Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
My Husband Is Having Breathing Problems.. For Almost 8 Weeks
Question: My husband is having breathing problems.. for almost 8 weeks now. He is COVID19 NEGATIVE... He started having difficulty breathing about 5 days after remodeling our chicken coop that had been vacant for almost 2 years. At the time he was cleaning out the coop he was just getting over a cold. He has tested negative for histoplasmosis. He is truly struggling, and I don't know where to go from here. We've done 13 telehealth consults, 1 urgent care, 1 ER, 1 ENT specialist.
SYMPTOMS:
From sinuses to lungs feels majorly constricted, a struggle to breathe. Nothing seems to 'trigger it' to get better or worse. It's just constantly there. If he lays on his back for too long his chest starts to hurt. No fever.
Medications:
He was given Albuterol when telehealth doctor first thought it was COVID19. He was since tested, and was negative. After he takes it he says "it feels more like a pit in there and makes him cough". If he doesn't take it then he has no cough, but also can barely breathe at all.
There is something wrong with him that started right after he was remodeling/cleaning to coop -- I just need to know how to help him. What could we be testing for that we're not? What else could he have that would cause this?
We're uninsured so we get the backcrap of every physician, but we're self employed, and can pay for the right tests. To get him into a "primary care physician" he can't get in until October. The ENT wanted to get him into a pulmonologist - however they are now backlogged until November
Just need someone to actually listen and help.
He doesn't have good or bad days - he has bad days and worse days. If someone can even point me in just the right direction, we can selfpay or to order labs we just don't know what to look for or what to ask for.
One doctor prescribed him a ZPAK, another prednisone, another thought that if he had histoplasmosis he shouldn't take the steroids because it could send him into organ failure. So we've held off on all of the medications until something made sense. There has to be something out there that explains what is happening to him, right? The only thing he's taken is the albuterol.
Should he try to take the Zpak to see if it helps? Should he try the steroid now that he's negative for histoplasmosis?
SYMPTOMS:
From sinuses to lungs feels majorly constricted, a struggle to breathe. Nothing seems to 'trigger it' to get better or worse. It's just constantly there. If he lays on his back for too long his chest starts to hurt. No fever.
Medications:
He was given Albuterol when telehealth doctor first thought it was COVID19. He was since tested, and was negative. After he takes it he says "it feels more like a pit in there and makes him cough". If he doesn't take it then he has no cough, but also can barely breathe at all.
There is something wrong with him that started right after he was remodeling/cleaning to coop -- I just need to know how to help him. What could we be testing for that we're not? What else could he have that would cause this?
We're uninsured so we get the backcrap of every physician, but we're self employed, and can pay for the right tests. To get him into a "primary care physician" he can't get in until October. The ENT wanted to get him into a pulmonologist - however they are now backlogged until November
Just need someone to actually listen and help.
He doesn't have good or bad days - he has bad days and worse days. If someone can even point me in just the right direction, we can selfpay or to order labs we just don't know what to look for or what to ask for.
One doctor prescribed him a ZPAK, another prednisone, another thought that if he had histoplasmosis he shouldn't take the steroids because it could send him into organ failure. So we've held off on all of the medications until something made sense. There has to be something out there that explains what is happening to him, right? The only thing he's taken is the albuterol.
Should he try to take the Zpak to see if it helps? Should he try the steroid now that he's negative for histoplasmosis?
Brief Answer:
It can be asthma and allergies.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear, welcome to Ask a doctor's service.
I read your query and here is my advice.
I believe that the problem may be related to asthma and allergies.
I think he may need to visit a pneumologist and do a spyrometry and check the lungs .
If you can't find an appointment to pneumologist you can visit an allergologyst and he can do a spyrometry and check for substances he can be allergic to.
Avoiding these substances may help him feel better.
He can use corticosteroid and better try inhalers such budesonide and use also theophylline.
Hope I have answered the question.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
It can be asthma and allergies.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear, welcome to Ask a doctor's service.
I read your query and here is my advice.
I believe that the problem may be related to asthma and allergies.
I think he may need to visit a pneumologist and do a spyrometry and check the lungs .
If you can't find an appointment to pneumologist you can visit an allergologyst and he can do a spyrometry and check for substances he can be allergic to.
Avoiding these substances may help him feel better.
He can use corticosteroid and better try inhalers such budesonide and use also theophylline.
Hope I have answered the question.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
