New to discussions questions about cough

[brigid-thompson]

Hi Patricia

I am responding to your post about coughing. My husband is the patient and coughed a lot prior to being prescribed Gabapentin by our GP in the UK. It works really well in suppressing the cough. His oxygen levels remain good. One side effect of the drug is making his gait slightly unbalanced. When out walking he now uses a stick. Certainly helps. He currently complains of fatigue which is part of the disease. Other than that one year on from diagnosis he is pretty stable.

Hope this helps with your question

Stay well

Brigid

[Augusta Adkins]

Hi Patricia

In regards to your cough question.  My cough began March 2021 mostly in the evening. As pollen season started it got worse. First time this has happened. At one point the cough got significantly worse and type of cough changed. I went to my family doctor and was prescribed an antibiotic. This  did help reduce it and now I only have a mild dry cough again mostly in the evening. I use Menthol type cough drops. I am not on oxygen, exercise and try to keep to a anti inflammatory diet.

[tammyjbell1972]

Would you please share uour anti inflammatory diet?

[heatherm27]

My husband is the patient and his cough started a year before his PF diagnosis. It was more of a tickle ana alight throat clearing but it was constant. Now, 2 years later it’s a constant cough. Gaba didn’t help him but he is now taking an off-label anti-depressant (A tri-cyclide but I can’t recall the name.) While it helps, he still coughs all day but not like raging fits as he did between medicines. Fisherman’s Friend cough drops help a bit.

[Augusta Adkins]

@tammyjbell1972

Hi Tammy
Thank you for asking My diet is  no dairy, no sugar, no red meat. I use non-dairy options. Love vegan food however do to low weight I have chicken, fish and eggs. My favorite  book out there is  “Forks over Knives”. While this is not a cure for IPF I believe in the importance of overall health.  I hope this is helpful.

 

[Charlene Marshall]

Thanks so much for sharing this Heather! I am convinced that we can’t learn enough about how to manage the awful IPF cough as patients. I know your husband’s experience, and you taking the time to write it, will resonate with many others.

Thanks again and glad he’s gotten some relief from the cough.
Char.