I picked up an infection at the beginning of April this year that seemed to go straight to my chest. It gave me an awful, persistent cough which always left me struggling for breath and trying desperately to suck back some air into my lungs (even while the coughing fits, which sometimes lasted for some minutes, were continuing), and for some weeks would have me bringing up thick muck off my chest - that is, when the coughing wasn't so violent that it didn't cause me to vomit (when for obvious reasons it was hard to tell what was coming up from my chest).

On one occasion, during the wee small hours of the morning, I was wakened by the beginning of a coughing fit that caused vomiting even while I still coughing. Some of my vomit entered my airways, and I thought I was going to choke to death as I simply couldn't breathe - I'm sure it can't have lasted more than a minute (at most), although it seemed like an eternity. Luckily my wife's pounding on my back dislodged the vomit, and I'm still here. Even so, that particular fit was so violent that something happened inside, and my urine went I went to the toilet soon afterwards was bright red with blood. (A urologist has me booked in soon to pass a little telescope up where I don't think it really belongs, just to check things out.)

The cough has continued during May and June, although it is much less severe than it was back in April. Even so, when I get up first thing in the morning and change position, it invariably brings on a coughing fit. During the day I am now realtively free of coughing, although night (the cooler air?) seems to bring it back. Further, since mid-April or thereabouts, I have had a croaky voice which shows no sign of improving. And whereas I used to be relatively fit, I often find myself have to pause while climbing the stairs at home so that I can catch my breath to go the rest of the way.

My local doctor put me through four courses of anti-biotics, and by the end of April I'm sure the infection proper had gone. By that stage, she thought that it may have been whooping cough, although it was too late to tell. She's still got me on an asthma puffer. Any thoughts on what it was? And what I can do to get back to normal?

Thanks for your help.

My Mom had something very very similar. I am not sure, but the doc is testing her for Whooping Cough.