Mariechristine, my chest scan showed a small sealed off area of fibrosis , it was suggested that I had been exposed to asbestos by the rheumatologist. Chest physician said it could also have been caused by a fall and damaged rib, 2 years ago. I have a mild cough on occasions, usually worse in the morning and the day after taking MTX, then settles, but not a big problem, so ignored for the time being.
I also have some fibrosis in the bottom of my lungs. As with you, my chest consultant asked me if I'd been in contact with asbestos, which I actually had about 30 years ago, but he reckoned the exposure was too minimal. He then proceeded to tell me that the fibrosis was very likely caused by inflammation from my RA. Like you I have a mild cough from time to time. I also get a bit short of breath walking uphill compared to my pre-lung issue days.
Can't comment on your cough, but 2+ years back a routine x-ray showed abnormalities in my lungs. Along with other issues, a follow up CT scan showed a very small nodule. Docs were fairly confident it was a RA nodule, but I had to have another CT scan one year later to check there was no change in the nodule. Did your docs give a reason why you didn't have follow up CT scan/s?
Try not to worry, they seem pretty good at telling if these nodules are going to turn out to be dangerous or not. Be sure to have your follow up scan just to be on the safe side.
My chest consultant told me that my nodule is RA related, but he didn't say how it causes the nodule.
I have lung nodules, several of them. Most put down to a misspent youth and previous chest infections rather than RA, although they felt some might be RA nodules. But I have had follow up scans and they have not changed so I ignore them now and so do my doctors.
The more I read the scarier it gets. No one has told me about lung nodules. I don’t even know how I would know if I had them.
I don’t even know if the remicade is working because I still have pain not like before but it’s still there. I don’t know if it’s flare ups or damage all ready caused by this disease that keeps me aching.
It can be a scary disease, that is true. But it isn't a scary disease for everyone, so chances are it will be fine for you and you won't get any of the nasty possible complications. So don't fret about them in advance and concentrate of living as well as you can.
I think you've only been on remicade a few months? So it should be starting to work, with perhaps more improvement to come. I personally find it a good idea to keep track of my own progress, so I don't have to rely completely on infrequent appointments to be told how I'm doing. So I keep a note of my blood results, and note down how I feel from time to time. And if you don't know about existing damage, ask at your next appointment.
Do you have reflux/heartburn? I have had a dry cough for a while and my lung consultant reckons is most probably due to reflux irritating the gullet and throat. He put me on a higher dose of proton pump inhibitor and sure enough the cough is disapearing. He said that was thefirst thing to try. You may have silent reflux and not be aware of it. You can try elevating the head of your bed a bit as well.
Hi im the same ....only get cough at nightime in bed but maybe it to do with snoring or sleep apnea .just a thought. Ive been told i cough modt of the nite and i snore terribly . Hope you ok .
My cough at night time is the result of sinus' not draining properly when lying flat so they drain to my throat which causes me to cough at nite, during the day im up and around so everything flows the way its suppose too, problem is im tired all day from not getting good rest, but its important to live life to the fullest cause stress from the worry causes r.a. to get worse over time, and causes flare ups! Praying for low pain days ahead for you! Pack up and enjoy your trip!🙏😉
Hello Mariechristine - I suffered from a persistent cough for ages. Have been on methotrexate for 26 years and had lung function tests and ct scan of chest two or three times in recent years. I was told that there was some scarring of the lungs, but unclear whether this was due to the ra or the methotrexate. In any event, I decided to gradually reduce my mtx dose over a couple of years and have been down to 7.5mg for about 3 or 4 years now. Cough completely gone.
I also had a persistent cough at night caused probably by Gitanes in my younger days, also by mtx which was stopped, .... and also by !! bananas, cheese, late night meals !! - all affecting sinuses. Cutting out bananas and eating earlier 8pm] and reducing cheese intake helped.... as did swimming, singing, as both increased my lung power. Slightly elevated hed [ neck pillow?] may help. Bonnes vacances xx
They generally do a chest x-ray to check for possible TB or latent TB, as Methotrexate and some biologicals can cause a TB re-activation. Some of us who are/were smokers get a dodgy chest x-ray, which sends up a pile of warning flags 😬
Bless! I had given up abt 9-10 years before RA was diagnosed. Another benefit of now regular MRIs is that the last one identified a fractured vertebrae which i wasn't aware of.... and the bone scan 4 weeks previously hadn't detected anything. eventually worked out that it was due to a fall 12 months earlier. xox
Coughing when lying down (like when sleeping) is often due to mucous, ‘Cos it settles in the lungs and needs to be expectorated.
If you can, best thing to do is get a chest CT scan - will show everything. I did that, because I was a smoker and got a dodgy plain chest x-ray - and I didn’t have a cough. So relieved to get that out of the way. Sometimes, once your mind is settled, thing move on.
Also agree with the comment about sinuses causing coughing - same thing, lay down and the sinus’ start draining and set up coughing. This can be helped by diet changes and using something like Nasoflex spray.
I know it’s worrying. I got myself wound up into a right old mess, ‘cos I was a smoker. In the end, the only way I could emotionally deal with it was by being fatalistic - like ok, I might have lung cancer, and I might die. Strangely, that “acceptance” made the waiting easier. I hope things turn out ok for you xx cheers Deb
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Cough Linctus on Banned list 14 March 2023
Another sleepless night
Off topic: it’s not the cough that carries you off…..
First night back work 
