help with coughing

[LindaMRG]

Hello Friends,

My father has started his IMRT and all was going well. He had started with this small cough right before starting the IMRT. Now it is getting worse. All docs have differing opinions, ENT said its acid reflux and gave him Nexium, oncologist said nasal drip and gave him Zyrtec, some say it could be from the weather, the cancer or the radiation. Its a dry type cough. Onc gave him codeine. Seems to be helping but now he's tired. We thought he wouldnt have side effects from this type of radiation but his rbc was slightly low so they gave him some Procrid, and he is tired. Dont know if he's tired from the codeine or the radiation.

What are some of your remedies for the coughing? Now his sides hurt. He doesnt cough when he's laying flat on his back.

Have any of you had this type of cough and then it got better? Have any of you had this type of radiation and got better? I need you all tonight, Im so depressed.

[rinksgal]

Linda, I really don't know about this, but I know Darrell has had a dry cough ever since he completed his radiation... They always told Darrell it would all go away.. But now they say he will have permanet effects from the radiation that probably won't go away.. They know he has a dry cough,something he never had before.. They never say nothing about it.. Its not bad, but its there on and off all the time.. I do know he has a new pleural effusion... but no ones mention this as maybe the cause.. I think all the damage from raidation.. he can't eat meat.... Meat is not something he can eat, when hes tryed he ends up gagging and throwoing up everything! Does anyone have this problem? we believe all of this to be from the damage from radiation. he's mad because until the appointment with the radiation oncolgist a week ago, he thought it would go away... Doubt I helped, but hopefully a little...Christy

[bart ziggie ( Greg )]

Linda, not quite sure what the IMRT is but ill take it to mean radiation right ? I too developed a dry cough thru my radaition treatments. It is so hard to pin point what causes a cough. The fact of the matter is it is very much a problem. I have a severe cough right now and i also have pain so when i cough i have even more pain. I also cannot sleep lying flat no way ! My cough seems to be the most severe at night and when i wake up. I started sleeping in a large very comfy recliner. I cant imagine going back to sleeping in my bed. This has made a huge difference in my sleeping well without waking up hacking my head off. As to the codeine it can be very helpful for nighttime. There are a couple different liquid cough supressants that i have taken in the past. One has the codeine in it and the other has vicodin in it. I only used these at night because of the effects of them. Nexium is a great med. I take it and it is very effective for the reflux. There just isnt alot of remedies for this coughing. Your fathers cough should improve as time goes by unless there is some other particular reason for it. I know after my treatments mine improved alot. Hang in there and continue to ask questions of the Drs. If your fathers cough changes and his phlegm production changes or changes colors let them know. I coughed alot of blood during my treatments and that was supposed to be normal. Ya right it scared the crap out of me. But, it stopped as well. Stay positive. Best wishes in your fathers recovery. Christy, why does Darrell have so much damage from radiation ? Generally speaking damage from radiation should be somewhat limited. If the treatments are performed properly there will be some residual damage and normal effects but anything more than should be there and i would be asking some serious questions. Does Darrell still have the same radiation oncologist ? Maybe someone else can chime in here and help. I had the normal side effects of treatment that are always talked about. I had 33 treatments to my chest. I just wonder now what causes damage in some people and worse side effects than in others. Just like Pneumonitis and the other nasty things we here about. I hope things get better for you guys Christy and keep us posted.

Greg

[Hebbie]

Hi Linda,

I developed a dry cough during radiation, which started to clear up and then two months after treatment ended became progressively worse. It always seemed worse at night when I layed down. I've been told (after two CT Scans) that the cough is caused by "post radiation changes to my lungs". The radiation not only damages cancerous tissue, but damages healthy lung tissue as well.

I was put on a short course of steroids to alleviate the problem (cough medicine with codine wasn't doing the job) and it has helped tremendously. They are now weaning me off the Prednisone (thank goodness!) and I hope the cough doesn't return. Unfortunately, as my pulminologist just told me last week, I will never have perfectly "normal" lungs as I did before all this treatment, but the difference between the before-steroid cough and the after-steroid cough has been amazing.

(I also spoke w/ someone who completed treatment 5 years ago (Stage IIIB) and still coughs a little...)

I hope this helps and you are able to pinpoint the cause of your father's cough quickly so he can get some well needed rest!

[rinksgal]

Yes Darrell has the same radiation oncologist.. To be honest I thought this must be a normal reaction for anyone having radiation... Darrell also had 33 treatments to his chest area.. in the mediastinumn. I know they changed angles have so many as to not hit his spinal column any further. and then the last week was aimed directly at the 3 tumors alone, not just a square area on his chest as all of the first ones were done... I'd like to hear from others as to what are the normal side effects??? and what kind of long term effects others have had if any?? His last radiation treatment was Sept. 9, 2003... Has it not been long enough for everything to go away.. He still has pain, and he just can't eat meat...No steak at all, chicken is very hard, but has gotten some down, can't eat pork chops or anything like that, hardly any meat, breads he can't eat.. I could go on and on.. Its like this type of food just lodges and chokes him..and he still has pain with eating most foods..Salads and pastas go down the easiest!We thought this would be better by now, but the radiation oncologist says it might get a little better still, but it was probably gonna be a permament thing... Darrell was almost mad over this, he said they sure didn't tell me that would happen, they kept saying it would go away in about 3 weeks of radiation...So any input would be appreciated..Christy

[-Cheryl-]

Linda,

My dry cough is a result of RT. I also have acid reflux from the RT, which causes me to start coughing. My husband says that I don't do it in my sleep...so I suppose it is from breathing deeper when awake. I find cough drops and hot beverages help some. My latest x-ray showed a cloudy area in the lung I had surgery on. My surgeon thinks it is a infection of some sort, which is contributing to the cough. Yet, I have no fever, nor sputum. I asked if it could be aspirated fluid, he said possibly. It would really help to know the source, huh?

Christy, meat and bread were the last things that I could eat. It took longer for tyhis to go away than 3 weeks. So hang in there!

Cheryl

[bart ziggie ( Greg )]

Christy, Have you tried looking in the archives for info related to the swallowing problem ? I know this has come up on several occasions in the past. Try doing a search and see what you come up with. Also im not that familiar with Darrells treatments has he been on prednisone before ? As Hebbie mentions, sometimes a short course of steroids works wonders for this kind of thing. Keep us posted.

Greg