Hi, all.

I have had a miserable winter so far with one respiratory infection after another. I have had a few scattered consecutive days of relatively good health during this time.

Any time I get a head cold, it inevitably ends up in my chest due to post nasal drip. I was like this before OC. I develop bronchitis with every infection and it lasts for weeks where I am miserably coughing and hacking. I am on my 3rd round since Thanksgiving and I never quite got over the previous infection. I use albuterol, Flonase, Mucinex, and prescription cough medicine, but that only helps so much.

The last couple of infections, I noticed that I am wheezing in my upper airway (trachea). It'a very loud as it is close to my hears, but I don't know if anyone else can hear it. It is worse when I lay on my right side. I am unable to lay on my left side for prolonged periods due to hip pain (old injury). When I lay on my back, I think I am having apneic episodes because I wake up gasping for breath and coughing.

I am probably the only oral cancer survivor who struggles with obesity, but it has been a lifelong struggle. Of course I lost weight during both rounds of treatment, but I have since gained all of the weight back, with interest. I haven't been able to work in my profession (or work at all) in 16 months. I have been sedentary during this time because I can't seem to overcome the inertia of my fatigue/exhaustion.

I figured that I likely have tracheal stenosis as a result of radiation damage and obesity, which is causing wheezing in my upper airway. I had a resent scan, so I know that I don't have any masses in my neck that might obstruct my breathing.

I am wondering if anyone has this problem (tracheal stenosis) and if so, how are you dealing with it?

I have many reasons to lose weight, but I don't know if that will solve all of my problems.

I look forward to any replies you all may have.

Love in OCF,
Kerri

Kerri, it sounds like you have sleep apnoea. Especially if you are in the overweight range ( like me ). You should be able to be referred to a sleep clinic for this . A CPAP machine will sort this out for you and reduce the other risks associated with sleep apnoea like an Atrial Fibrillation ( heart Arrhythmia).
If you are only noticing the wheezing while you have the chest infections I would be talking to the Dr , maybe a simple Salbutamol inhaler will fix this. Of course it could be as simple as secretions vibrating in the upper trachea and a good cough will clear this.
Probably not much help, but I am thinking of you,
Tammy

Thanks, Tammy.

I was supposed to be referred for a sleep study over a year ago to assess reasons for my fatigue, but things fell through the cracks because they weren't able to get insurance pre-authorization. Maybe with these symptoms they will reconsider. I know my Mom has been referred for sleep studies... She snores horribly!

Thanks for the advise and I'll keep you posted!

Love in OCF,
Kerri

Just an update on this end...

I have been treated with a "prednisone blast" for 5 days, along with all of the other things I have been doing.

I saw my PCP and mentioned to her that I looked at the final written report from my recent CT scan of my chest. I am now easily able to look at test results via the Mass General Patient Portal.

When I saw my MO after the scan, she said everything looks great. The only thing that I saw that I had no idea about was that I have a 3 mm ground glass nodule in my right lingula. The report said that it was stable from my CT scan of my chest the previous year. Again, I had no idea it existed. I guess my doctors know that I worry about every little detail and perhaps they didn't feel it was necessary to tell me about it. I'm assuming a lot perhaps.

Anyway, I mentioned it to my PCP and she said that it should be addressed by a pulmonologist. Given that she recently diagnosed me with uncontrolled asthma and recurrent respiratory infections, she has referred me to a pulmonologist that I will be seeing soon. The doctor's office requested to see the films on CD and not just to read the report, so I know that he will be thorough when I see him.

I'll keep you all posted on this, too!


Love in OCF,
Kerri