Pertussis (Whooping cough) anyone?

[jasweaver]

spring of 2010 had what i thought was a mild cold that i caught from my pre-teen children [fortunately they did not suffer what i describe in the following]

two weeks into i thought i was almost over it so i went surfing in the california ocean with a wetsuit over easter
warm day, cold water, felt hot inside the wetsuit, like i was incubating something inside of me
two days later started coughing which became more severe over passage of time
my coughs were so deep that they shook my lungs and threw out my back as my body would quake with the coughs
even had hemorrhoids from coughing so deep
often i would cough four or five times in quick succession, gasping for air, and i would have to use considerable will power to stop the cough
had to sleep on my side to help drain the mucus and could not sleep on my back as the mucus would sit down in my bronchia
a couple of weeks into it, i took medication for five days and it didnt help and i could feel the medication passing through my stools and inflaming the hemorrhoids
finally started taking about 6+ grams of vitamin C a day and the symptoms began to dissipate
this lasted for about five months and after that the hemorrhoids went away but the back problems lingered on for several more months

didnt do much exercise in 2011 because of the weak back and my inherent laziness and had a physical examination in january 2012 which showed my resting heart beat had risen from 57 bpm to 69 bpm and some mild fluttering of the heart--i attribute this to the illness and the sedentary life style

will start to exercise in the near future but i just wanted to say that having pertussin is like going into a physical fight with something wacking at your innards because the coughing is so deep inside of you

[AnonChick]

Sorry to hear you've had to endure such a horrible experience. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Hopefully you have learned your lesson:
If you have been sick for a couple of weeks, and think you are "almost" over it, don't go surfing and expect to be just fine.

A "mild cold" doesn't last 2 weeks. You aren't "almost over it" after 2 weeks. You're "totally over it" after a week, give or take a couple of days. If you had paid closer attention to your health in the first place, you probably would have avoided the suffering you experienced.

[Sascha]

I have to say that this last post is way off the track! It makes no difference to one's recovery or chance of developing this illness doing sport or not. Once infected, we all develop cold like symptoms for a couple of weeks before being shocked with horrendously frightening coughing, choking, vomiting and wracked, often torn muscles, dislocated ribs, neck and back spasms and headaches, as well as exhaustion from the sleep deprivation.

Having been health & fitness oriented for most of my life, I can say I am very aware of my body and health. I count elite dancers and athletes in my circle of nearest and dearest, along with a senior GP and two pharmacists - all close friends well aware of my health. It sounds really condescending, patronizing and insulting to suggest that perhaps if one were more careful then one would not have brought Pertussis upon oneself! This infection happens predominantly because stupid, ignorant and self-indulgent parents fail to consider the consequences of not vaccinating their children in a social environment. The disease is largely spread by children and has once again reached epidemic proportions in Australia because of this ridiculous choice not to actively reduce children's risk of contracting Pertussis.

"Learning a lesson" indeed! Ppfff!

[danielsa1775]

I had a it as a thirteen year old, spent two months in hospital and missed almost an entire semester of school. At its worst I was coughing almost constantly 24 hours a day.

Honestly I think ive never fully recoverd, certainly i have never being as fit as I was before I got the illness.

I could not imagine how much strain something like that would put on a fully grown adults body.

[shecaleca]

I thought I'd put an update to this incase anyone is looking at it in 2012 or further. I wanted to say that I too have whooping cough as a 33 year old, (otherwise healthy, nonsmoking, healthy weight, etc) female. It's ABSOLUTE horrible. I just finished week 3 and FINALLY convinced a doctor to give me an antibiotic. Here's my story:

My son (age 2) started with the cough at night....coughing almost non-stop, but pretty much only at night, for about a week. No fever/other symptoms. When I've gone in before for his symptoms similar (he's prone to croup), they've basically said there's nothing we can do. So, we just did the humidifier/baby vicks/lots of drinks at night. Finally took him in after a really bad night about 10 days in...they said he had atypical pneumonia/walking pneumonia...which means cough and some fluid sounds in lungs, but otherwise okay. They gave him a liquid z-pack. He's been fine every since, thank GOD!!

My husband got it a few days after my son. He went into the doctor at about day 10 too, and they said his lungs were clear. So, that it must be bronchitis. Gave him a z-pack and he was doing a lot better within that week. He's about 4 weeks since the beginning, but even after the z-pack does have some residual cough, but that's to say he coughs 2-3 short coughs about 4 times a day. Not really bothersome other them some phlem, but it's also fall, so the dry air plays with us all now.

Now me--I got it about a week after my husband. I went into the doc on about day 5. This was about a week after my son was diagnosed with pneumonia and about 3 days after my husband was diagnosed with bronchitis. Oh, and I should add that same week I had been in a few hours contact with some other kids from different families who ended up being diagnosed with bronchitis/pneumonia that same week. And I explained that all to this doctor. I did not have a coughing fit in the office, and really I was still in the first stage (look up stages of pertussis if you don't know what I mean). She listened to my lungs, took my pulse ox, looked in my ears/throat and said I had a cold with cough and to take some prescribed cough medicine (tessalon and Robitussin with codeine for night), a nasal spray, and to also take Musinex D. I was peeved she wouldn't give me an antibiotic, even though I asked and explained my exposure to everyone. But doc knows best, right?

Fast forward 2 weeks. I am horrible and in full-blown whooping cough. Gasping for breath during bad cough episodes, throwing up during really bad ones (mostly choking on phelm), getting dizzy and even tingly feeling all over like I was going to faint, SEVERE headaches during bad episodes...overall feeling like I was going to die. Worse at nights, despite codeine to help me sleep. Tried humidifier, which did help a tiny bit. Finally went back to doctor then (hadn't because I figured I'd get the same doc) after a bad night and day.

Here's the big point. I knew whooping cough was going through my area. But everyone around me was being diagnosed with bronchitis/pneumonia(kids). And he's the main thing. I had gotten the pertussis vaccine just 2 years ago (and yes, I had the vaccine as a child/teen too) when I had my son. My docs tole me to get it to help prevent him from getting before he had the vaccine (as I am also a school teacher, so I could pick it up easier). So, there was NO WAY it could be whooping cough. I was vaccinated. WRONG.

So, at the docs this (new) doc took me more seriously. Heard me cough some and listened to my symptoms (I didn't hold anything back). She listened to my lungs, checked my ears/throat. Again, everything was clear. I was beyond baffled. She even let me do a chest x-ray to make sure. Came back clear. She did mention that it sounded like whooping cough, to which I told her it couldn't be because of my vaccine. So, she diagnosed me with bronchitis, sent me along with a z-pack and inhaler.

Just today (4th day on z-pack), I look up whooping cough and oh my, I have it! How? I come to find out that for one, there is a new strain and for two, the newest pertussis vaccine (since late 1990's/early 2000s) wears off in as short as 3 years. Ahem....make that 2 years apparently. But then again, it could be that it is a different strain. My symptoms are an exact match as everyones here and all the writeups (webmd, cdc, etc). Even down to the weird facts that others have said that expectorants made them worse (NEVER take them with this!) and that cough suppressants didn't seem to make a difference, and breathing through the nose seemed to be easier than breathing through the mouth (I told the doc this and she thought I was crazy, but I did notice this).

So, I hope any of the info I've provided about my journey to recovery thus far helps you.

[cmaddie]

My heart seems to race as I am 3 weeks with this stuff. Has anyone else experienced a heart racing symptom with pertussis. Very uncomfortable.

[Jane Ripps]

My daughter's throat has been closing up. I read these posts and took her to the ER for possible whooping cough. Then the allergist (from Harvard) and had a sinus and chest xray with no results. Another allergist said this can be a symptom of GERD and I looked that up online. GERD or reflux can have no other symptoms and can cause the throat to close. Check it out! I'm taking my daughter for a GI workup and I'm starting her on 20 mg of prilosec today. Her throat closing seems like larynglspasm or however that's spelled!! There's always a few little coughs ahead of time. She gets these a few times a day and a few times at night. They listed a few things that commonly cause GERD, two of which are things she eats every day - fruit, fruit juices , and peppermint. She drinks fresh fruit smoothies and chews peppermint gum every day! We may also get a laryngoscopy to see if there are any obstructions but I think it's more likely GERD or reflux. Also, GERD is related to allergy and this is allergy season. Fingers and toes are crossed that we've found the answer. It's really scary when this happens repeatedly to your child for 3 weeks. Her spasms last only 10 seconds or less and she's able to breath again. I understand from what I've read, some spasms can last 1-2 minutes. I can only imagine how scary that is!! So, if this is happening to you or a loved one, you want to ask for a GI workup to rule out GERD or Acid Reflux. Look it up on Google. xoxoxo Good luck!