Coughing Caused by ... Acid Reflux!

[TromboneAl]

For years, I've had the problem of coughing/throat clearing when I lie down to sleep. It's gotten worse over the last five years or so, and I finally figured out what's going on. This:

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/laryngopharyngeal-reflux-silent-reflux

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3740808/

I'm a little annoyed that my doctor didn't figure this out, because I've mentioned the problem several times. It's apparently a very common cause of chronic coughing.

I've been experimenting to figure out what factors contribute to it, such as:

Hours between dinner and bedtime
Alcohol
Coffee
Carbonated drinks
What I eat for dinner
Pillow
Head orientation
Drinking water after dinner

My tentative conclusions so far:

Drink beer with dinner, and I'm screwed

Even if I eat dinner at four-thirty and go to bed at ten, I can have a problem

Raising up head of bed by five inches didn't help

Best: Water or a little wine with dinner, 1/2 tsp sodium bicarb after dinner, no food or drink after five PM, tuck chin down to chest while falling asleep. This works quite well.

Anyone else have this? Tips?

 

[Chuckanut]

When I went lower carb my reflux went away.

 

[W2R]

I don't have any tips, Al, but I find your post to be very interesting. Some people cough at night due to sinus difficulties.

We eat lunch at restaurants, and in the past I always seemed to be coughing up a lot of mucus afterwards.

BUT, I discovered that if I just order plain tap water with no ice instead of water with ice or diet Coke with ice, I don't cough. I think it's the ice that causes my coughing, but I don't understand why. If I have reflux, I don't know about it. I guess like the origin of the Egyptian Pyramids, the origin of my coughing is a mystery of the ages (at least for me). Avoiding ice solved that problem for me.

 

[MRG]

DM had a tickling cough that was related to GERD. She never got over it.

Both DW and I had issues with GERD and took medication. We've both resolved our issues completely. Changed our diets to eliminate most processed foods and both of us lost weight to get our BMI in the healthy range.

 

[Just_Steve]

Reflux can lead to Barrett's Esophagus which can lead to Esophageal cancer. Reflux is not to be trifled with.

 

[travelover]

An additional factor might be allergic reaction to dust mites. We need to thoroughly wash everything including the pillows regularly, or my nose runs (post nasal drip) and I cough when I get into bed.

http://asthmaandallergies.org/asthma-allergies/dust-mite-allergy/

 

[marko]

Al, I suffer from not only acid reflux but gastroparesis (slow emptying of the stomach)

I find if I sleep on my left side it's a lot better. If I roll over onto my right side before 3AM I'll get a bad burp of acid; after 3AM, ok.

At my Dr's advice, for AR I take a daily Omeprazole ($15 for 6 weeks at Costco)

And yes, I had a cough which my Dr attributed to AR.

 

[braumeister]

A very low carb diet helps greatly.
Also, I find the problem tends to disappear when I sleep on my left side with head elevated (firm pillow).

 

[reubenray]

I had to eat very small meals at night for years to stop these issues. I eat my main meal at Lunch now.

 

[athena53]

I've got that. I once went to a Doc in the Box who did the usual checks of my lungs, etc. and said everything seemed clear and they could do a chest X-ray but it would probably be negative. I had a $5K deductible so I skipped it. I later read about AR as a possible cause in one of those silly things that came up in my news feed ("Ten Signs You Might Have Acid Reflux) and it made perfect sense.

I now eat dinner earlier, which has helped. I'm already normal weight but could do more to cut carbs- they're not good for me anyway. I refuse to give up Dave's Insanity Sauce, my jolokia pepper powder and my nightly ration of alcohol!

 

[Marita40]

Last year I developed Burning Tongue Syndrome. Yes, there is such a thing and it is highly unpleasant--feels constantly like you chomped down on a hot pepper. To my surprise I was told it was GERD--acid silently burping up into the mouth. It took nearly 3/4 of a year to dissipate completely, and like others I found the key was low carb, no processed foods, and eat smaller more frequent meals. I thought at first it had to do with coffee or hot (eg spicy) foods but after much elimination and experimentation that wasn't it.

 

[Bamaman]

Anyone that has any GERD problem or gastric reflux problem should immediately see a gastroenterologist.

My wife has the problem, and waking up in the middle of the night with reflux is absolutely frightening. If you aspirate down into your lungs, pneumonia most likely will setup and you're in a heap of trouble.

My wife has had the pneumonia and been in the hospital 2x, and her lungs are no longer as strong as they should be. It has affected her quality of life--having to sleep in an adjustable bed with the top half raised about 12 inches.

 

[Hermit]

I've got it. Two Omeprazole caps a day. I had some pretty major esophagus issues when it was discovered. Major contributors are coffee and chocolate among many others. I still do both but just one cup of coffee in the morning and no chocolate late at night.

 

[ABQ2015]

I developed a cough years ago after recovering from the flu and it took almost a year to diagnose it as GERD after I was tested and found to have a hiatal hernia. Since I had only occasional acid reflux, it was not that obvious that this was causing my coughing. Now I take OTC Prilosec and elevate my upper body while sleeping. Other things that have helped me are not eating greasy foods and not eating later than 2 hours before bedtime. Fortunately I can drink coffee and can eat most spicy foods although some foods like barbecue cause problems. Since I rarely drink, I can't comment on that.

I tried the COSTCO generic Prilosec but it did not work as well for me so I would start with the Prilosec if your doctor recommends it. Just adding a pillow did not work for me either. The portion of your body from your diaphragm up needs to be elevated. I bought a wedged pillow on Amazon and used it for several years but eventually went to an adjustable bed.

 

[msieweke]

I used to have intermittent reflux, and a low-carb fixed it for me, too.

GERD/reflux can also be related to hypothyroidism.

 

[Ronstar]

I was diagnosed with LPR (silent reflux) a couple of years ago.

I have constant feeling of a lump in my throat. Post nasal drip. Very seldom cough. Saliva feels sticky. Dr. found very little irritation. He prescribed nexium and a list of foods/drinks to avoid, along with raising the head of the bed. I did all of that for a few months at a time since the dr visit, but symptoms are still the same. Symptoms are less in the am and build during the day. For me, late night eating, overeating, spicy foods, chocolate, soft drinks and sometime beer aggravates it,

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

One thing that helps me is raw apple cider vinegar -- a tablespoon in a cup of water in the morning and as needed later in the day. Sounds odd to fight acid reflux with another acid, I know.

You want the vinegar that contains "the mother," the remains of fermentation that contains various organisms and enzymes. Bragg's is a popular brand, but there are cheaper ones that are just as good. Aldi sells it by the pint in my area.

I've read about a theory that an overabundance of the candida fungus (which feeds on sugars and starches) in the digestive tract can produce reflux. Here's a link.

Apple cider vinegar is supposed to be an antifungal, so maybe that's why it works.

 

[John Galt III]

I developed a horrible cough about 20 years ago, that came and went day by day. My ENT diagnosed acid reflux, and prescribed Prevacid. Two days on the Prevacid and my cough was gone!! I took the pills only for about a week and stopped, and my cough did not come back until about a year later. I took some sort of pill off and on over the years when the cough came back. But now I take one generic Prevacid (Lansoprazol) every other day and it works great. Have been doing this for about 6 months. They say Prevacid users have a higher incidence of kidney disease so I am a little worried about that, but I am on a very low dose. I take the weakest strength available over the counter, and I take it only once per 2 days, not every day (as previously mentioned). At one point I was taking massive amounts of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) at night to take the acid out of my stomach. It worked but it also made by blood pressure sky high, which I luckily discovered when trying to renew my truck driving cdl license! 160 over 105 !! Backed of the sodium bicarb and the bp dropped.

 

[gerntz]

When I went lower carb my reflux went away.

Correlation does not necessarily equate to causation.

 

[donheff]

Al, I had a constant cough/throat clearing affliction that went on for years. I had a friend who used to mock me because it was so annoying. I eventually tried an old wife's remedy (mentioned above by Graybeard) that stopped it in it's tracks. For several years now, every morning I slug down about a tsp of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) followed by a chaser of water. I don't know whether it is a placebo or not but it works fine for me and a lot of people who discuss it online. If it works for you it would be a lot better than using proton pump inhibitors.

 

[Another Reader]

OK, you guys talked me into trying this. Have had a chronic cough for over 20 years that I attributed to an inflamed sinus draining. Target carries it and they open in an hour. Cheaper than the sinus stuff that doesn't work anyway.

 

[John Galt III]

Al, I had a constant cough/throat clearing affliction that went on for years. I had a friend who used to mock me because it was so annoying. I eventually tried an old wife's remedy (mentioned above by Graybeard) that stopped it in it's tracks. For several years now, every morning I slug down about a tsp of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) followed by a chaser of water. I don't know whether it is a placebo or not but it works fine for me and a lot of people who discuss it online. If it works for you it would be a lot better than using proton pump inhibitors.

I tried apple cider vinegar and it didn't work for me. But.. I don't think it had the mother. I may try to get off PPI's and the mother will be one of my options to try if the cough comes back.

 

[donheff]

I tried apple cider vinegar and it didn't work for me. But.. I don't think it had the mother. I may try to get off PPI's and the mother will be one of my options to try if the cough comes back.

The old wives tales all say the mother is an essential component. Also, I said I used 1 tsp each morning but it is more like 1 tablespoon. I just splash the stuff in a glass, slug it down and chase it with water. Others dilute it, mix it with OJ, etc., but I find it easier to slam it down.

 

[Silver]

I was just discharged from a two-day inpatient hospital stay for a GI bleed. Never knew I had gastric ulcers, but the EDG (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy) procedure I had confirmed them as well as a hiatal hernia. The gastroenterologist said that reflux is typical with HH which leads to the coughing. I have never noticed any reflux, but have had the cough for as long as I can remember.


Many gastric ulcers are caused by a bacteria called H pylori, and I'll find out next week from the biopsy report if that is the case. I'm taking Protonix 40mg daily for acid, and assume I'll need that permanently. I'm hoping that will help with the reflux and the cough.


My hemoglobin level dropped in half from this GI bleed and I had two blood transfusions while an inpatient. It's still pretty low so taking iron of course. Nasty business.

 

[Bestwifeever]

For years, I've had the problem of coughing/throat clearing when I lie down to sleep. It's gotten worse over the last five years or so, and I finally figured out what's going on. This:

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/laryngopharyngeal-reflux-silent-reflux

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3740808/

I'm a little annoyed that my doctor didn't figure this out, because I've mentioned the problem several times. It's apparently a very common cause of chronic coughing.

I've been experimenting to figure out what factors contribute to it, such as:
....


Anyone else have this? Tips?

Did you self-diagnose this? Does your doctor concur? A lot of things cause chronic coughing; perhaps the reason some of your (self-prescribed?) attempts to treat acid reflux didn't work is because you don't have it?