Partner Has Had Persistent Daily Cough For 2 MONTHS Now

[SOMO]

Does Ray Peat still do paid phone consultations? I would be willing to pay for help at this point.

Partner has had a cough for 2+ months now. The cough has been dry with no phlegm or mucus whatsoever.

Chest X-Ray (x-rays are bad, I know) revealed pneumonia which was cleared up in less than a week of Augmentin(Amoxicillin+Clavulanic Acid). Infection was confirmed cleared up by another X-Ray.

Maybe 2 hours after taking the x-ray my partner took 1600mg of Vit E, 200mg of Vit C and sleeping with red light shining on chest overnight.

Things we tried BEFORE the pneumonia diagnosis:
-Honey
-Aspirin
-1000 mg Niacinamide (he broke out in hives from head to toe)
-Vick’s Vapo Rub
-Essential oil diffuser
-Vit E
-Lots of milk and egg yolks
-Vit E
-Thianine (200mg)
-Neti Pot
-Rinsing with salt water and/or listerine
-Caffeine/large amounts of coffee and green tea

He also took Singulair after being diagnosed. He was also prescribed Tessalon pearls but did not take this because the side effects seem severe and likely even in small doses.

He still has a cough and it is not getting worse, but not getting better.

Interestingly, he had a period of maybe 2-3 hours without coughing until he eiaculated and then started coughing.

Does Prolactin have any effect on lung function?

The doctor in the ER said although the pneumonia is cleared up, there will be residual inflammation within the lungs which is responsible for the cough. That made a lot of sense actually, but if that is the case the inflammation should not last this long.

 

[Waynish]

Partner? What's his lifestyle like...?

 

[inthedark]

Does Ray Peat still do paid phone consultations? I would be willing to pay for help at this point.

Partner has had a cough for 2+ months now. The cough has been dry with no phlegm or mucus whatsoever.

Chest X-Ray (x-rays are bad, I know) revealed pneumonia which was cleared up in less than a week of Augmentin(Amoxicillin+Clavulanic Acid). Infection was confirmed cleared up by another X-Ray.

Maybe 2 hours after taking the x-ray my partner took 1600mg of Vit E, 200mg of Vit C and sleeping with red light shining on chest overnight.

Things we tried BEFORE the pneumonia diagnosis:
-Honey
-Aspirin
-1000 mg Niacinamide (he broke out in hives from head to toe)
-Vick’s Vapo Rub
-Essential oil diffuser
-Vit E
-Lots of milk and egg yolks
-Vit E
-Thianine (200mg)
-Neti Pot
-Rinsing with salt water and/or listerine
-Caffeine/large amounts of coffee and green tea

He also took Singulair after being diagnosed. He was also prescribed Tessalon pearls but did not take this because the side effects seem severe and likely even in small doses.

He still has a cough and it is not getting worse, but not getting better.

Interestingly, he had a period of maybe 2-3 hours without coughing until he eiaculated and then started coughing.

Does Prolactin have any effect on lung function?

The doctor in the ER said although the pneumonia is cleared up, there will be residual inflammation within the lungs which is responsible for the cough. That made a lot of sense actually, but if that is the case the inflammation should not last this long.

I've had chronic cough, ongoing sinus and lung issues with infections, repeated cold and flu symptoms for entire winters. Since starting Metergoline all this has nearly disappeared and I haven't been sick at all this last winter for the first time in probably ten years. Metergoline helps high serotonin AND prolactin.

 

[Blossom]

The doctor in the ER said although the pneumonia is cleared up, there will be residual inflammation within the lungs which is responsible for the cough. That made a lot of sense actually, but if that is the case the inflammation should not last this long.

The post pneumonia inflammation usually clears in about a month. I think lowering serotonin as mentioned by @Rick_F often helps.

 

[SOMO]

Partner? What's his lifestyle like...?

Stress-free, lots of free time and doesn’t have to work 9-to-5 job.

Works out once or twice a week doing light weight lifting.

Has eaten an RP-style diet for a long time even before we knew what that was. He’s been a frequent milk drinker since childhood and can drink a quart of milk in one sitting with no bloating or symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Eats a lot of fruit.
Only meat he really eats is veal liver and beef burgers.

Virtually no starch. His diet is kind of bland and I consume a wider variety of foods, including some starches.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I've had chronic cough, ongoing sinus and lung issues with infections, repeated cold and flu symptoms for entire winters. Since starting Metergoline all this has nearly disappeared and I haven't been sick at all this last winter for the first time in probably ten years. Metergoline helps high serotonin AND prolactin.

That’s amazing.

 

[SOMO]

I've had chronic cough, ongoing sinus and lung issues with infections, repeated cold and flu symptoms for entire winters. Since starting Metergoline all this has nearly disappeared and I haven't been sick at all this last winter for the first time in probably ten years. Metergoline helps high serotonin AND prolactin.

He took Lisuride before and found it sedating. I believe Metergoline has a similar action.

 

[yerrag]

I got into a dry cough spell for a month and it went away after I stopped taking a supplement that was a a strong acidic load. It also caused my metabolism to go down as evidenced in my heart rate and temperature going down. That lowered my immunity and made me more sensitive to allergies as well.

Is there such a supplement that is causing that? In my case the supplement was magnesium chloride.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I would also have him do a few minutes of bag breathing 4 times a day. That can make the cough go away quickly. Also walking while nose breathing and exhaling and building up air hunger.

 

[SOMO]

I got into a dry cough spell for a month and it went away after I stopped taking a supplement that was a a strong acidic load. It also caused my metabolism to go down as evidenced in my heart rate and temperature going down. That lowered my immunity and made me more sensitive to allergies as well.

Is there such a supplement that is causing that? In my case the supplement was magnesium chloride.

Vitamin C is the only acidic supplement we take and we take it irregularly (not daily).

I would also have him do a few minutes of bag breathing 4 times a day. That can make the cough go away quickly. Also walking while nose breathing and exhaling and building up air hunger.

He was concerned about passing on the pneumonia so he wore a medical/surgical mask for a month, so at least some CO2 was getting recycled. He also wears a chin-strap at night to stop mouth breathing. We'll experiment with the bag breathing today.

 

[inthedark]

He took Lisuride before and found it sedating. I believe Metergoline has a similar action.

Yep it is sedating at first. For me I needed a week or so habituation period. Now I take a small amount every morning.

 

[SOMO]

Bag breathing caused more coughing.

 

[Rivka]

What's his digestive function like?

 

[ecstatichamster]

Bag breathing caused more coughing.

Sometimes people try too hard. He should try again and make sure it’s not stressful.

 

[InChristAlone]

I had a dry annoying cough this past winter but it had only been going on for about 4 days when I finally swallowed some crushed up fresh garlic. And I remember the next day it was a lot better. Dry coughs are the absolute worst.

 

[Forsythia]

How is his Vitamin D level? This time of year, he may be deficient and needs to supplement....and get some sun.

 

[rei]

As with almost any condition besides anorexia, when all else fails it is time to try fasting. Establish that baseline and work up from that carefully monitoring reaction to things you reintroduce into your mouth.

 

[foodandtheworld]

Did this person have full bloodwork done including a metabolic panel? I have seen dry cough as one of the symptoms of acid-base disorders. Sometimes people get them after a stint of poor health or malnourishment (as you mention this person had pneumonia).

E.g., "Physical exam findings may be just as varied depending on etiology to include fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, diaphoresis, hyper or hypotension, altered mental status, productive or non-productive cough" Physiology, Respiratory Alkalosis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

Cough is such a symptom common to a lot of issues that I think blood tests would be good to see if anything awry stands out.

 

[SOMO]

What's his digestive function like?

Way better than mine. Never diarrhea or constipation.
No gas.
No bloating.
No gurgling stomach.
No central adiposity.
No stomach aches even.

No skin issues or acne except a seasonal butterfly rash on his face which resembles lupus but clears up within 2 days of using ACV and coconut oil on face, making me think its fungal.
(He also had an antibody test for Lupus which came back SLIGHTLY negative, but very close to indeterminate.)

The only food intolerance/allergy he has is shrimp which was confirmed by 2 allergy tests separated by many years.

Did this person have full bloodwork done including a metabolic panel? I have seen dry cough as one of the symptoms of acid-base disorders. Sometimes people get them after a stint of poor health or malnourishment (as you mention this person had pneumonia).

E.g., "Physical exam findings may be just as varied depending on etiology to include fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, diaphoresis, hyper or hypotension, altered mental status, productive or non-productive cough" Physiology, Respiratory Alkalosis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshe

Cough is such a symptom common to a lot of issues that I think blood tests would be good to see if anything awry stands out.

Yes, he gets regular blood work. After the coughing and pneumonia started, his bloodwork said HIGH Leukocytes. This prompted his doctor to give him a Leukemia blood test and also Antibody tests - all of which came back negative.

As with almost any condition besides anorexia, when all else fails it is time to try fasting. Establish that baseline and work up from that carefully monitoring reaction to things you reintroduce into your mouth.

I do agree that fasting can be beneficial in many circumstances of illness, but during his sickness and even after the pneumonia was cured, his appetite was already low.

He went maybe 2 days without food because of lack of appetite.

Also he can't afford to lose more weight, he is already extremely low BF%.

He still eats very little.

 

[Richiebogie]

He’s been a frequent milk drinker since childhood and can drink a quart of milk in one sitting with no bloating or symptoms of lactose intolerance

I have had dairy since childhood but I have found it gives me wheezing, a sore throat and a dry cough!

Maybe he can try eating chicken instead of dairy for a week to test this with him!