I was planning to start getting back on the training horse after a 60 day “chill out” period. About 4 weeks ago, I starting coughing. Deep down inside my chest. I got a Z-Pack prescription last week. Didn’t make a dent.
Went back to the doctor yesterday. Diagnosed with bronchitis. Given some sort of antibiotic shot and a 5 day prescription for Clarithromycin. Hoping that at the end of this 5 day prescription that the coughing and wheezing goes away.
Once the cough is gone, should I start training again? Or should I rest a little longer to make sure it doesn’t come back. Planning a winter running focus.
From personal experience rest more. Bronchitis was the reason for me giving up triathlon a decade and a half ago. What started off as a bit of wheeze gradualy got worse and worse as I would not back right off training instead I would give it a day or so and be right out back into damp and cold conditions using my underlying fitness to drag me through sessions. After a number of stops to the doctor for antibiotics which were not working as I was getting more and more used to them I was bluntly faced with stop training for six months as a minimum or I am going to hospitalize you for your own good. Whilst I liked training at the time I needed a job to pay the mortgage and so eventually backed down, the result was I didn’t race that year and once things cleared up there was no triathlon season left so I turned my attention to first playing Rugby and Cricket for the next few years.
It seriously from this stupid position took me 6 to 8 months for my chest to clear up and it was still weak in my opinion for a couple of years after that. I only really understood how bad it was once my fitness started to tail off and instead of being able to go about stuff constantly coughing and wheezing I was left as a pretty weak individual. The point I am making here is factor in things like a strong desire/need to train and how fit you think you are against how fit you really are. I can remeber being told to breath down one of those tube things and thought I had done ok when the marker went half way down, the doctor then said it was the device he normally used for his very youngest and oldest patients, and my effort was about average for an eighty year old, I got the point.
I’d rest more, especially if you have to run outside in the cold/damp.
I developed a cough, lasted 2 weeks. Finally went to the Dr. - bronchitis, borderline pneumonia. Went on Biaxin, had an inhaler, and a syrup w/ codeine to help me sleep. I ended up on the couch for 5 days, out of it. Took another week for the cough to go away completely. I then took another week to rest, before slowly starting again, and I can now run and feel great.
My GF, same cough, same diagnosis, same meds. Didn’t wait the extra time, back to the gym, treadmill too soon - IMO - and still has a lingering cough 3 weeks later that just won’t go away… that’s enough proof for me…
I was told to rest an additional couple of days after my bout last year. I went from August to November with symptoms and coughing fits, but usually AFTER hard runs, never swims or bike rides.
Rest another 5 days after, won’t hurt.