Coughing Caused by ... Acid Reflux!

[Meadbh]

Totally agree with this. This is getting off-topic, but I went to a couple different doctors with some troubling symptoms I was having this past spring. Had a bunch of blood tests, and both docs said based on the results, everything looked "normal". Neither doctor had any idea what was causing my symptoms, so I really got no help there. With blood test results in hand, I went online and started looking around, and eventually found that my iron panel results were actually quite high (right at the top of the reference range for transferrin saturation and ferritin). The numbers did not raise any red flags with either doctor, but they were still much higher than what is considered optimum. So I began to suspect that the excess iron in my blood and system (iron overload) was a major cause of the symptoms. If you have excess iron, the only efficient way to get rid of it is to donate blood. So I did that, and about 80% of the symptoms disappeared right away. After the second blood donation two months later, the symptoms are now completely gone. I just got the results from the latest iron panel blood test, and both the transferrin and ferritin have come down a lot (still above optimum, but much lower than before). I guess someone could argue that donating blood and the disappearance of symptoms were not related, but all I know is that I feel much better now. This does not mean that I have no faith in doctors anymore, but I am also a believer in self-investigation when the situation warrants it.

Good detection there!
I agree with you. The information explosion in medicine makes it impossible for any single physician to know "everything". I always appreciated patients who were sufficiently motivated to research issues independently, provided that they used peer reviewed sources. It made us a more effective team.

 

[omni550]

Article stating many males might have dangerously high iron levels in their blood, the risks, risk factors, and how often they should consider donating blood based on their blood ferritin levels to reduce the iron:

Donating Blood Can Save Your Life -- Especially If You Are a Man 12/15/04

There used to be a poster, either here or on the Motley Fool early retire forum, who was a Costa Rican doctor. I can't recall his moniker atm. He heartily advocated males to donate blood for this reason, and he did so himself, regularly.

Men who might not be candidates for donating blood for whatever reason might consider just having their blood drawn and discarded.

omni

 

[splitwdw]

Omni550,
"Men who might not be candidates for donating blood for whatever reason might consider just having their blood drawn and discarded." This is called bloodletting, do they still do that.


Fatty foods, like Swedish meatballs, cause acid reflux.


Al, Maybe try a bland diet until you see your doctor.

 

[CRLLS]

Totally agree with this. This is getting off-topic, but I went to a couple different doctors with some troubling symptoms I was having this past spring. Had a bunch of blood tests, and both docs said based on the results, everything looked "normal". Neither doctor had any idea what was causing my symptoms, so I really got no help there. With blood test results in hand, I went online and started looking around, and eventually found that my iron panel results were actually quite high (right at the top of the reference range for transferrin saturation and ferritin). The numbers did not raise any red flags with either doctor, but they were still much higher than what is considered optimum. So I began to suspect that the excess iron in my blood and system (iron overload) was a major cause of the symptoms. If you have excess iron, the only efficient way to get rid of it is to donate blood. So I did that, and about 80% of the symptoms disappeared right away. After the second blood donation two months later, the symptoms are now completely gone. I just got the results from the latest iron panel blood test, and both the transferrin and ferritin have come down a lot (still above optimum, but much lower than before). I guess someone could argue that donating blood and the disappearance of symptoms were not related, but all I know is that I feel much better now. This does not mean that I have no faith in doctors anymore, but I am also a believer in self-investigation when the situation warrants it.

I am glad that you are feeling better, correlation or not. I believe that studies have shown that donating can be good for one's health.

 

[NYEXPAT]

I'll bet you are eating better in Peru!

I think you are right, although it might be the lack of stress as well. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining.

 

[RAE]

Article stating many males might have dangerously high iron levels in their blood, the risks, risk factors, and how often they should consider donating blood based on their blood ferritin levels to reduce the iron:

Donating Blood Can Save Your Life -- Especially If You Are a Man 12/15/04

There used to be a poster, either here or on the Motley Fool early retire forum, who was a Costa Rican doctor. I can't recall his moniker atm. He heartily advocated males to donate blood for this reason, and he did so himself, regularly.

Men who might not be candidates for donating blood for whatever reason might consider just having their blood drawn and discarded.

omni

Yes, I read the article that you linked to, and many other similar articles, when I was trying to figure out whether iron overload was what I was dealing with, and if so, how to treat it. I was surprised to find out that there are many studies that show a strong inverse correlation between men who donate blood regularly, and risk of heart attack (up to 80% reduced risk of heart attack for those who donate blood, believe it or not). It seems like the Red Cross and other blood donor organizations should do more to raise awareness of this fact. Everyone knows that donating blood is a good thing to do to help maintain a reliable blood supply for those in need, but I had no idea it was so beneficial for the health of the donor. Knowing what I know now, I plan to donate blood several times each year, even after I get my ferritin levels down to more optimum levels. By the way, my ferritin level when I first had it checked this spring (when I was not feeling well) was 359. Mercola says that anything over 300 has toxic effects on the body, but both doctors I went to did not think 359 was all that high, since the lab reference ranges at the hospital I went to go all the way up to 500 for ferritin. When I did my online research, I found out that the reference range for ferritin at most reputable labs in the U.S. only goes up to 320 or so.......and in Canada and Europe, it is usually 250. Mercola says that anyone with ferritin levels above 250 should be donating blood every 2 months until blood ferritin drops down to the optimum range of about 60-100. I plan to donate every 2 months for a while until I get down to the optimum range.

Here is one article on the link between blood donation and heart attack risk: How Blood Donation Reduces Heart Attack Risk by 80 Percent

 

[Meadbh]

The male human body has no dedicated mechanism for getting rid of excess Iron. Women of childbearing age get rid of it in menses.

 

[TromboneAl]

Update

I've gotten this thing somewhat under control. Now I usually only cough for a few minutes after lying down.

I discussed it with my doctor, and she didn't have any new insights.

I've found experimentation to be almost useless, since there seems to be a variability in the symptoms that overwhelms my observations.

I did one course of omeprazole during which the problem got worse, not better.

The problem was worst for a week after coming back from Sweden, and I think that was caused by having eight cups of coffee on the planes to combat jet lag.

I now have 8 oz of black coffee in the morning and a 5 oz glass of wine with dinner. Those were the things I suspected the most, but right now, the problem isn't bad.

If I have 12 oz of almond milk with some cream, I'll definitely be coughing a bit afterward--IOW, the volume of the drink is important.

The best weapon I've found: Burping.

We eat at 6. At 9:30, if I beat my chest like a gorilla, do jumping jacks, and dance around, I can get a big burp out, and the problem is almost non-existent when we go to bed at 10. Too much information?

 

[REWahoo]

We eat at 6. At 9:30, if I beat my chest like a gorilla, do jumping jacks, and dance around, I can get a big burp out, and the problem is almost non-existent when we go to bed at 10.

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to do what you did in middle school and simply swallow some air?

 

[TromboneAl]

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to do what you did in middle school and simply swallow some air?

Maybe.

Now, I can pull air into my throat and burp all I want. Is that what you're talking about?

I need to burp from the stomach (I can't believe I'm having this conversation). Perhaps you're talking about actually swallowing air all the way to the stomach. Yes, that would work.

 

[REWahoo]

Perhaps you're talking about actually swallowing air all the way to the stomach.

+1

What might help is to drink water while holding your breath, forcing you to swallow air along with the water.

 

[FUEGO]

We eat at 6. At 9:30, if I beat my chest like a gorilla, do jumping jacks, and dance around, I can get a big burp out, and the problem is almost non-existent when we go to bed at 10. Too much information?

Remember that youtube video you did where you were pranking your daughter's fiance or something like that? I think the ER forum deserves another youtube video...

 

[W2R]

Interesting that cutting back on coffee and wine and almond milk has helped, Al.

I seem to get a loud, lengthy productive cough after drinking some things. In particular, we eat at restaurants a lot and any restaurant drink with ice in it (even water) makes me cough and cough and cough. Also any restaurant soft drink (like diet Coke) makes me cough on and on, even without ice. I don't get it! I can't figure out any rational, logical reason for it.

For me, restaurant tap water with no ice is wonderful and I can drink lots of that without getting a cough from it. So I drink water like a cheapskate health nut these days.

I can't imagine you jumping around at bedtime, beating your chest like a gorilla, doing jumping jacks, dancing, and burping. What must Lena think?

 

[Teacher Terry]

Video please)

 

[Hermit]

I don't have a problem with coughing unless I get some stomach acid in my throat. I do have GIRD. If I drank any coffee or wine (especially red) I would be up all night with the stomach issues you describe including the burping. It is the burping that causes my stomach acids to come up in my throat. I can control that by not eating very much for dinner and not eating or drinking anything the causes acid reflux. That list includes wines, coffee, chocolate, etc. Mine can be almost totally controlled by being a little careful in what I eat and when I eat it along with twice daily omeprazole. The possible side effects of omeprazole are not as great a risk as the acid reflux in my estimation. Sorry to hear it does not work for you. Sleeping in a raised position (like a recliner) also helps a lot if I am having reflux issues.

For you folks that don't have the problem, it is serious and can cause major problems.

 

[eytonxav]

I had GERD for several years when I was overweight, but never with coughing. Once I lost weight, the GERD disappeared with it.

 

[John Galt III]

Chiming in with another datapoint. I stopped taking my every other day PPI pill, and in about 5 days my horrible hacking cough was back, along with a slightly acidy irritation of the esophagus. Went back on the PPI pills, and all is well once again. And remember I take way less than the usual dose.

 

[Winemaker]

Interesting that cutting back on coffee and wine and almond milk has helped, Al.

I seem to get a loud, lengthy productive cough after drinking some things. In particular, we eat at restaurants a lot and any restaurant drink with ice in it (even water) makes me cough and cough and cough. Also any restaurant soft drink (like diet Coke) makes me cough on and on, even without ice. I don't get it! I can't figure out any rational, logical reason for it.

For me, restaurant tap water with no ice is wonderful and I can drink lots of that without getting a cough from it. So I drink water like a cheapskate health nut these days.

I can't imagine you jumping around at bedtime, beating your chest like a gorilla, doing jumping jacks, dancing, and burping. What must Lena think?

Beverages that satisfy your thirst quenching mechanism are acidic. Soft drinks are less than 3.0 on ph scale. Wine is 3.8 (red) to 2.9 (whites). Milk has lactic acid 6.7-6.5 as well as most tap water. Distilled water 7.0 is neutral, but most don't like the taste. Juices and fruit are also acidic. Beer is about 4.3, while coffee is about 5.7. All have an influence on acid reflux.

The coughing after cold beverages may just be bronchiospasms, where either your trachea is more relaxed or the cold thickens your mucus.

What a neat topic instead of SWRs!

 

[Bamaman]

My wife's hietal hernia is so large and surgery is not effective. You can never throw up after the surgery, and complete misery would come if you have a medical reason to do so.

GERD and breathing it in has seriously damaged my wife's lungs--to the point she has been hospitalized two times for pneumonia. She now has bad asthma and coughs and hacks all the time. She would be miserable without Nexium, PeptoBismol and Singular.

And it happens whenever she takes in any milk products or ice cream after mid-afternoon. Some spicy foods also affect her ability to sleep.

 

[Chuckanut]

So I did that, and about 80% of the symptoms disappeared right away. After the second blood donation two months later, the symptoms are now completely gone. I just got the results from the latest iron panel blood test, and both the transferrin and ferritin have come down a lot (still above optimum, but much lower than before). <snip> This does not mean that I have no faith in doctors anymore, but I am also a believer in self-investigation when the situation warrants it.

Perhaps you should get your blood put into little capsuls and sell it as a tonic that will cure "Iron Poor Blood".

More seriously, I agree that a person needs to actively manage their health care with the doctor and other medical specialists. And, if one is to ill to do that, it helps to have a concerned relative asking questions and raising issues. Informed consent, these days, often just means the patient signed a paper. We need more than that.

 

[Fedup]

I thought I had GERD 15 years ago, I was coughing like mad for a month. Thank goodness my oldest child was nursing me everyday after school. I didn't know what caused until I looked up online. Never happened again. I didn't go see any doctor either. I just drank a lot of warm water which my kid was making for me.

 

[Marita40]

This is a long thread and I really don't know if I posted this earlier. However, I started two years ago to experience "burning mouth syndrome"--evidently, not unusual in women of a certain age. Eventually I was diagnosed with "silent reflux." As soon as I return to eating chocolate, processed foods, etc. it comes roaring back. Such a strange thing--but glad I know how to keep it at bay. Amazing what the condition of the stomach, good vs. bad bacteria, can do for the whole body.

 

[W2R]

Beverages that satisfy your thirst quenching mechanism are acidic. Soft drinks are less than 3.0 on ph scale. Wine is 3.8 (red) to 2.9 (whites). Milk has lactic acid 6.7-6.5 as well as most tap water. Distilled water 7.0 is neutral, but most don't like the taste. Juices and fruit are also acidic. Beer is about 4.3, while coffee is about 5.7. All have an influence on acid reflux.

The coughing after cold beverages may just be bronchiospasms, where either your trachea is more relaxed or the cold thickens your mucus.

What a neat topic instead of SWRs!

Thanks for your ideas on this! It has been such a mystery to me, and I never thought about bronchiospasms. I cough up lots of mucus that I didn't even know was there, after drinking these beverages at restaurants. My boyfriend speculates that maybe it is a sinus thing although my sinus problems are pretty minimal.

Oddly, I don't cough after drinking iced tap water at home, made with ice from my ice maker. So at first I wondered if I was sensitive to something restaurants were using to clean and disinfect their ice machines. But, I have the same result from the very occasional diet soda at restaurants even without ice. The only way to avoid the cough at restaurants, is to just drink plain tap water with no ice. That's no problem for me because I like it, it's free, and zero calories. I don't drink diet soda at home.

Oh well. I may never know what causes my coughing, but I do know that sticking to tap water with no ice works out best for me.

 

[happ]

I've had gastritis for 30 years and could not drink any hard liquor or take any aspirins. a glass or two of wine or a few beers was ok. They both would have me in stomach pain for weeks. Recently, I had upper GI scoped and was diagnosed with a hietal hernia, GERD and LPR after having very bad stomach pains as a result of taking nasid's, pain killers and prednisone for back attack earlier in the year. I now believe I've had silently reflux for years but the drugs made it become acute. The doc put me on pantoprazole and the typically GERD diet which I followed for 2 months. I got some better but not much. After much research I learned about Dr. Koufman’s Acid Reflux Diet and DR. JONATHAN E. AVIV Acid Watcher's Diet. I put their methods to the test without the ppi's and started getting better within 10 days. After two months I feel like I'm almost normal. I'm now, started slowly adding certain foods back in.

What worked for me was cutting out the beer, onions, garlic, coffee and late night eating. I started sleeping more as a result. My library had these books and explain very well why if you have gerd/lpr you need to avoid acidic foods for a few weeks. That includes ACV. If you have Barrett's you may need to be on this diet for over a year. It has to do with the esophagus and not the stomach. The hardest for me to give up has been the late night snacking and it's problem the worst offender for LPR. I still find it hard to not eat something within two hrs of bedtime. Any tips here?

My symptoms:
chronic stomach pain, now very low
lump in throat, still have some
Throat clearing, now not as often
mucous in throat in mornings and after eating or drinking, now big decrease
sneezing mucous, no longer been doing
post nasal drip, sinus drainage decreased
plugged ears, still have
COPD early signs when hiking up hill

 

[Fedup]

Doctor gave me bad advice for hip arthritis. He said to take aspirins or Tylenol. I forget which but I had stomach sensitivity after that. But I went to an acupuncture guy with also a mean wooden tool for foot massage, it was so bad, I promised myself I wouldnt go back to him after 2 weeks. Oddly enough, after two weeks of Tawainese foot massage, my stomach sensitivity went away completely. It was not the problem that I seemed out to be fixed in the first place.
Now I drink lemon water in the morning everyday. No problem on my stomach, no more acid reflux.