I am currently serving in the ARMY stationed in Stuttgart, Germay. I will be ETS'ing next year where I will be pursuing a career in Nursing. Now onto my problem. I know that I should only follow a doctors orders, etc. but I just need some feedback as your vast knowledge & experience will help me find some answers, guesstimates, whatever.
My history: 73" 195lb Male. Smoker x 1/2 pk "Marlboro Reds" for approx. 8 years. Throughout that time I had only the usual seasonal upper respiratory infections etc. This time I have been experiencing something just unusual in its severity. I will be leaving tommorow for Spokane, Washington to marry my Fiance and would really appreciate some feedback soon. Below you will find an excerpt from an E-Mail I had sent earlier concerning my problem. It dscribes the symptoms as best as I can. I will monitor this thread every hour or so to answer any questions you may have. Excerpt:
"By the way, I have begun to get a serious upper resperitory Infection going on here. It is too late to go to the clinic. I know I will need Antibiotics which should clear it up within a week with plenty of time before the wedding. I have been experiencing the worst, most painful cough I have ever had. I want to say I have Bronchitis but it doesnt sound Bronchial nor do I produce anything. Its strictly a dry cough. I have tried 4 different cough preparations here and none have worked so far. I know smoking has alot to do with it but it has been so severe this last week that I can only tolerate 3-6 cigarettes compared to my usual 10-12. The cough feels as if it is in my upper lungs and not from deep within. It is so severe that my face turns red as blood and my eyes want to pop out of my head. Usually I get bouts of this every so often throughout the day but mostly before bed, during the night, and early morning. The coughing usually lasts about 5-6 minutes where afterward I can only draw in short breaths of air. If I were to attempt a regular breath I start another bout of coughing lasting no more than 3 minutes. At no time will I ever produce any sputum etc. I have tried anti-histamines but to no avail. I know a post-nasal drip when I get one but this thing takes the cake. No fever or wheezing. Whats up with this I wonder.
I didnt have time to go to the clinic this past week but the only thing they would have done was to give me an antihistamine, Tylenol, a Z-Pack, and OTC Guiefinisen cough syrup. If they wanted to give me a stronger cough syrup they only have the same type of cough syrup with 10% Alcohal, 8mg of Codiene, and the usual Guiefinisen. I told the clinic it was worthless and besides I am intolerant to Codiene b/c of side effects. Military medicine goes to the cheapest, and I mean cheapest bidder, so they have little else for cough. I may attempt to go to an Urgent Care Facility in Spokane, something like our Pri-Med. I need to get some antibiotics in me or I fear the worst could develop. Besides that I need an INHALER that can open me up so I can breathe better after coughing. Last but not least, I need a heavyweight cough syrup like Tussionex or Kwelcof to give this horrible cough a Southpaw it'll never see coming ;-). I mean I literally am drained after coughing like this. I could go to Faichild Airforce Base located there but thats military medicine which is just the same as here. I dont care about a $100.00 walk-in Appointment fee. Nor the price for the meds either. We've got the money, but this cannot go on. Whats your take on my symptoms?? E-mail me back when you get this so I'll have something to read like you did yesterday."
