beachnut Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 My husband, Jack has had a terrible cough. He has currently finished 2.5 weeks of his 7 wk. radiation treatments. He is not having chemo at this time due to other health issues. The tumor causes irritation and lots of phlegm which causes him to have a terrible cough. The radiation oncologist checked him and said that he does not have pneumonia and we should not worry about the cough unless the color of the phlegm changes from clear to colored. Said that as the rad. is breaking down the tumor that it has to go somewhere and you cough it out. He has been given Tessalon pearles which didn't seem to do anything and now Tussinex syrup (which does cause drowsiness). When he coughs it is not a little cough, but an all out cough that causes his face to turn blood red. The oncologist said that the radiation should help the cough after a couple of weeks. It has been 2.5 and I was wondering if anyone else who had had a terrible cough could lend some insight on how long it took for the cough to get better. Neither one of us has gotten much sleep in a couple of nights because when he lies down the phlegm builds up in his bronchial passages and he rattles and starts coughing and has to get up for a little while to get it cleared out. I bought him a wedge pillow that would raise his upper body some, but that doesn't make any difference. Any suggestions would be more than welcome. I almost asked the doc if there was something to help decrease the phlegm, but if he needs to cough then that wouldn't work. Thanks for any help. Maybe we will have to sleep in separate rooms for a while which I really hate doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 the cough is very tricky. Couple possibilities. Some people swear by Cherratussin which is prescription strength suppressant and expectorant. Sometimes prednisone, a cortizone based steroid, is used to reduce inflammation in the lungs and can reduce cough as well. As your onc. has pointed out, the best treatment for tumor related cough is treatment of the tumors themselves. So hopefully the radiation will lead to relief. That said, radiation can sometimes cause pneumonitis, in which case, again, prednisone would be prescribed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 We're going through the exact same thing here with the same meds -- tessalon and codeine cough syrup. John also has an inhaler (Atrovent) which helps sometimes. Our oncologist also added in codeine tablets which help somewhat. John takes a sleeping pill along with the codeine and it helps him get through longer periods at night without coughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Ry, hydrocodone or codeine proper? Dad uses hydrocodone, but I've heard codeine may work better. Can you tell me the details on that med? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 He is taking straight codeine 15 mg. tablets. He can take up to 30 mg. every 3 hours -- it does help but when the stuff has to come up - it has to come. You might want to try the codeine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachnut Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 We could not get the codeine tablets here. None of the pharmacies had it and they couldn't order for some reason. That is why they gave us the tussinex syrup. Jack does take his sleeping pill at night, but the coughing has still been waking him. He took the tussinex syrup about 5:30 pm yesterday and could not take it for 12 hours. I told him to hold off and then take it closer to bedtime and maybe it would help more during the night. We will try that tonight and hopefully that will help. The radiation is starting to make him tired now. He didn't go to work the past two nights, but wants to try it tomorrow night. They are willing to work with him on his hours - he has used up all sick time, but there are folks willing to donate time to him. I think all the coughing is wearing him down, also. It is so hard to watch him because I want to fix everything and I can't fix it. It is just so nice to come to this site and find folks who know how you feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 his cough is productive? my father's is dry---but as a cough suppressant, codeine is beneficial for both cough types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandyswa Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 We have been going throught the same thing. We have the tussion pearls & cough meds. I bought a reading pillow to sit him up at night & won't allow him to sleep much during the day. We have hydrocodon also.... I have been giving benadryl for allergies. Some nights it works others it doesn't. You can try to put bricks under his side of the bed to raise it. I know it is so hard because you both are so tired. Hang in there. We did the steroids & it got better for 2 weeks & the cough came back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leslie Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Ry-- Does John experience fatigue with the codeine? As Adrian said, my dad has been taking hydrocodone for some time...and has recently been experiencing tremendous fatigue... Before we move on to something else, I just want to be sure that we don't do anything to increase his fatigue further... Best, Leslie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I had a cough for months and eventually got an xray that showed me to have post obstructive pneumonia with a possible component of treatment induced pneumonitis. My cough was especially worse if I exerted my self. I would get lung snot and my chest would rattle and it was hard to get it cleared. I never had any thick mucous. It was runny. I noticed that if I took a menthol cough drop, it stabilized. Anyway, after the xray diagnosis, I went on prednisone and had a course of antibiotics, and my cough is much better. Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze100 Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Hi Shirley, I have no info, just wanted to say I am sorry your husband is having problems with radiation treatments. This coughing has got to be tough on his heart too. I remember some people in my cancer support group mentioned that they took short pauses from radiation because it was just too tough to continue....it could be an option. You are in my thoughts and prayers, Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Sorry I missed the questions to me - I didn't come back to this thread until now. We did have to have our pharmacy order the codeine tablets-- but it was only a day or so and they had them in. I can't imagine why you couldn't get them ordered? Leslie- the codeine does make him somewhat tired so he takes only one tablet in the afternoon when he naps anyway and then takes it again at night. I forgot until I read it above but John does use benadryl also which helps dry up some of that stuff. If you read my other post under Updates, you will see that it turned out John has a fungus in his lungs called Aspergillus-- it took forever to get a culture of it. He is now on an anti-fungal med so we will see how things go after the fungus is cleared. So just as an FYI-- if the stuff being coughed up is smelly...it is most likely a fungal infection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWest Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 The most common ones I prescribe are tessalon perles, which I know aren't working for him, and hycodan syrup, similar to the things he's tried. I agree with the sentiment that cough can be a bear to deal with and also to manage. Some people get benefit from narcotic pain medicines like oxycodone or vicodin when other medicines fail. There are drugs like levsin that can dry secretions, but that's a prescription med that should be discussed with your doctor. I haven't used it generally as a cough medicine, as it's more for people who are congested, as a drying agent, but perhaps it's an option if congestion is a component. Finally, codeine is definitely widely used for cough, because it can be quite effective, but I just wanted to give a caution to everyone that it's notoriously constipating -- remarkably so -- so you need to watch that issue and probably take an over the counter medicine like colace or senokot to keep from getting too far behind the 8 ball. Or at least monitor that carefully and deal with it before it becomes a crisis. -Dr. West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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