold, it wasn't constant. There's something called Reactive airway disease. Part of it is bronchial spasms. However, there is a controversy about this.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321061

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