I am 57 year old male. About 4 years ago I began having reoccurring bronchitis issues. The first year it was twice and increased each year until I have it reoccurring continually. It is precipitated by either swimming or simply walking. I have made a sure correlation with the cold water and sweating/the cool wind hitting my chest while walking. Simply walking in my neighborhood will within days set things off. I have used a treadmill indoors and this does not happen I live in So Calif. where the mornings and nights are cool and that is enough to set it off if I am sweating and esp. during the summer one sweats! When a bout begins I suddenly notice my lungs begin to ache—I mean really hurt not sharp but ache bad (a 7-10). If I don’t recognize what is happening and stop swimming and walking outside with a day or two from the onset of the lung pain (doesn’t radiate to my back) I get sweats and feel very weak.
When this first began I didn’t get it so that would turn into a bronchitis and I had to be treated with 5 days of prednisone and antibiotics and it took several months to go away. I catch it now but at the cost of my pain relief and I feel desperate. I have taken tests for asthma and I don’t have it (coline challenge?) though I did when I was a child and allergy tests and have a few the highest to dust mites but not many allergies. I am seeing an allergist and my primary is a pulmonologist has tried me on symbicort, advair, singulair and albuterol without much success. lately though I have used symbicort with a chamber and it does help some but if I swim as freely as I used to and walk it still returns. Does anyone know what this can be or what I can do? Thanks for hearing me out. Neil