Question about a cough

[mia1181]

I''ve had a cough at night only for 2.5 weeks now. Every night I cough if I take too deep a breath. So to avoid coughing I can only take shallow breaths, but this only starts at night. Does anyone know what this is? It began when I had a cold, but the cold''s been over for a while. I''d hate to call the doctor for something so lame but this cough is annoying. It''s not productive, just a constant urge to cough. I''ve tried mucinex but no luck.

 

[Octavia]

Acid reflux can cause coughing when you lie down, because that makes it easier for the acid to come up and irritate the bottom of your windpipe. So can allergies, even if you don''t know you have them -- I recently went to the doctor for a little on-and-off cough I have and she told me to take Zyrtec for a week to see if it helped (it did). I have no idea if either of these are what you''re suffering from, but they''re possibilities. I really think you should call the doctor, though, especially since it''s been a couple weeks with no improvement...

 

[LGK]

My asthma causes a cough like this every time I get a cold. It will linger for literally months if I don't fix it... like three or more. So, whenever I get a cold, I take hydrocodone cough syrup and use my inhaler. The dry cough I get is basically irritated lungs- I cough, it irritates my lungs, I cough because my lungs are irritated, which irritates my lungs, so I cough more... and so on. Endlessly. It's much worse at night because laying down irritates lungs too.

I'll also get these coughing fits after I have a cold- again, for months afterwards- where I will choke, cough every last bit of air out of my lungs, and then keep coughing till I throw up sometimes. Awesome. Made for fun times when I was a teenager, before I'd realized how to fix it. (I still remember teachers getting angry at how disruptively annoying my coughing was - one teacher pelted me with cough drops whenever I'd start hacking.)

Go to doctor. Get codeine or hydrocodone cough syrup; personally I find the codeine variety doesn't work as well as the hydrocodone kind. Take it at night, it is the BEST fix for coughing ever. Of course don't drive when taking it or try to do anything seriously complex! Usually I just need it at night. If you're not having the coughing fits like I described you've probably just irritated your lungs, no asthma as a bonus to make it worse. Essentially, the inhaler is for the coughing fits which are asthma related, and the hydrocodone cough syrup is for the dry cough at night... so if you're just having dry cough at night, the syrup should do the trick.

My sister just got a terrible cold that gave her a month long cough just like you described, and I told ther the same thing- she couldn't believe how fast her cough went away after she got some prescription cough syrup.

(Not to advocate off-label use of a prescription, but just in case you have some old Vicodin laying around from wisdom teeth getting pulled or something, that'll do the exact same thing as the cough syrup. The active ingredient is the same, it's just pill form with Tylenol rather than a syrup. If I remember, they add some sort of expectorant to the cough syrup, but if you have a dry cough it's not the important ingredient.)

 

[Lorelei]

I would see a doc Mia if this doesn''t settle in a day or 2, they will be able to give you something for it.

 

[mia1181]

Thanks guys. I''ll call my doctor today and see if they''ll see me or give me something. I just feel like they might think I''m weird for coming in with something so small. It''s just so annoying.

Date: 2/4/2009 2:44:33 AM
Author: LittleGreyKitten

(Not to advocate off-label use of a prescription, but just in case you have some old Vicodin laying around from wisdom teeth getting pulled or something, that''ll do the exact same thing as the cough syrup. The active ingredient is the same, it''s just pill form with Tylenol rather than a syrup. If I remember, they add some sort of expectorant to the cough syrup, but if you have a dry cough it''s not the important ingredient.)

He he! That''s exactly what I have and it''s from my wisdom teeth too!

But seriously, I do worry that it is somehow asthma related. My mother smoked through her pregnancy with me and my parents smoked around me my whole childhood. My mother has asthma and I have one sister and one brother who had it, but grew out of it. I don''t think you can develop it as an adult, but that is what it feels like.

 

[LGK]

Not to worry you re: asthma, but I have known people who did develop it later in life. Usually after a bout with pneumonia though. I grew into it about age 12 or so.

 

[Burk]

I got asthma at age 22!!! It's allergy induced (also found out I had allergies at age 22). My cough sticks around after being sick with a cold for at least a month usually. I would talk with your doctor for sure!

ETA: I made it sound like I "contracted" asthma!

I never had an asthmatic symptom until age 22. I played sports in college and never had a problem with breathing, never got sick. At age 22 I started getting sick often (pneumonia, bronchitis, ect multiple times in a four month period) and my regular doctor finally sent me to an allergist who diagnosed me with allergies and asthma.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

It sounds like bronchitis which is a secondary condition you can get after a chest cold. You''ll need to see your doc to have it taken care of. They may prescribe cough medicine or an inhaler to help you. Hydrocodone/codine cough syrup is usually guiafenesin (sp?) syrup which is the same thing as mucinex with the extra narcotic for pain and inflammation.

 

[lyra]

I also agree it sounds like bronchitis. I get that sometimes. You need meds if that''s what it is, so you should see a doc. Although I don''t have asthma like my husband and oldest daughter, my doctor does give me an inhaler to use for seasonal alllergies and when I have bronchitis. You might want to look into it.

 

[AmberGretchen]

You can DEFINITELY get asthma as an adult - I actually had symptoms as a kid but they were so mild I wasn''t diagnosed until I was an adult (in college).

Sounds like you are doing the right thing by heading to the Dr. - I hope you can get some relief! Don''t be too quick to start popping the Vicodin or related drugs though - it doesn''t work for everyone and can be habit-forming.

One other thing to ask about that can cause coughing that gets worse at night: pertussis, more commonly known as Whooping Cough. If you haven''t had a vaccination as an adult, ask for one while you''re at the Dr. - I had it two years ago and it was MISERABLE.

 

[mia1181]

Hey guys, just an update. Saw the doc and she said it''s actually post-nasal drip. I hope she wasn''t just going off of the mucas in the back of my throat because it was early in the morning and I know I always get post-nasal drip every night. It gives me non-pregnant morning sickness, so I''ve known that for a while. But the good news is, they tested my oygen level which was good (95 I think) and she said my lungs sounded fine. So I''m not worried. She told me to take Clariten, so I''ll give that a try.

 

[vespergirl]

I had the same thing last winter - it lasted 10 weeks. I went to the dr. several times, and she said it was viral - it started with a cold, and when the cold went away, I had a cough all winter. At first she gave me Cheratussin, RX cough syrup to take at night, which really worked, but you can''t take it during the day. After 7 weeks of misery, she put me on antibiotics, but they didn''t do anything, since it was viral. THe cough finally cleared up on its own in the spring, but it lasted from Jan. - Mar.

 

[Octavia]

Date: 2/5/2009 11:17:23 AM
Author: mia1181
Hey guys, just an update. Saw the doc and she said it''s actually post-nasal drip. I hope she wasn''t just going off of the mucas in the back of my throat because it was early in the morning and I know I always get post-nasal drip every night. It gives me non-pregnant morning sickness, so I''ve known that for a while. But the good news is, they tested my oygen level which was good (95 I think) and she said my lungs sounded fine. So I''m not worried. She told me to take Clariten, so I''ll give that a try.

Mia, that''s exactly what happened to me! I''m glad it''s nothing more serious.

 

[mia1181]

Thanks Octavia. I picked up the Claritin and I am going to take it soon, so we''ll see.

 

[Burk]

Hope the clariten helps! Glad it''s not asthma...asthma''s a PITA!! Feel better!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Ugh, I''m in the same boat. I caught something from my nephew 2.5 weeks ago and did a round of antibiotics. The antibiotics changed my phlegm from thick and dark to clear and runny, but that hasn''t gone away. I have allergies but had stopped taking my Claritin since we are trying to conceive and I thought it was drying up my CM. Anyway, I''ve been taking mucinex and claritin AND benadryl and I really do not see that much improvement. I have to carry cough drops around with me so that if I get a tickle I can pop one in before I get the choking cough.

Every morning I have fits of that choking/coughing that LittleGreyKitten described. I know I would be throwing up from them too if I didn''t somehow lose my throw up reflex as an adult. Got to be thankful for the little things.

Is it spring yet?

 

[mia1181]

Thanks Burk. That T sure is a cutie BTW! Actually the first time I took Clariten it made a little worse. I coughed less at night, but when I woke up my lungs felt so dry. But it does seem to be improving.

Date: 2/8/2009 9:35:59 AM
Author: phoenixgirl
Ugh, I'm in the same boat. I caught something from my nephew 2.5 weeks ago and did a round of antibiotics. The antibiotics changed my phlegm from thick and dark to clear and runny, but that hasn't gone away. I have allergies but had stopped taking my Claritin since we are trying to conceive and I thought it was drying up my CM. Anyway, I've been taking mucinex and claritin AND benadryl and I really do not see that much improvement. I have to carry cough drops around with me so that if I get a tickle I can pop one in before I get the choking cough.

Every morning I have fits of that choking/coughing that LittleGreyKitten described. I know I would be throwing up from them too if I didn't somehow lose my throw up reflex as an adult. Got to be thankful for the little things.

Is it spring yet?

Phoenixgirl- Do you also think it is somehow related to post-nasal drip? If so, try taking Clariten-D or just sudafed. My doctor told me Clariten-D but I just wrote Clariten here because I thought they were the same thing. But when I went to the pharmacy they said it has sudafed in it. Either way I think the sudafed will probably dry up the CM too. Which sucks for me also because I am using FAM for BC so I need to be able to read my CM also. Good luck on TTC BTW! Oh and you might want to get you oxygen levels checked too. My mother has asthma and she has coughing fits every morning. She smokes though so brings it on her self.

And you lost your gag reflex? You are officially my idol! I have the strongest/weakest (not sure which one, I usually say weak but wouldn't that mean I don't gag?) gag reflex ever! If I cough too hard, I throw up. If I slip the toothbrush too far back, I throw up! I throw up all the time in the morning because of the post-nasal drip and the gag reflex. When I was dating DH, I lived with his parents for a while and they always thought I was pregnant! Pregnancy is going to be very difficult for me!