Cough type sensation maybe related to anxiety?

Hi,

I've been gradually getting over most of my anxiety symptoms lately (although do seem to be going through a slight relapse) but for a couple of months now I've had a faint sensation of wanting to cough. I very rarely actually end up coughing and it's not chesty or 'productive', so I doubt it's a chest infection. Have heard anxiety makes your throat constrict and go dry and wondered if this may be linked?

It's probably a stupid question - I may well just have a cold type thing, but it seems to have been there for ages and it's not got any noticably better or worse in that time. Could for that matter also be psychosomatic as my most recent focus of health anxiety was HIV (I'm in a low risk group and lack any of the other symptoms, but will still be going for a check just to make sure.....) and one of the associated symptoms of that is a tickly cough. Mine seemed to crop up very close to the point I read about that! *Personal note to self - no more googling nasty diseases!* :)

Chris.

The odds of it being HIV are minuscule, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to be checked. Other possibilities are anxiety and acid reflux. Not everyone with acid reflux feels it the same way, so you may not feel heartburn or any of that, but coughing and throat irritation are symptoms. Also, it could just be air pollution or allergies. Dust, tree pollen, animals, whatever.

Well, GERD is basically a stomach acid problem and it can lead to some other problems like gastritis and complications with the esophagus. My impression of it leads me to believe it and anxiety can be related in some way. I think the muscle cramps issue is probably related to a different type of acid, but I'm not a doctor and can't be sure. Being "phlegmy" is a common symptom of reflux, though.

Blood tests will let you know about infection, but they won't tell you about acid reflux. There are other tests for that.

You may try picking up an H2 blocker like Zantac that's available over the counter and see if that helps. If it does, talk to your doctor about it. They may want to put you on another drug, or they may feel it's best for you to deal with it by following a special diet for a while.

GERD can cause such a wide array of odd symptoms that I can't list them all here. There's a GERD forum here at HealingWell that you should read through to get an idea. Not everyone experiences it the same way. I rarely have heartburn or "burps of fire", for example, and that's what most people think of when they think of GERD.

But don't discount allergies, either. I have allergies I didn't used to have, and some of my old childhood allergies have gone away completely. I guess they can evolve like that.

Well, the cough seems to have got considerably worse over the past 24 hours, but otherwise I feel the same, so I suspect it's an actual chest infection. Seem to be getting a localised pain of the left hand side of my chest, similar to that you get if you cough really hard, so guessing that's an indication something is wrattling round my respiratory system - I suppose it might be some sort of weird indigestion pain though.

Post Edited (Chris711) : 3/16/2007 8:52:51 AM (GMT-6)

I am happy you have found the cause now you will have to have the treatments or meds for it
I use meds to help me and they do
I have crohns and this is also part of mine I believe as is the A/P I get a sour tummy and it is really bad when I wake with vomit in throat
Have done that a couple of times scary and horrid too
Please keep us posted on where ya go from here
Take care please

Chris711 said...
Hmm, apparently there is a family history of acid reflux related to hernias (not great news, but may explain it!)

I've also felt a kind of fluttering feeling in my chest. I had assumed this was my heart dropping out of rythm briefly, but I'm told the valve which prevents stomach acid getting too far up your throat can spasm sometimes producing a similar sensation. This usually seems to accompany indigestion and I had wondered before if infact it was linked to my digestive system ratehr than my heart. Rather hope so!

.

The hernia, most likely, is a hiatal hernia. From what I understand, it's the little flap that prevents the acid in your stomach from going up into the esophagus.

I'm not sure it's all bad news. I mean, of course you don't want it to have it, but it's something that can be dealt with and I believe it's something that can heal. There's TONS of advice on dealing with it if you search Google, so I'm not going to write much here. It's a very common condition.

Do you smoke, by chance? If so, I can almost guarantee you that's what caused it. And they say it'll get better if you stop.

In the meantime, take some antacids and see if you can't elevate the head of your bed a few inches.