Bedtime Blues

Posted by ckscoville @ckscoville, Aug 27, 2020

I'm posting this in hopes that somebody might have had the same experience …and hopefully found a solution.

I currently do three breathing treatments a day — with a nebulizer and a SmartVest concurrently — and I'm on a rotation of antibiotics (Augmentin, Doxycycline, and Bactrim) for a very stubborn Achromobacter infection. During a typical day, I cough up a lot of sputum (usually light to dark green and sticky), especially in late morning.

However, when I finally go to bed at night, I go through a really horrible 30-45 minutes of coughing up stuff almost non-stop. I usually end up coughing up so much that my chest hurts like crazy at the end of it, and leaves me totally exhausted as well. It's gotten to the point that the thought of going to bed depresses me because I know what's in store for me. It's also not unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night to cough up more stuff.

I don't know if the change in posture (lying down) is what triggers these really bad coughing fits, but I'm desperate for a solution.

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@flib

I have a prescription for a codeine cough med. Like you, I never lie down without coughing; on nights when it won't stop I take a swig. Just having it often gets me through. I only take it when I've reached my level of endurance. I sleep on my left side as it seems to be the best position for drainage. I've had this miserable (fill in with your own swear words) disease for over ten years. I'm still here, still longing for a peaceful going to bed. I also get out of bed and bend over from the waist and often a big mess will come up. Best of luck. Flib

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@flib I'm right there with you, Flib. I have a bottle of cough syrup with codeine….I also cough when I lie down…ALL THE TIME…so when I can't take it anymore I'll take that cough syrup. It helps to keep your sanity. I know we can't take it all the time but it sure is nice to have it when you're having a bad coughing night. Nan

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