Sick of choking...

[trekkerguy]

About a month ago I was sick with a cold.

Since then for about three weeks I've had this cough with phlegm.
And in the first couple weeks it was bad to the point I would start
choking on mucus and couldn't breathe. Took MucinexD for about a
week and that helped. Now for the last few days I've been out of it
(and you're not supposed to take it more than 7 days) and my breathing
has been great... except when I sleep for a few hours.
I'll usually wake up in the morning choking again.

I really just want to go back being able to sleep and not worry about it.

 

[RoJoHen]

You should suspend yourself from the ceiling with your face to the floor. All the phlegm will drip out of your mouth as you sleep.

 

[trekkerguy]

Um...

 

[RoJoHen]

It's all I got. I'm trying to help!

 

[Zulu Romeo]

How much phlegm are you bringing up? And how bad does it look?
Do you have any other symptoms such as pains along the sides or front of your chest, or fever?
How does it affect you during the day?
Any indigestion at all?

One thing that can help is simply encouraging the phlegm out of the system, and coughing while putting your body into a certain position can help during the day. A humid environment (e.g. going into the shower) will be of immense help with this.
Taking pain relief such as acetaminophen (paracetamol to the rest of the world ) during this time will minimise the aches, especially if your cough is getting troublesome, and by getting rid of aches in your chest, your breathing should get better.
Take plenty of water too - all the coughing and forced breathing can lead to loss of water vapour, among other places.
If you have indigestion, sometimes an antacid might help especially at night.
Finally get plenty of rest and avoid exposure - building up your strength with good food and rest will help you get better quicker.

These aren't really specific medical measures - it's what I do when I'm in this sort of situation, but they may be useful. If these don't work, or if you feel especially unwell, it would be a good idea to see your family practitioner (GP).

 

[JAG]

Do you use a humidifier when you sleep? I always found that helps with getting rid of congestion.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Oy, I had that crap this month. The mold count was high and I just suffered for it. The doctor gave me an antibiotic and gave me a prescription for Nasonex.

Now I laugh in the face of mold. I stick my nose on a block of cheese and just sniff at it.

 

[sidious618]

The same thing happened to me. Turns out I had a case of larangetis (I probably butchered the spelling!)

 

[The Master of Tarquin Hill]

You should suspend yourself from the ceiling with your face to the floor. All the phlegm will drip out of your mouth as you sleep.

That would be my suggestion as well. A side effect may be that you become a caped crusader.

 

[TorontoTrekker]

Now I laugh in the face of mold. I stick my nose on a block of cheese and just sniff at it.

Thank the gods I'm lactose-intolerant.

 

[DanTheGrey]

Could be post-nasal drip. Nasonex and Hydrasense (just a sterlized seawater rinse for the nose) help me in similar situations. Also something like an extra strong Halls before bed, anything that can dry out the sinsues can also help in my experience.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV, never even played Doctor, I'm a Computer Scientist not a Doctor dammit...

 

[Gil T.Azell]

I had a chough that wouldn't go away so I tried a mixture of Crushed Ginger Root (to get the oil/juice out) and Honey.
Cleared the phlegm and crap out in about 2 days, It tastes only slightly better than Buckleys.
I hope this goes away soon for you.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

About a month ago I was sick with a cold.

Since then for about three weeks I've had this cough with phlegm.
And in the first couple weeks it was bad to the point I would start
choking on mucus and couldn't breathe. Took MucinexD for about a
week and that helped. Now for the last few days I've been out of it
(and you're not supposed to take it more than 7 days) and my breathing
has been great... except when I sleep for a few hours.
I'll usually wake up in the morning choking again.

I really just want to go back being able to sleep and not worry about it.

I have the exact same symptoms. I hope we feel better soon.

 

[T'Baio]

What colour is the phlegm? Could be pneumonia.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

^^^ Yeah, it does sound like it.

About a month ago I was sick with a cold.

Since then for about three weeks I've had this cough with phlegm.
And in the first couple weeks it was bad to the point I would start
choking on mucus and couldn't breathe. Took MucinexD for about a
week and that helped. Now for the last few days I've been out of it
(and you're not supposed to take it more than 7 days) and my breathing
has been great... except when I sleep for a few hours.
I'll usually wake up in the morning choking again.

I really just want to go back being able to sleep and not worry about it.

I had the same thing. I would start hyperventilating and coughing up greenish phlegm (often bloody) when I went to bed and that would continue for several hours even after I got out of bed. I wasn't able to get any sleep. Taking a long hot shower and propping my head and upper body up higher in bed seemed to help a little, but it's still hard to sleep when you're wheezing with every breath.

I went to the doctor and after looking at my chest x-ray (a week and a half later mind you) he called me and said I had pneumonia and put me on antibiotics.

Get to the doctor and have them take a chest x-ray. I'm over the pneumonia finally I think (I hope - because the antibiotics are all gone), but it transitioned nicely into a nasty flu. So I've been sick for a month now, which is fun.

Good luck.

 

[FrontLine]

About a month ago I was sick with a cold.

Since then for about three weeks I've had this cough with phlegm.
And in the first couple weeks it was bad to the point I would start
choking on mucus and couldn't breathe. Took MucinexD for about a
week and that helped. Now for the last few days I've been out of it
(and you're not supposed to take it more than 7 days) and my breathing
has been great... except when I sleep for a few hours.
I'll usually wake up in the morning choking again.

I really just want to go back being able to sleep and not worry about it.

I have the exact same symptoms. I hope we feel better soon.

Ditto. It seems to be the recent flavor of a cold type virus that is going around. This virus acts on the sinuses, which drain, which causes the coughing and phlegm. It could lead to pneumonia. Do you have a local clinic that you can go to? They can at least listen to your lungs and tell you if its pneumonia or not. If money is a concern, see if your local Wal-Mart or grocery store has a clinic in it (normally staffed by an ARNP). They will check you out and it will be cheap. If it is pneumonia, then they can prescribe an anti-biotic and a lot of them are now free. It sucks and Im on week two of it. Seems most folks are enduring this for two to three weeks.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I'm pretty sure mine is not pneumonia (I've had it many times before). I was feeling better for several days and then the chest congestion seemed to make a comeback. Everything is still clear though.

 

[Kestra]

About a month ago I was sick with a cold.

Since then for about three weeks I've had this cough with phlegm.
And in the first couple weeks it was bad to the point I would start
choking on mucus and couldn't breathe. Took MucinexD for about a
week and that helped. Now for the last few days I've been out of it
(and you're not supposed to take it more than 7 days) and my breathing
has been great... except when I sleep for a few hours.
I'll usually wake up in the morning choking again.

I really just want to go back being able to sleep and not worry about it.

This sort of thing happens to me whenever I get a cold, which is quite often. The not-sleeping part is probably the worst, because it prolongs recovery time IMO. Hope you feel better soon, but you should consider seeing a doctor if you are having serious problems breathing.

 

[backstept]

I'b habing trouble breading . . . can'dt bread tru by dose . . . stubid congestjind

of course I didn't have to type it out that way but it's how I sound at the moment
haha

 

[trekkerguy]

Thanks for the suggestions and such guys.

It's lame... everything in my chest and lungs will be perfectly clear,
like today, breathing and talking fine without even a thought.
Then I fall asleep and wake a few hours later choking and coughing
up plegm like just a bit ago. And it's mostly clear in color.

Can't really goto a Doctor of any kind so I guess I'll be waiting it out
and seeing how it goes. Damned frustrating though, I'd love to sleep
normal again...