About five months ago I came down with a terrible chest cold which my pulmonologist said caused post viral asthma. Since then I have been so sick- shortness of breath, coughing up bright yellow balls of mucus, intense chest & back pain, and lost 40 pounds. Sometimes the mucus is so thick it glues my throat shut when I cough it out and I choke. I also wake up gasping for air frequently. Anyone have any tips for airway clearance techniques or huff coughing?
The Doctors don't know what it is and has delayed anti fungal treatment, though my sputum culture was postive for Penecillium. My Doctor says that I don't have ABPA because my IgE levels are too low (594), my blood test was negative for Aspergillus and no Aspregillus in the sputum, and I don't have bronchiectasis (yet). I have read that Penecillium can be a rare cause of ABPA but no one will listen to me I am on a seemingly endless dose of Prednisone and they just started me on Xolair. When I try to taper down from the Prednisone I have hours long asthma attacks and intense pain in my chest and back. I was hospitalized for my asthma and apparent sinus bradycardia last week and even the ER doctor didn't know what was causing my symptoms. My eosinophils were high too. I just want this all to stop! Thanks,
Kati