Can't. Stop. Choking. & Coughing...

[Soror]

Even during regular times I'm prone to randomly choke, as dh will say, I choke on air. 

But I'm recovering from the flu and it is horrible. I have to eat my towards the front of my mouth into tiny bits or it sets it off, I got careless Sunday and didn't chew a bit enough and kicked off a 10 min coughing fit that nearly ended in puking. Last night was the worse yet. I was driving home, not eating or drinking and all of a sudden there was a catch in my throat and I'm instantly violently coughing. I had to pull over and I wasn't sure I would make it. Dd2 thought I was dying. It took 10 -15 minutes for the coughing to slow enough to drive but I had a residual cough for 30 minutes.

Then last night I took Codeine as I have been, now it's been about an hr of off and on coughing after going to bed before I can stop last night it was over 2 hrs, I stopped counting and then off and on all night. Coughing or fighting a cough. 

Help me!

[mom31257]

That sounds so awful? Have you talked to a doctor about the choking at other times? I'm wondering if you have a problem with your epiglottis and you're aspirating.  

[Pawz4me]

A few years ago I had a chronic problem with choking and coughing. The coughing fits would come seemingly out of the blue. I had to pull over while driving many, many times. Mine was due to silent reflux.

[Andromeda]

Oh, it's awful, isn't it?

I get it like this sometimes when I am recovering from a bad cold and it can last for a few weeks. What helps me, and I know it probably sounds silly, but it really does help - is sipping apple juice through a straw from a kids juice box. The little straw is key - it makes me sip slowly, and there is something in the apple juice that soothes my throat enough to stop closing up and settle. Sometimes I need two juice boxes, but usually just the one. I now keep some juice boxes in the house just for this.

My mother carries a small thermos bottle of hot water with her everywhere as she is prone to sudden coughing fits. Sipping hot (as hot as you can handle) water helps her.

Big hugs, I know what this is like.

 

[geodob]

The general term for this, is 'Dysphagia'.  I'll add a link, which outlines a range of different causes of this
Where you really need to get it diagnosed, where treatment may be possible.
As well prevent it from possibly getting worse?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/symptoms-causes/syc-20372028

[Clemsondana]

This happens much less often when my allergies are properly managed.  

[Another Lynn]

11 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

A few years ago I had a chronic problem with choking and coughing. The coughing fits would come seemingly out of the blue. I had to pull over while driving many, many times. Mine was due to silent reflux.

I was going to ask if you (op) have reflux also.  

Edited October 1, 2019 by Another Lynn

[Soror]

Wow, you ladies are quick.

I've never had reflux or any reason to believe I've had reflux, so that has not popped in my head as a possibility.

I do have allergies but never been tested, but always feel terrible in the fall.

hmmm...

[PrincessMommy]

10 minutes ago, geodob said:

The general term for this, is 'Dysphagia'.  I'll add a link, which outlines a range of different causes of this
Where you really need to get it diagnosed, where treatment may be possible.
As well prevent it from possibly getting worse?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/symptoms-causes/syc-20372028

Yes, and I've heard there's some PT exercises someone can do to help with it.  My grandmother had this terrible and it got worse as she aged.  

[Rosie_0801]

I've had to work really hard on eating a variety of foods, especially antioxidants, and drinking enough water to get rid of my on again- off again cough. Funnily enough, stickyweed pesto seems to have gotten rid of it this time. Mine seems like an autoimmune kind of thing.

[ktgrok]

1. were you checked for pertussis? Coughing and gagging for weeks is often pertussis. 

2. definitely try a round of pepcid twice a day (over the counter) and see if it helps

3. yes, need to explore dysphagia

so, go to the doctor and get checked for pertussis, and if that isn't it, follow up with a GI for dysphagia or reflux. 

[wintermom]

The post-nasal drip that can occur with allergies is often the cause of this kind of violent coughing in my household. The phlegm can get really thick and the sensation that you need to cough to get rid of it can cause the on-set of the coughing attacks. Fall tends to be the worst in our house. 

It could be worthwhile to get tests for various allergies to try and pin-point the actual causes. If you can minimize these allergens in your home, you may find there is less phlegm build-up.

[Bambam]

After a cold or any illness like that, I end up with a cough that hangs around and around for 4-6 weeks longer. It is worse if I talk very much but better if I keep drinking water. 
The time it got bad enough that I was having trouble sleeping due to coughing so much, the doctor prescribed this as codeine cough syrup is now out of favor. These allowed me to sleep as they stopped the cough. Definitely visit the doctor and have everything checked out. 

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-10992/tessalon-perles-oral/details

[Halftime Hope]

Pertussis is endemic among adults in many areas of the US.  All other things ruled out, our family practice treats a persistent cough as though it is pertussis. 

Sounds like a doctor visit is in order to find out what it really is, instead of having the hive ladies, me included, guess.  :-)  

[Farrar]

Pertussis was the first thing that occurred to me. You may be downplaying a serious illness because you're prone to coughing issues in the first place. 

[Clemsondana]

Since allergies seem to be a possibility, I'll follow up with a few things that have helped  My allergist has given me some fantastic prescriptions that I use only in emergencies (ie I've used one only once and the other a couple of times in 5 years).  One is dymista, a nasal spray that combines a steroid with an antihistamine.  Start with flonase, which just has part of the combo, and see if it helps - it's a lot cheaper and OTC.  My desperation medicine is sta-hist, which managed to control a cold-allergy combo that had me up all night dry heaving the week before Christmas last year.  When I looked at the active ingredients, it seems to be mostly a benedryl-sudafed combo.  It completely knocked me out, but it worked.  You could probably try either or both of those OTC.  Finally, I had good luck with Zarbees, the kids natural honey-based cough syrup, to soothe things while waiting for the medicines to kick in.

On another note, when my allergies get really bad, they cause muscle twitches - the famous 'allergy eye tic' seems to instead manifest somewhere in my esophagus, causing a choking feeling or reflux at times.  So, you could be dealing with both allergies and reflux at the same time.  

[Soror]

Thank you ladies so much for the thoughts.

1 hour ago, Bambam said:

After a cold or any illness like that, I end up with a cough that hangs around and around for 4-6 weeks longer. It is worse if I talk very much but better if I keep drinking water. 
The time it got bad enough that I was having trouble sleeping due to coughing so much, the doctor prescribed this as codeine cough syrup is now out of favor. These allowed me to sleep as they stopped the cough. Definitely visit the doctor and have everything checked out. 

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-10992/tessalon-perles-oral/details

I am on the contraband Codeine, sigh, I had all 2 hrs+ coughing last night after taking it.

11 minutes ago, ClemsonDana said:

Since allergies seem to be a possibility, I'll follow up with a few things that have helped  My allergist has given me some fantastic prescriptions that I use only in emergencies (ie I've used one only once and the other a couple of times in 5 years).  One is dymista, a nasal spray that combines a steroid with an antihistamine.  Start with flonase, which just has part of the combo, and see if it helps - it's a lot cheaper and OTC.  My desperation medicine is sta-hist, which managed to control a cold-allergy combo that had me up all night dry heaving the week before Christmas last year.  When I looked at the active ingredients, it seems to be mostly a benedryl-sudafed combo.  It completely knocked me out, but it worked.  You could probably try either or both of those OTC.  Finally, I had good luck with Zarbees, the kids natural honey-based cough syrup, to soothe things while waiting for the medicines to kick in.

On another note, when my allergies get really bad, they cause muscle twitches - the famous 'allergy eye tic' seems to instead manifest somewhere in my esophagus, causing a choking feeling or reflux at times.  So, you could be dealing with both allergies and reflux at the same time.  

It feels like a tic for sure at times, certainly last night. It also feels like my gag reflex is over active. I do have flonase here, that might be worth a try to see if it helps.

 I wish I could just easily go back to the dr, they have changed the clinic at dh's work, which has been our primary care for a decade, there is currently a 3 week wait to get in, it is a nightmare. This would all be easier if the company hadn't downsized the clinic!

I had to go to the urgent care for the flu diagnosis. It seems not likely that I'd get both the flu and whopping cough? My cough doesn't sound that bad, mostly it is perpetual little coughs, just a hair more than clearing your throat, clearing the stupid mucus. The choking coughs don't have that whooping sound, although they are a bit deeper (although reading that isn't always the case in adults). Last night when I started randomly choking I was spitting all over the place. The big coughing fits are utterly exhausting.

 

[SanDiegoMom]

You aren't on an ACE inhibitor, are you? They can cause chronic cough.  It often feels like something is stuck in my throat.  It is not productive, just feels like a sudden irritation or constriction that forces me to cough.  It only lasts 5 minutes for me though. 

[Soror]

7 minutes ago, SanDiegoMom in VA said:

You aren't on an ACE inhibitor, are you? They can cause chronic cough.  It often feels like something is stuck in my throat.  It is not productive, just feels like a sudden irritation or constriction that forces me to cough.  It only lasts 5 minutes for me though. 

I'm only on thyroid meds and currently tamiflu and cough syrup- Delsym in the day and Codeine at night.

[Katy]

I bet it's pertussis too.  Coughing until you hit your gag reflex and vomit is the primary symptom in adults.  Call your doctor, who can get you in and listen to your airways for signs of bronchitis or pneumonia, which are other infections that can cause those symptoms, and get you some antibiotics. Stay away from pregnant women and stay out of public until you've seen a doctor. I'd even opt for a pharmacy with a drive through or send another adult to pick up the antibiotics for you.

[klmama]

Could be reflux. Could be parapertussis, which is similar to pertussis,  but not as bad.  There's no vaccine. 

[SKL]

Does it get better when you are breathing steam, e.g. while drinking tea/coffee or taking a warm shower?

[Chris in VA]

Asthma can also present as a cough. Does sound like pertussis to me, tho. I'm sorry!❤

[Laura Corin]

Do you often feel as if there's a lump in your throat?

[Soror]

5 hours ago, SKL said:

Does it get better when you are breathing steam, e.g. while drinking tea/coffee or taking a warm shower?

yes, and sipping things seems to lessen coughing, although once I've started I can't drink at all.

re: lump- not often but, right now, yes

4 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

Have they ruled out achalasia?  A dear friend of mine began suffering from it in her thirties, and had surgery to help improve her swallowing again.

https://www.healthline.com/health/achalasia#causes

Oh, that sounds horrible, I don't think I'm that bad!

Now, I've had any coughing fits yet today, lots of coughing this morning but nothing uncontrollable and long lasting. I was even able to lay down and take a nap without coughing. 

I just have a hard time believing whopping cough, half of the house has been sick and has had an annoying cough but no whopping in the kids either. 

[ktgrok]

asthmatic bronchitis is another thought

[RootAnn]

I've been prone to choking more lately - on air or when drinking. ... thanks for posting, @soror. I'm going to look into the non-coughing stuff for myself.

[kbutton]

20 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

asthmatic bronchitis is another thought

Flu is often respiratory, so that is my thought as well. 

Maybe a breathing treatment at urgent care would start things back in the right direction. 

[Laura Corin]

Search for 'globus' and see if it looks familiar.

[matrips]

Best cough medicine ever is the Tessalon Perle.  It’s the only one that has ever allowed me to sleep at night instead of cough all night.

[BusyMom5]

My first thought was Pertussis,  too.  I had it as a teen- coughing until puking,  cannot get enough oxygen.  Terrible!  Other than that, maybe a spoonful of good honey- it costs the throat and soothes it.  

I'm currently sick with a cold, butterscotch candies and honey for an annoying throat. 

Hope you are better soon!  You are too busy to be sick!  

[Soror]

16 hours ago, RootAnn said:

I've been prone to choking more lately - on air or when drinking. ... thanks for posting, @soror. I'm going to look into the non-coughing stuff for myself.

It's good to have company best wishes finding a solution.

10 hours ago, matrips said:

Best cough medicine ever is the Tessalon Perle.  It’s the only one that has ever allowed me to sleep at night instead of cough all night.

Hmm, I've not seen this. The Delsym has worked best of any of the OTC stuff I've tried.

9 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:

My first thought was Pertussis,  too.  I had it as a teen- coughing until puking,  cannot get enough oxygen.  Terrible!  Other than that, maybe a spoonful of good honey- it costs the throat and soothes it.  

I'm currently sick with a cold, butterscotch candies and honey for an annoying throat. 

Hope you are better soon!  You are too busy to be sick!  

LOL, I know it. I think I have turned the corner (fingers crossed). I had some coughing when I went to bed but not this hours long stuff and didn't wake up coughing any. Now the first 30 minutes of waking I was coughing but short productive coughs. It was a full hour after waking so that is sure progress.

Maybe Monday was as bad as it got, let's hope.

I should say I did not throw up, just coughing until gagging! I also have that happen randomly throughout the year, which is another reason I didn't think it whopping cough. It is just more frequently since having the flu (hopefully I've had my last instance for a long while).

[matrips]

8 hours ago, soror said:

Hmm, I've not seen this. The Delsym has worked best of any of the OTC stuff I've tried.

The Tessalon Perles are prescription only.  They are minuscule pills that work wonders. They are for adults only- not kids.

[popmom]

What you are describing sounds very much like what I was like before my asthma diagnosis. Doctors blew me off for years--especially because my spirometry results were always normal. People would occasionally witness one of my fits and ask if I had pertussis. Sometimes I would cough for months. The worst were times were at night where I would cough and cough until there was no more air in my lungs. Then I would retch. This would give me temporary relief. Then a few minutes later it would start all over. This would go on for hours. Daytime would be better, but I would still have bouts of uncontrolled coughing/retching. It's absolutely miserable, and I'm sorry you are going through this. 

Once I had to get up and leave my Bible study to go outside so I wouldn't gross everyone out. A friend came out later and said, "You know, I think an inhaler would stop that." I always only associated inhalers with traditional asthma attacks, so this had never occurred to me. Fortunately, my GP at the time took me seriously and referred me to a pulmonologist who proceeded to totally blow me off (its just sinus drainage). But he went ahead and ordered the test my GP had asked for. It's called a methacholine challenge. That is how my asthma was finally diagnosed. The next time I had an exacerbation I took a Medrol Dose Pack. Changed. My. World. I could not believe the dramatic results. I now keep a steroid inhaler on hand. At the first sign of trouble, I'll start using it. It's well controlled now.

If this sounds like you, ask for that test. Spirometry is not enough.

[Tree Frog]

15 minutes ago, stephensgirls said:

What you are describing sounds very much like what I was like before my asthma diagnosis. Doctors blew me off for years--especially because my spirometry results were always normal. People would occasionally witness one of my fits and ask if I had pertussis. Sometimes I would cough for months. The worst were times were at night where I would cough and cough until there was no more air in my lungs. Then I would retch. This would give me temporary relief. Then a few minutes later it would start all over. This would go on for hours. Daytime would be better, but I would still have bouts of uncontrolled coughing/retching. It's absolutely miserable, and I'm sorry you are going through this. 

Once I had to get up and leave my Bible study to go outside so I wouldn't gross everyone out. A friend came out later and said, "You know, I think an inhaler would stop that." I always only associated inhalers with traditional asthma attacks, so this had never occurred to me. Fortunately, my GP at the time took me seriously and referred me to a pulmonologist who proceeded to totally blow me off (its just sinus drainage). But he went ahead and ordered the test my GP had asked for. It's called a methacholine challenge. That is how my asthma was finally diagnosed. The next time I had an exacerbation I took a Medrol Dose Pack. Changed. My. World. I could not believe the dramatic results. I now keep a steroid inhaler on hand. At the first sign of trouble, I'll start using it. It's well controlled now.

If this sounds like you, ask for that test. Spirometry is not enough.

Thank you for suggesting this. I've had a similar problem to the op-- the urgent care dr. thought I had both the flu and whooping cough, but she misread the antibodies. My cough has now lasted a year and my pulm would like to test me for asthma when the coughing stops. But the coughing hasn't stopped, so now I'm looking at various things to ask my pulm to check. On another thread, a couple of people suggested an air purifier (it has helped significantly!) and mentioned cough variant asthma. They also mentioned coffee is a mild bronchiodialator, which is also helping me. You just suggested something else that might help.

[popmom]

13 minutes ago, wilrunner said:

Thank you for suggesting this. I've had a similar problem to the op-- the urgent care dr. thought I had both the flu and whooping cough, but she misread the antibodies. My cough has now lasted a year and my pulm would like to test me for asthma when the coughing stops. But the coughing hasn't stopped, so now I'm looking at various things to ask my pulm to check. On another thread, a couple of people suggested an air purifier (it has helped significantly!) and mentioned cough variant asthma. They also mentioned coffee is a mild bronchiodialator, which is also helping me. You just suggested something else that might help.

The coffee is good. I forgot to mention that in the meantime don't drink anything cold. Room temp or warmer. Sometimes I was able to break a coughing cycle with hot tea and honey along with shallow, slow controlled breathing. 

[Tree Frog]

3 minutes ago, stephensgirls said:

The coffee is good. I forgot to mention that in the meantime don't drink anything cold. Room temp or warmer. Sometimes I was able to break a coughing cycle with hot tea and honey along with shallow, slow controlled breathing. 

I purchased a stainless steel water bottle I can put hot tea in and have it stay warm 12 or 15 hours. I sip it as needed throughout the day It does help my cough better than cold water.

[Soror]

9 hours ago, stephensgirls said:

What you are describing sounds very much like what I was like before my asthma diagnosis. Doctors blew me off for years--especially because my spirometry results were always normal. People would occasionally witness one of my fits and ask if I had pertussis. Sometimes I would cough for months. The worst were times were at night where I would cough and cough until there was no more air in my lungs. Then I would retch. This would give me temporary relief. Then a few minutes later it would start all over. This would go on for hours. Daytime would be better, but I would still have bouts of uncontrolled coughing/retching. It's absolutely miserable, and I'm sorry you are going through this. 

Once I had to get up and leave my Bible study to go outside so I wouldn't gross everyone out. A friend came out later and said, "You know, I think an inhaler would stop that." I always only associated inhalers with traditional asthma attacks, so this had never occurred to me. Fortunately, my GP at the time took me seriously and referred me to a pulmonologist who proceeded to totally blow me off (its just sinus drainage). But he went ahead and ordered the test my GP had asked for. It's called a methacholine challenge. That is how my asthma was finally diagnosed. The next time I had an exacerbation I took a Medrol Dose Pack. Changed. My. World. I could not believe the dramatic results. I now keep a steroid inhaler on hand. At the first sign of trouble, I'll start using it. It's well controlled now.

If this sounds like you, ask for that test. Spirometry is not enough.

I am not that bad generally but have thought of asthma and allergies, it is worse in the fall. I have a harder time with exercise in the fall too. It seems I usually have the spells at home and not out and about. I had dh get more advanced filters to use during the fall to help and it make some improvement. Last night I had a fit but I did not end up gagging, just sputtering on the floor, dd2 got tapioca starch in the air and it set me off, usually I have no clue why I started coughing but it was clear then. I was coughing off and on for hours after that. I finally took cough medicine but still was coughing on and on through the night. It only bothered me of course.