The Cough That Wouldn't Quit: Time to See the Doctor

For the last couple of months, an annoying little visitor has refused to leave.

No, it's not another Nextdoor controversy. It's a cough.

A dry cough.

The kind that shows up uninvited, hangs around for a while, disappears just long enough to make you think everything is fine, and then comes back as if it forgot something.

This has been going on for about two months, on and off. I actually had a doctor's appointment scheduled earlier, but I started feeling better, so I canceled it.

Because, naturally, when you start feeling better, you assume the problem has decided to move out.

Apparently, my cough didn't get the memo.

Enough Is Enough

Yesterday, I'd finally had enough. It was time to stop playing the waiting game and get this thing checked out.

Today, I went to my primary care doctor.

First up was the temperature check. My temperature was 99.7°F. That's not a particularly high fever, but it was enough to get my attention, especially considering everything else going on.

The doctor listened to my lungs, and I mentioned that my chest felt tight.

After the examination, I walked away with a prescription for antibiotics, a prescription for Flonase, and instructions to pick up Claritin.

Apparently, my nose and respiratory system have formed a committee, and now we're treating multiple potential troublemakers.

Claritin, but Not the D!

There's one important detail about the medication instructions.

I was told to get regular Claritin, not Claritin-D, and to avoid products containing pseudoephedrine because they can raise blood pressure.

With diabetes and kidney failure requiring dialysis already on my medical résumé, the last thing I need is to add an unnecessary blood pressure problem to the list.

My medication cabinet is complicated enough without introducing new characters.

I'll pick everything up tomorrow and follow the doctor's instructions.

But Wait, What About COVID and the Flu?

Here's the question that's been on my mind since the appointment.

Why wasn't I tested for COVID or the flu?

We've all heard about COVID continuing to circulate, and flu season is another consideration. With this cough hanging around for weeks, a temperature of 99.7°F, and chest tightness, I started wondering whether you considered either infection.

I realize a doctor can't test for every possible illness during every appointment. There may be reasons for the treatment plan, and I don't know what factors went into the decision.

Still, I would have liked to understand whether testing made sense.

Was the examination enough to suggest another cause? Were my symptoms inconsistent with flu or COVID? Would a test have changed the treatment plan?

Those are reasonable questions, and I intend to ask them.

After all, antibiotics treat certain bacterial infections, not viruses such as influenza or COVID-19. And while I'm hoping the prescribed treatment gets me feeling better, I'd rather understand what we're treating than simply wait and see.

Living With a Complicated Medical Résumé

When you're dealing with multiple health issues, you learn that symptoms you might once have brushed off deserve a little more attention.

Between diabetes, dialysis, and the other medical adventures I've experienced, I can't always assume that something will resolve itself just because it did last time.

I'm not trying to diagnose myself online, and I'm certainly not suggesting my doctor did anything wrong. I went to the appointment because I needed medical advice, and that's exactly where I should be.

But I also believe it's reasonable to ask questions and understand the plan.

Two months is a long time to have a cough that keeps coming back. I'm ready for this one to pack its bags and leave.

Preferably without leaving a forwarding address.

For now, I'll pick up my medications tomorrow, follow the treatment plan, and contact my doctor's office to ask whether COVID or flu testing—or any further evaluation—is appropriate.

Have you ever had a cough that lingered for weeks? Did you eventually find out what was causing it?

I'd love to hear about your experience.

If you're dealing with a persistent cough yourself, especially with fever, chest tightness, or underlying health conditions, don't assume it'll disappear. Get medical advice.

Because sometimes the best health decision isn't another internet search. It's making the appointment you canceled the first time.

Trust me. I learned that one the hard way.

Mom, the Call Button, and My Own Bad Example

I’ve been hanging out with Mom at the skilled nursing facility for about four hours. Since I’m on disability due to my awesome health—please read that with the intended sarcasm—I have some time.

While I’ve been here, she has used the call button at least four times. Eventually, I had a conversation with her about it.

My first reaction came from how I behaved when I was in the hospital. I hardly ever used the call button. I thought that if I kept calling, people might respond more slowly.

That was my assumption. No one ever told me that would happen.

In fact, I’ve been told that my reluctance to call can create its own problems because I sometimes wait too long. And I have a pretty good example of that.

During a hospital stay here in Mount Pleasant, I felt my blood sugar dropping. I thought maybe it would bounce back on its own.

So I waited.

And waited.

Eventually, I realized I was in trouble. I pressed the call button and could barely get out the words that my blood sugar was low.

A nurse arrived with a glucose monitor and checked it with a finger stick. If I remember correctly, the reading was somewhere in the high 40s.

Then came the orange juice, graham crackers, peanut butter, cheese—the nurse brought what felt like every available food item.

When I called, the nurses’ desk understood that I needed help urgently. At the time, I took that as evidence that they rarely called unless I was serious.

Looking back, I can’t say that my previous silence had anything to do with their response. What I do know is that I waited until I could barely explain what was happening.

That is not exactly a success story about being a low-maintenance patient.

So, while I may have opinions about Mom pressing her call button, I also need to remember that my approach wasn’t necessarily better. Four calls in four hours doesn’t tell the whole story. What she needed matters more than the number.

There is room to be considerate of busy staff and, when practical, ask for several things at once. There also has to be room to ask for help without feeling like a nuisance.

After writing about advocating for Mom, I suppose I need to apply that same thinking when she advocates for herself.

Apparently, I’m not just spending time with her. I’m getting a refresher course in my own contradictions.

Mom Needed a Bathroom. We Needed a Solution.

My mother is now in a skilled nursing facility. She had a stroke at the end of June 2026 and a second one about three weeks ago. This is her fourth hospital or medical facility in the last three months.

That is a lot of moving, adjusting, and starting over. I get it. I’ve been there.

Part of the longer-term plan involves her wish not to return home once she gets back to where she was before the second stroke. That is a story for another time.

Today’s story is about something much more immediate: Mom needed to use the bathroom.

She arrived at the facility this afternoon, and her evaluations weren’t complete yet. Because physical therapy hadn’t evaluated her, there was uncertainty about how she could safely get to the bathroom—or whether she could get there at all.

I understood the concern. Nobody wanted her to fall or get hurt.

But her need to go wouldn’t wait for an evaluation.

I heard the explanation from three different people, delivered almost the same way each time. What I didn’t hear was a solution.

Mom and I asked for a bedpan.

We were told the facility doesn’t use bedpans.

Okay. So what do we do now?

This was also the point when I started feeling increasingly confident about my decision not to pursue a career in healthcare. As I wrote recently, patience is not one of my strengths. Hearing the same explanation repeatedly while my mother still needed help was putting that to the test.

I asked again: We need to find a solution. She can’t simply not go.

Eventually, someone made the executive decision to find a bedpan. I assume someone dug it out of the nonexistent basement.

Crisis averted.

I appreciate the need for evaluations and safe procedures. I also appreciate the person who finally found a way to help. But there needs to be an answer for what happens while a new resident is waiting for those evaluations.

From our side of the conversation, we had a basic, immediate need and several explanations of why it was complicated.

What would have helped was hearing: “We haven’t assessed her mobility yet. Here is how we can help her safely in the meantime.”

That would have given Mom some reassurance and both of us a plan.

Today, we eventually got there. It just took three explanations and a supposedly unavailable bedpan.