not whooping cough
i never once touched a cigarette in my life. high school, college, single life... never. i was never even remotely tempted. for as much as a runner could take pride in their legs, this runner took pride in his lungs. the thought of a carcinogen taking up space where precious oxygen could be--well, that could be a difference between a PR and just another race. i've taken great care of my lungs over the course of my life.
so, why did i start coughing mid-april, and why has it spun out of control for the past three weeks? the 'why's are tough to answer. but if anything, 'what' is it?
my primary physician initally treated my symptoms as a cold in the first week (guafenesin, dextromorphan), then treated my symptoms as an infection in the second week (azythromycin, hydrocodone). neither treatments helped. he speculated that i may have experienced whooping cough, a dangerous bacterial illness. having a 28-week pregnant wife at home made me very uneasy. fortunately, she was showing no symptoms. very early on before i had hydrocodone, i had to sleep in the guest bedroom for i was choking all night long. post-attacks i would become instantly exhausted, typically accompanied by a headache.
my whole life was becoming uneasy: i felt concerned when i heard coworkers coughing, thinking that i was the cause. i practically held my breath for two hours at birthing class, lest i get a group of pregnant women sick. i canceled a dinner date with our friends and their two-week-old. the experience of a coughing fit on the freeway is white-knuckled terror. people would shake my hand through normal social contexts before i had a chance to think and pull back. i had dreams that i had lung cancer, that i got all the children at a recent cookout sick. but how could i still run with all this illness in my chest?
the (supposed) answer: i have laryngospasms. laryngospasms are involuntary cramps in your vocal cords that are triggered by an irritant such as nasal drip or acid reflux. there's nothing actually in my lungs per se, it's just the entry to the lungs that is screwed. these cramps close the opening to your trachea, and your body reacts by coughing violently in an attempt to get oxygen. with strong cramps, the vocal cords do not open and you wind up wheezing in an attempt to catch your air. the cramps usually subside in 10-60 seconds. for me, these spasms have been occuring 2-12 times a day for the past three weeks. apparently, i also have a little exercised induced asthma (who knew?), which doesn't help the equation. the pulmonologist i saw today believes strongly that this new diagnosis is correct. and it jives with the fact that i simply don't feel sick when i'm not coughing. most importantly: this isn't contagious. he now has me on two nasal sprays (to stop the drip, of which he confirmed visually), an OTC for acid reflux, and a light steroid to reduce the inflammation of my vocal cords. i sure hope this is the ticket. this will also help my back, which has been under a great deal of pain since an attack last wednesday (possibly a cracked rib, which according to the pulmonoloigst, isn't a big deal so long as we can stop the coughing).
the most difficult part about the past three weeks is not understanding what this is. the fact that it has a name and a clinical definition has helped me get through the past few attacks. i hope this doctor is right; there's only so much of this i can take (today is Day 24).
fortunately, i haven't gotten anyone else sick (especially k and baby), for which i am grateful. as to why this happened: that's water under the bridge, for better or worse.
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