About 2 weeks ago my husband had a successful robotic lower right lobe lobectomy to remove a 2.8 cm nsc adenocarcinoma. He had great lung function before surgery. No underlying conditions. He was recovering very well for a week and saw the surgeon who was very happy with the progress. He had very little pain and the incisions were healing. He has recently developed a persistent, nonproductive cough that is especially active when he talks. Fortunately, he is able to sleep if he sleeps more or less sitting up. It’s especially bad in the evening.We plan to get in touch with the surgeon tomorrow to see if he has anything to help deal with this. I have read that it is common. Hopefully it will resolve. He’s doing his breathing exercises even though they make him cough. He’s staying hydrated and using OTC cough suppressant but he’s still suffering Does anybody have any other ideas for him? It’s really debilitating.
post lobectomy cough : About 2 weeks ago... - Lung Cancer Support
post lobectomy cough
I too had this for both of my surgeries...my surgeon did prescribe a cough medicine that helped somewhat. I found that always having water nearby was the most helpful. Mine lasted for a few weeks (6-8) and then just stopped. I hope his goes away soon and wish him well.
thank you! I’m glad yours finally resolved. Yes, water is good. I try to remind him 
We tried 1 oxycodone that he had been prescribed after the surgery for pain but never needed. (We were trying avoid it but figured that it was worth a try.) That helped a lot but obviously is not a long term solution.
Firstly congratulations on his surgery and that he was able to have robotic assisted surgery. Mine was open surgery to remove upper left lobe in Dec 2010. It may be unrelated to the surgery - does he have any other symptoms? Worth asking his doctor's advice but it's important to continue the breathing exercises and keeping active as the cough is the body's way of getting rid of irritants so suppressing it doesn't always help. Even if unproductive, something is irritated internally if persistent. 2 weeks is still very early in his recovery and it's usual to sleep propped up after surgery for comfort. I've had some nasty coughs over recent years with different chest infections and find sucking cough sweets (imagine any boiled sweets would help), inhaling over steam, drinking plenty of hot drinks but I don't take any cough linctuses as they're mostly syrup. try lemon and honey/ginger drinks (hot) . coughing is tiring as it can affect many parts of the body with the effort so hope he improves soon. in the meantime, this booklet produced by our local surgical tertiary centre some years ago then adopted and regularly updated by UK lung cancer charity, roy Castle lung cancer foundation is packed full of information, hints and tips and suggested recovery milestones that may help appreciate that recovery from surgery can take a while - as there's a lot to heal inside even if outwardly the scar may be healing well. It can take 3-6 months to recover so it's important to be realistic. I was back at work after 3 months and resumed my swimming then but had kept active with walking most days - hard to start with but as my surgeon had said recovery was up to me, the more active I was the better, it felt empowering even if to start with I was incredibly breathless with the slightest activity, by working through that, it became easier and I increased distances/frequency often. good luck to you both and hope you can enjoy the festive season.
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Thank you so much for all your support and insight! No other symptoms. Oxygen levels are good, no fever. I’m so sorry you had to have open surgery. We were expecting an easier recovery with robotic. The first few days were so easy that this is a surprise. He was told to be active right away and started off walking and doing his usual activities, as well as breathing exercises. But with the coughing it is hard.
Back in 2010, there were no robots or keyhole surgery! I'm forever grateful that surgery was an option.
I've been involved in LC research since 2013 and had no idea how few were detected when it was a possibility. The treatment landscape has changed so much for so many although more to do.
I do remember being made to cough by the nurse when I had my surgery and told it was important to clear the lungs from any post surgery 'gunge' but it was quite painful. I seem to recall there are comments in the booklet about putting a towel under the arm and pulling on it when coughing although it's not something I did. I also remember thinking things would not improve in terms of breathlessness on stairs/hills but they did - it was a matter of time and keeping active for me. The surgeon said some take longer to recover than others - and as I was younger/never smoker, and fit from swimming, had probably expected not to be affected by surgery! Not having had any operations since my tonsils removed before I was 4, I had nothing to compare it with and was quite an impatient patient. hope he feels better soon - this may help in the meantime. good luck.
physiotherapyforbpd.org.uk/...
thank you! Yes, we are very grateful to have had a leading robotic lung surgeon who did an amazing job. My husband also was in great shape, never smoked and never had any major surgery so I understand what you’re saying. So appreciate the advice and support!
Coughs are so difficult. My oncologist prescribed Benzonatate 100MG taken 3x per day as needed when I was in early treatment. It worked so well and I think it interrupted my routinized cough so as to help my body resolve the coughing, of course, just my experience. It actually relieved me so much to get rid of the cough. I no longer take it although I still have a prescription.
I hope his situation resolves soon!
thank you so much! i’m glad you no longer need to take the medicine.
The surgeon just told us that cough medicine will not work, so I don’t think benzonatate is an option. He said it is normal and it will slowly get better. He suggested tea with honey and lozenges. ( we are already doing that) But he said it will take longer in the winter. This doesn’t surprise me. He said it was OK to take one oxy at night for a few days and I think that actually helped him last night to break the routinized cough a little bit. We really like and trust our surgeon so we will go with what he says.
Benzonatate has a different mechanism than cough syrup which is why it worked for me, but it sounds like your husband's cough is coming under control, which is great! Good luck with his ongoing recovery!
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