Asthma Attack

I called my OB's office on Friday and they insisted I see my GP. After taking my temperature (normal) checking my ears and throat (both normal) and assessing my other symptoms (coughing up light yellow mucus) the doctor listened to my lungs and told me that I've been having an asthma attack for the last week. I was diagnosed with a mild case of exercise-induced asthma when I was in high school, but have never had a problem with asthma otherwise. Nothing in my environment has changed that would have brought this on, so it seems pretty random to me.

My GP prescribed me an inhaler, a cough syrup with codeine and also prescribed me amoxicillin to try if it turned out not to be asthma, but some sort of bronchial infection. (Don't worry, I also cleared all the prescriptions with my OB before taking any of them.) The inhaler doesn't seem to do much good. The cough syrup helps me get through the night with only two or three bad cough attacks, but I'm guessing that is mostly because it knocks me out. I decided to start the amoxicillin on Friday and am taking it regularly three times a day but haven't seen an improvement from that either.

My ribs and stomach muscles ache from all of the coughing and my throat is pretty sore as well. It is at times like these that I feel a bit less fortunate about my line of work. If I can't sing, I can't work! I had to take off one of my church gigs yesterday morning and was sent home from the one I showed up to after having a huge cough attack that required me to leave the altar in the middle of the homily. Amazingly though, I was able to make it through the Durufle Requiem last night without too much hacking. Still, it is probably dumb for me to sing when my throat is so fragile from all the coughing. Luckily, I have today off and only have a low key rehearsal tomorrow.

I called my GP again this morning and he is going to put me on steriods since nothing else seems to be working. He also okayed me to take the prescription cough syrup during the day as long as I don't drive anywhere. I told him I started the antibiotics and haven't gotten any relief from them (I was pretty convinced he was wrong about the asthma thing and that it was really a bronchial infection) but he didn't seem surprised that they weren't working. He seems confident that this is asthma. Ugh. I just hope this goes away after Charlotte is born!