Coughing at night

[freakyschizogirl]

Hi all, Just wanting some advice please as I've started getting a cough a night, but only when I lay at a certain angle. Its a dry unproductive cough but feels like someone is sitting on my chest! Gets better when I sit up. I'm not currently on any medication and have had a blood test recently which came back fine. I have long thought my chest is becoming a weaker area for me as coughs go straight there and have a lot of mucus hanging around, have mentioned it at Adds but they don't seem overly concerned.

[Dirty Don]

Hey U! Good to see you on. I have the recurring cough of WGs. The ONLY things that have helped are cough drops and throat sprays...then it goes away for awhile, then back again slightly different.

[HopeinTN]

Hey there stranger! I too have that crazy cough that gets worse when laying down. I just thought it was due to drainage. What about acid reflux? I need to see if that causes coughing.

Good to hear from you!

[drz]

Excess mucous seems to be one of the most common residual symptoms and right the doctors don't seem concerned about it unless you start getting blood with your coughing. Mild bleeding in nasal area and sinuses is another varying residual symptom that often seems present but also seems to go away at times. GERD can cause lots of trouble but trouble swallowing seems most common or feeling of tightness in throat. It is easy for them to scope the throat and check for acid scarring burning or irritation that mean you need more acid blocker. I take 40 mg of generic protonix twice a day and that seems right for me. If I reduce it I get irritation and more symptoms but they never disappear completely either.

The risk of excess mucous apart from chronic coughing is getting bronchitis or sinus infection that can quickly become serious when our immune system is broken and impaired. Pneumonia can becomes life threatening very quickly for us, hence the big concern about trying to avoid a flu or even colds. Like Jack said, when you have Wegs there is no such thing as "just a cold'.

[mishb]

I have not had a cold since diagnosis (3 years next month) **touch wood** but I do have a cough when I lie down, but only at night time.
It lasts on and off for about an hour and then nothing again until the next night........it is fine if I am sitting up (I blame the toothpaste).
Actually, I am telling a little fib, I tend to get a tickle type cough if I talk too much, or have to talk louder over music etc - but it's not a cold.

I did speak to ENT about it a few years ago and they weren't terribly fussed about it - just looked down my throat and said it was okay.

This past week I have had a tickle in my throat and I have a dry cough every now and then during the day, as well as my usual nightly episode - I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it's not my first cold. The rest of my family are full of it at the moment.

I see ENT on Friday, so I will ask them about it again.

Sam, I will let you know, if they say anything different this time..... a cause or a remedy

[freakyschizogirl]

Hey U! Good to see you on.

Sorry I've been away so long - has been a crazy year so far. Had nose reconstruction, changed jobs, moved outta the family home, moved towns, had a car accident, planning a wedding...I've had nothing but stress stress stress but surprisingly no sign of a flare - phew! I'm off ALL meds now, even my neuralgia has gone. Turned 28 last month and today is one month until the wedding!

[Barry Forshaw]

My other half, Alicia, has the persistent cough. Hers is worse in the mornings. She goes into the bathroom and has a good hacking cough to get rid of any mucous build up overnight. A good, hot, steamy shower helps a lot. She has tracheal stenosis and has her throat dilated two or three times per year. Any, even tiny obstruction in her narrowed airway causes her to cough.

She also has trouble with acid in her stomach and takes Omeprazole (Lanzoprazole previously). Coughing can be associated with reflux so I'm sure this medication helps to keep things under control.

Congratulations on your busy year with no flare. Good luck for the wedding.

[annekat]

Same here with the nagging dry cough, less productive as I get better, but still whatever irritation is causing the coughing is still present. For me, happens during the day, too; I'll be fine for hours and then something will set it off, maybe talking too much, eating something, not drinking enough liquids, who knows. I sleep pretty well but do wake up coughing sometimes, and this may be accompanied by a horrible taste in the back of my throat. I suspect the taste is from acid reflux and that is sometimes a cause of the coughing, while other times it is mucus, and may be a combination of both at once. I do take an OTC antacid, ranitidine, generic for Zantac, which seems to work for me, and lately have less and less need for it. My doc doesn't seem especially concerned about any of this, as I'm getting better all the time. I keep throat sprays and lozenges around but rarely use them, perhaps should more. That horrible taste I wake up with is my only concern, and I hope I remember to ask my doc about it when I see him today.

[Psyborg]

I have a cough that is positional when laying down. I can sleep on my right side, but my back, front, or left side I have issues. In my case it's because my left main bronchial tube is screwed up. I am able to sleep better using CPAP...as CPAP evidently works like a stint. I get the impression that my issue with the bronch is pretty uncommon though.

[Alysia]

Hi.
congratulations for your coming wedding.
every morning Im coughing untill I start walking and then it stops.
I used to go for a walk even when I was coughing at night.
walking every morning + walking when it is needed, is my medicine.