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Posted 7/18/2013 12:00 PM (GMT 0)
I am being extra needy today. :)

Do any of you experience at persistent nighttime cough? For the most part it is a dry cough with some phlegm. Lately, I've been getting spells in the middle of the night that has kept me up for at least an hour. Not every night, but it happens enough for me to ask.

Thinking it might be my GERD or it could possibly be a result of the Humira? Thanks for the insight.

Posted 7/18/2013 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
Yes yes yes. I cough a lot when my flares are bad. I figure its from my gastritis because i also throw up, too. My doctor's answer is always " your colon is sick and that makes other things sick too."

There is rarely phlegm. Its just a dry, itchy cough. I honestly sound like ive been smoking for years with that stupid thing.
Posted 7/18/2013 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
This is what asthma sounds like for many people. Asthma is a common problem if you have GERD, which you could have due to gastritis.

Ask your regular DR for a rescue inhaler and use it before bed. And start taking a proton pump inhibitor like prevacid or prilosec to keep the acid down. Don't eat a big meal at night, avoid high acid foods and wine.
Posted 7/18/2013 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
asthma-like symptoms are common with GERD...but it doesn't cause asthma. Certain medications can cause asthma-like symptoms such as blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, antihistamines, etc...

But, you should get checked anyway, because some meds can exacerbate asthma if you do have it. Coughing (is the variant of asthma that I have)...if you're getting short of breath and wheezing as you're coughing and find it difficult to take in a breath, make sure you ask your doc to refer you for pulmonary testing asap.

I'd definitely suggest to start with a med such as Zantac before you try a ppi such as prevacid or other.

You could also have post nasal drip....a classic trigger for coughing. Try a nasal lavage such as a neti pot or the NeilMed sinus wash (that you mix with filtered or distilled water..this is what I prefer).

Hope it improves soon.

q
Posted 7/18/2013 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have some nexium tabs from last year that my doc gave me. I stopped taking them because my GERD symptoms went away
Think I should give those a try?
Posted 7/18/2013 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
you were given them by your doc, and you might quickly be able to see if you get relief.

You would still have reflux, however.....it could be that your symptoms aren't what you might recognise.

It won't hurt, and if you see no improvement, then for SURE see your doctor.

anything new in your room such as bedding, pillow, memory foam, nighttime pet?

q

Posted 7/18/2013 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks quincy. No nothing new, I always have slept on a memory foam mattress topper and contour pillow. I'll pop a nexium tomorrow night and see how it goes.
Posted 7/18/2013 11:27 PM (GMT 0)
I have LPR, which is like GERD and I have that awful cough!
Posted 7/19/2013 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
turtlepower...maybe try it tonight?? or tomorrow morning?

I've never tried nexium...when did your doc tell you to take it? And..is it a once a day dosage?

Keep us posted.

nssg...I lost my voice from reflux, my doc didn't give it a name, however. The zantac twice a day did help...but took about a month for it to clear up. I still have a tad of a croaky voice at times. What do you take for it??

q
Posted 7/19/2013 9:15 AM (GMT 0)
Quincy, I will try tonight. I have a fear of introducing or reintroducing medicines when I have work the next day. Don't ask hahaha
Posted 7/19/2013 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
Most ppis like nexium take a few days to really be effective.

Something you could try right away is elevating your head while you sleep, either with extra pillows or by putting something under the bed frame.
Posted 7/19/2013 8:18 PM (GMT 0)

turtlepower said...
Quincy, I will try tonight. I have a fear of introducing or reintroducing medicines when I have work the next day. Don't ask hahaha

 

I totally get that! I'm the same. -q

Posted 7/19/2013 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
quincy, I was taking Omeprazole for quite a while. I even tried a double dose but I didn't see much result. My LPR has been hell lately, maybe i will give it another try. I definitely used it for a few months straight. My ENT said it can take months for effectiveness.
Posted 7/19/2013 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe try another one? Pariet is supposed to be a good one..once a day.

Have you tried Zantac?

Have you lost your voice with it?

I hope you get some relief from it soon,
q
Posted 7/19/2013 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
I did try Zantac when I was trying to get some relief from this. I haven't tried anything lately, I got so frustrated with taking pills and wasting money. I don't lose my voice but I get very hoarse often. I will have to ask my GP for recommendations when I see her. Is pariet OTC?
Posted 7/19/2013 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
I was told I had dry-land drowning from the meds I was on.
Posted 7/20/2013 6:11 AM (GMT 0)
Pariet is prescription.


dry-land drowning from meds? obviously it caused fluid build-up agwic?

q
Posted 7/23/2013 12:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys. Just as an update, I didn't take the nexium, but bought one of those pads that elevate your mattress. It has helped somewhat, the coughing has subsided until I wake up now (Something I always experienced since I was little).
Posted 7/23/2013 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
interesting...which does seem to give "credit" to a reflux issue.

I'd still consider something like Zantac, however....
q
Posted 7/24/2013 4:12 AM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Pariet is prescription.


dry-land drowning from meds? obviously it caused fluid build-up agwic?

q

I cannot remember, think I was on pred,coumadin, and a vasodilator, I got cankles and called the hand surgeon, yep it was the vasodilator, so they said when lying down that fluid was moving to the lungs and I would awaken with a large inhale as if I had been drowning while asleep.

I stopped dropping the pred which cortisol btw is responsible for blood pressure, too big a drop and on vasod and that was the result. Came down off pred slower and body adjusted.
Posted 7/24/2013 4:16 AM (GMT 0)
I started taking a PPI. I found some in the medicine cabinet, 40mg generic prilosec. I will try it for a while and see if it helps. i had really bad coughing the other day, to the point of my throat being completely raw, it was constant. I can't take it anymore. I will ask my doctor about Pariet when I get in to see her.
Posted 7/24/2013 6:20 AM (GMT 0)
aguywithuc...I thought 5ASA meds were also your nemesis?

q
Posted 7/24/2013 10:44 AM (GMT 0)
I just want to mention that I had a persistent, productive cough for about a year and a half. It drove me insane. My med school professors suggested I get it looked at 1000 times- every time I went in, it was just another. The next specialist. I was told I had LPR (when on Lialda...which I see others are reporting as well), so after switching medications ("LPR" gone) I was told perhaps asthma, had allergy tests for everything under the sun, then perhaps a pulmonary manifestation of possible crohn's, rather than UC... I had been from Lialda to Asacol HD to Cispro during that time.

Finally, one day, i said to hell with it and stopped everything, aside from canasa. (That was this past March when my UC was briefly in control. Perhaps an unwise decision, but..) the cough was gone within a month, I did a lot of Canasa and held on long enough for the drug to get out of my system. Well, all of the docs now believe me that the medicine caused the cough. In fact, after going to maybe 5 different GIs and 3 pulmonary docs, finally one said "oh yeah, mesalamines are known to cause coughs as an allergic cough in some people." :-S

It didn't last long, as my UC came back pretty quickly, and I am now struggling with a Colazol/Canasa regime. When things get really really bad, I take Asacol HD. Within a week's time I can literally feel the response in my throat/lungs... a bit of tightness of chest almost, which I try to reverse by exercising.

Anyways, just a thought that might help you. I have been through this rodeo-- something about mesalamines cross reacts with the throat/lungs. I wish i understood how!
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