Question:
I have had a persistent, chronic cough for years.

Any one post op have this and was it improved by surgery aand weight loss?    — Julia O. (posted on March 24, 2001)

March 24, 2001
I also had a rather persistent cough... it wasn't constant but it was ever-present. My mother always noticed it, even if I had gotten used to it. I had a pre-op endoscopy done as part of mandatory testing and discovered I had a small hiatus hernia --- My surgeon mentioned that very well could have been the reason for the coughing! I would never have guessed and my symptoms weren't so severe that I ever sought treatment for it! Perhaps this is true in your case -- Have you ruled out allergies, dust mites, etc? Do you have an endoscopy as a pre-op exam or already have been diagnosed with hiatus hernia/GERD? It is a pretty common co-morbidity in morbidly obese patients! :) All the best, ([email protected])
   — Teresa N.

March 24, 2001
My persistent cough turned out to be asthma. Finally diagnosed after months on antibiotics for the "bronchitis" that wouldn't go away. When I fractured 3 ribs coughing, the finally tested it. You know, fat girl coughing, who cares? The asthma didn't stop me from surgery, but it was brought under control immediately with the non-steroidal inhalers. And oh, the asthma vanished within a few weeks after surgery.
   — vitalady

March 25, 2001
I, also, have had a persistent cough for at least fifteen years. It never really goes away. I have seen doctors for it and only once did I have a doctor say I had chronic bronchitis when I was a teenager. I don't smoke. No other doctor has said it was bronchitis, so I don't know. But, I am also hoping weight loss will cause it to go away. I had a VBG in 1997 and lost 60 lbs (not as much as I was hoping). Even then the cough did not stop. I am hoping for a revision and maybe when I lose a lot more, the cough will stop.
   — Michele :.