Almost 2 year-long cold

[Sandy1212]

Hi All!

I have had this cold for almost 2 years and i mention it to my rheumys but they always say ‘oh it’s probably just a cold’ or don’t acknowledge it whatsoever. At first I thought maybe i am just catching different colds being on immunosuppressants and all but obviously this year there was a significant drop of going outside and i still had this cold!

It’s weird in the sense that the severity of the symptoms vary (the worst ill get is a headache and sore throat the least would be a couple coughs in the morning) but I am sure it must be the same cough. My last ESR was slightly raised, and it has been for months and they always say ‘nothing to be concerned about’ even though last time I flared after they said that.

Ive been weaned to 6mg before and i flared badly. And it happened once before as well. I wonder if this cold i have is the reason i can’t stay stable since theres not much else that it could be?

[Boudica1]

Hi Sandy 1212. It may seem daft but as it's been going on for so long have you ever wondered if it's an allergy rather than a cold?

♥️

[Sandy1212 in reply to Boudica1]

Hi Boudica1 thats a good thing to consider but I really doubt it as it when it gets worse there’s no correlation if i have changed something ive eaten/ill eat the same things and itll be less severe. The only correlation ive really noticed is when i feel a mid to bad flare coming or during one the cold gets worse/when ive been on lower steroids. Even in my flare when i was hospitalised i developed a sore throat while in hospital.

[AgedCrone in reply to Sandy1212]

As Boudica1 says... It could be something like allergic rhinitis caused by a cleaning fluid or something you inhale around your house. Next time you see your doctor ask if you could take some antihistamine pills.

[Sandy1212 in reply to AgedCrone]

I guess theres no harm in trying! Ill probably just get over the counter ones and see if it helps. At the end of the day itll either help and i have my answer or it doesn’t an i can probably cross allergy off as a cause with more surety

[Krock1]

Last year I went through a period of chronic coughing that lasted for months. I went through something similar about 5 years ago with a chronic cough that would clear up and then bounce back after treatment with antibiotics. The earlier episode led to a diagnosis of GERD. During this recent event, I tested for allergies and visited a pulmonologist with no success in getting it under control. After visiting my gastro doctor we discovered that it was a combination of GERD and bile reflux. The coughing is now under control by using medication to control the reflux. The reflux was sending fluid to my esophagus and bronchi while sleeping.

[Sandy1212 in reply to Krock1]

I will look into it Krock1! Glad to hear that its under control

[ritzy123 in reply to Sandy1212]

Hi. a long time ago I thought I had a cold for a few years then I was diagnosed with chronic rhinitis and was given antihistamines which you can get cheaper in wilkys ( cetirizine hydrochloride ) rather than pay for expensive like Benadryl or others and have exactly the same ingredients in, it is under control and usually have the morning sneezes due to dust etc.. but I know what you are going through so hope you get sorted soon....xx

[Sandy1212 in reply to ritzy123]

Hi Ritzy123, thanks for letting me know! Can i ask how long it took for the anti-histamines to work? I have bought some I have only tried it a couple days (and trying again today) but I haven’t noticed any difference. I always assumed anti-histamines are fast-acting but I know some things take a while to take effect so i just wanted to check before I rule it off! And thank you 😊