Hack, Hack, Gag, Sputter - The "Rituxan Cough"

Beginning about week two of the Rituxan infusions, I developed a slight tickle in my upper chest that would cause me to occasionally cough a little.  Because one of the side effects of Rituxan is a cough, it was really no big deal.  Looking back, I can now see the progression from that annoying "slight tickle" to the full-blown alien-trying-to expel-from-my-chest thing that's become part of my life.

I had mentioned the cough to Dr. Hampshire at my most recent appointment, on the day of my last infusion on August 23; since it was still just annoying at that point, he said to keep an eye on it and let him know if it got worse.

After many nights of no sleep, sitting upright, and slugging over-the-counter cough syrup and cough drops all night - and dislocating a rib and pulling chest muscles - I finally gave in and contacted him last week.  He ordered a chest x-ray, just to be sure it's not pneumonia or an allergic reaction to the Rituxan; when the x-ray came back normal, he prescribed Benzonatate (tessalon perles), a little round gel-cap cough pill to take three times daily.  Since I could manage the cough during the day by using cough drops, I saved the Benzo for nighttime use.  My routine became taking a Benzonatate before bed, washing it down with a big dose of max-strength OTC cough syrup, and sucking on a cough drop as I fell asleep (sitting up, of course).  I'd be good for maybe an hour or two, then would wake up wracked by a shuddering, convulsing cough and stagger into the bathroom to do the Benzo/cough syrup/cough drop trifecta again.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  All night.  UGH.

Yesterday, after penning another whiny email to him, Dr. Hampshire called in an Rx for cough syrup.  I fully expected the normal prescription of a small bottle of cough syrup with codeine.  What I got, though, was a one-pint "bulk container" of Hydrocodone/Homatropine.

Huh?

Of course I jumped on the web to find out what this was.  Turns out this is the big guns.  Hydrocodone is an opiate component of vicodin, and homatropine is a neurotransmitter blocker.

Yeah, buddy!!!

Last night was my first time trying the H/H and.....

.....drum roll, please.....

.....I slept ALL night, for the first time in a month!

I only got up once to go potty, and I didn't cough AT ALL. 

Wow - that's some potent shit, blocking neurotransmitter messages and inhibiting receptors and all.  Kinda frightening, since taking too much will cause respiratory suppression.  YIKES!

Dear cough that has been vexing me for the past month: Your days are numbered. I have a new favorite bedtime cocktail that's gonna kick your ass.  Take THAT, you sleep-depriving, chunky-gunk producing tormentor!