Hi all, I'm hoping to get some further advice as I'm quite frustrated and a bit worried.

Here's the background:


Me:

- I am male, 30 years old...generally fairly fit & healthy.
- I have had Asthma since I was 5 years old, but have had no serious attacks these last 15 years.
- I used to be a smoker (13 years in total...about 5-a-day) but have almost stopped completely these last 12 months (the odd couple in bars) and have not had a single tug in 4 weeks.
- Other than my Asthma reliever inhalor I take no regular or prescription medication.
- I generally get Hayfever every year...meaning lots of blowing-my-nose due to pollen allergy...but it's never serious, just annoying.
- Apart from the odd cold these last few years...I don't really get ill.
- Since March this year, I have worked nightshifts (14 x 8-hour shifts per month, with the rest of the time being free time).


Now:

- About 3 weeks ago I developed a cough out of nowhere. A chesty cough that sometimes (say 10% of the time) brought up phlegm. This phlegm has been clear, yellow or green and has been fluid or thick...might be dependent on what I've just eaten.

- After 2 weeks, the cough wasn't going away. No other symptons, just the cough. After some particular heavy fits I finally saw the Doc who reckoned Bronchitis and prescribed a 10-day antibiotic program and sick-leave.

- The coughs are irregular...I might sleep peacefully a whole night. During the day I probably have one bout every hour, of 4 - 8 coughs each.


The problem:

- These last few days the coughing fits have resulted in a quite scary complete tightening of my airways. I cannot move any breath in or out and have to violently burp to force them open again. It can be up to 30 seconds until I start breathing, and a couple of minutes until the breathing is normal.

- These last 24 hours I vomited twice during a cough fit, shortly after eating. Small amounts of undigested food came out.

Note: I have had no Asthma-related wheezing issues during these weeks. Which in itself is very unusual in my experience.


The first time this happened I went to an all-night clinic. It was a saturday night and the place was busy with disrespectful drunks so all the staff were a bit rushed and stressed. The Doc there reckoned what I was experiencing is normal for chest infections and prescribed calm.


But still, I fear my cough because if I can't control a coughing fit then at the end of it I will not be able to breathe and will just have to sit still and burp until my airways open up again.


Can anyone else add or complement any information or experiences?

Many thanks in advance.