doc thinks i have acid reflux cough -- anybody else have this?

Question

i've had a chronic dry (nonproductive) cough for 2 years now. i've had chest x-rays taken; they were clear. it's been a mystery for 2 years, until the other day, my doctor told me it was probably acid reflux cough. i told him it couldn't be acid reflux b/c i don't have heartburn, but he said people w/ acid reflux cough don't get heartburn. i still have to get tested, so before i do that, my question is: does anybody have acid reflux cough or know someone who does? if so, does the cough tend to go away when you sleep? mine goes completely away at night when i sleep, and whenever i'm lying down. also, i feel a pressure on my chest which causes me to cough. do you feel the same? let me know; thanks!

Answer 1

Hi! I had GERD (gastric reflux disease) and never had "heartburn"! I'm thin and don't eat a lot--just enough. But I always had a dry, non-productive cough. I ended up in the hospital last year with respiratory distress and they Dx'd me with GERD and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). They vacummed my lungs out!! Lots of old pflemm sp? Prednisone and Protonix (which caused me to lose my memory!); but my pulmonologist gave me the KEY--he said to get a cinder block under my bed and sleep on an INCLINE! I found the 4" did worked perfectly for me!! ALSO, I took antacid tablets after a meal and at nights until I was doing well. No more coughing, clearing my throat, colds etc. etc. He said that relfux was occuring during the night, "back-washing" back up my esophogus and leaking into my lungs!! The INCLINE stopped it ALL!! Once the infection and the lungs were cleared out!! It's HEAVEN to breathe freely again!!!!
Good luck!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

If your cough goes away when you sleep it almost certainly is not due to acid reflux. The most common cause of a chronic cough is sinus drainage. The second most common cause is asthma. The third most common cause is a combination of sinus drainage and asthma. The next most common cause is acid reflux which makes the cough of asthmatics much worse. A cough due to acid reflux is not at all uncommon although there are no precise figures. It is correct that you may cough due to acid reflux without experiencing heartburn. When normal people without a cough are studied a significant number display acid reflux. Thus acid reflux by itself does not lead to coughing. Why did I say that if your cough went away at night you most likely did not have acid reflux? Two thirds of all of the stomach acid produced all day long is made and released between midnight and 3 AM. When we lie down at night the effect of gravity is lost and acid tends to roll on up into the esophagus more easily. When we lie down the muscle band around the lower portion of the esophagus relaxes and this allows stomach acid to reflux more easily. I hope that this is helpful and I wish you the very best of health.

Answer 4

This book is probably the most informative and practical guide on the subject of acid reflux and heartburn that I have ever read https://tr.im/acidrefluxnaturally
I was prescribed Lansoprazole which was brilliant but after two years of aching joints, extreme muscle pain which the doc gave me cortisone jags for, with some research I discovered the drug Lansoprazole was causing these rare side effects but it was I who diagnosed it NOT my doctor, I came off the drug 2 months ago, changed my diet and discovered just eating an apple stops any acid reflux, I eat an apple before bed, brilliant no acid, any time I feel the slightest sign of reflux I simply eat an apple. Apple juice is not that good nor is anything else I have tried including honey at stopping reflux.

Answer 5

I took some acid 27 years ago, once, and had a memorable experience. I learned, among other things, that I am no smarter than a housefly...that housefly knows as much about being a fly as I know about being a person... A year later I was walking through a snowstorm, and when I went inside it was...still...snowing...I was a bit confused for a moment, then I realized that it was an "acid flashback", or, as you put it, "acid trip reflux", which I think is much better...and YES, I DID enjoy the "reflux" and it was free...

Answer 6

Have you had any CT scans of your trachea....I suffer from a condition called Tracheal stenosis which causes a cough...It is a narrowing of the trachea and they say that sometimes it can be caused by reflux...yet to be proven though...and you don't have to have heartburn to have reflux.

Answer 7

I know you wrote this 7 years ago, but I have that same condition. It took my doctors 5 years to finally figure it out. What a relief! Thought I was coming down with Cancer. But, Gaviscon takes the cough away. I need to avoid milk, coffee, and chocolate and it's manageable. How is everyone doing?