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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think I have a "stress cough"

35 replies

speakout · 22/12/2017 17:31

Just that really. I have a persistent cough atm, but happens so often and usually happens when I am run down- following a cold or run down.
This has been going on for a long time. Could it be related to stress?

OP posts:

52FestiveRoad · 22/12/2017 17:32

A question I ask myself as I hack away with a cough I have had since August. Watching the replies with interest.

DeleteOrDecay · 22/12/2017 17:36

I'm sure I saw an nhs advert once saying if you have a cough for more than 3 weeks then it could be a symptom of something and it might be worth seeing your gp.

Not to worry you but it might be worth going for a check up.

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 17:37

Thank you .

My OH is utterly convinced that it is stress related. Without being too gruesome it seems like an over production of normal lubrication, nothing nasty, but causes me to cough - not hacking or deeply, but just to clear my upper airways.

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Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 17:43

DeleteOrDeca really good advice of course,

But I have had this " stress cough" for 20 years, I have been to see GP many times, have had hospital referrals, blood tests and x rays, all finding nothing, including very recently.
And a cough free life for 9 months only to be hit one for christmas- and that has coincided by an extremely stressful month and only a light cold.

My family comment that they even know where to find me in a supermarket as they know my cough- I cough every 2 or 3 minutes.
It's not bad in the morning and not bad at night, apart from being a bit blocked up.

OP posts:

supersop60 · 22/12/2017 17:46

Could it be asthma related?

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 17:52

supersop60 I hadn't considered that. I know nothing about asthma.

My cough episodes tend to last 2 months, several times a year. And usually at times of stressful periods.
When I am cough free I can exercise, visit the gym, get out of breath and recover with ease. I have no allergies or sensitives.

OP posts:

antimatter · 22/12/2017 17:55

Your immune system may be weakened. Has your GP listened to your chest?

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 17:58

antimatter yes, I have had this cough for 20 years. Listened to many times. had blood tests and x rays, including recently.
But persists for months when I am stressed- which is why I am asking if it could be stress related.

OP posts:

HeyRoly · 22/12/2017 18:05

Could it be a tic? Certainly could be stress related in that case.

BalloonSlayer · 22/12/2017 18:07

I cough a LOT. I definitely cough when I am stressed.

Someone told me it was acid reflux and I honestly thought I had cured myself but it came back. Like you I have had ALL the tests over the years.

My own view is that it is partly due to acid reflux but not totally, there is also another, unknown factor in play. I do often find that an antiacid (eg Rennie) will calm my cough, especially when I know I am coughing because I am stressed.

The thing with the acid reflux is - the stomach acid irritates your throat so you cough. The cough forces more acid up from your stomach and the lining of your throat is damaged and makes you even more sensitive to irritants. So in a nutshell, you cough, that makes you cough more, and that makes you cough more still. It's called a habitual cough.

Have a go of an over the counter proton pump inhibitor like pantoloc, see if it does anything.

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 18:11

HeyRoly it seems an over production of mucus. When I cough I can physically feel the fluid come up and swallow, When I need cough my airways feel choked and the cough relieves them.

It's actually not so much a cough as an over production of natural mucus, which causes the cough.

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Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 18:14

BalloonSlayer I will try that- thanks.

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JosephineBucket · 22/12/2017 18:15

It doesn't fit exactly but could it be post nasal drip? I always suffer for a month or two after a cold.

JosephineBucket · 22/12/2017 18:16

X post with your update - definitely sounds like post nasal drip.

youwouldthink · 22/12/2017 18:22

OP much like you I had a cough for years and years. Would last weeks and weeks and one year 13 weeks before going. Back anf forth to the doc and xrays etc..then a locum was on one time it was really bad a year ago. Diagnosed with asthma and on a preventative inhaler. No sign of it since!

TDHManchester · 22/12/2017 18:23

Does your ticker stall or skip a beat just before the cough..?

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 18:23

I appreciate everyone's input. Doesn't feel nasal, feels like it originates in my lungs.

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Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 18:32

OK so asthma is worth exploring.

Back story here- which my GP has shown no interest in- from the age of 5 to 11 I suffered badly from bronchitis every winter. Usually was off school for 2 - 3 months every year. My father was a very heavy smoker ( 60 a day) when I was ill I would lie on the sofa downstairs, vomiting, barely eating, while my father puffed away in the same room. He died when I was in my teens

I am not sure if there is some physiological damage done or something psychological thing going on.

Either way my cough persists.

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JollyGiraffe · 22/12/2017 18:34

Interesting what you say about your father. My grandfather was a heavy smoker when my dad was a child, and my dad still wakes up with a chesty caught every morning.

Does sound like post nasal drip!

JollyGiraffe · 22/12/2017 18:35

I also cough when I'm stressed/feeling anxious, but that's more of a dry tickly cough (or just habit )

Medeci · 22/12/2017 18:36

Chocolate caused my cough so I avoid it now .
Took me ages to work it out. I'd get increased mucous in my throat and a tickly feeling deep in my lungs. Then the day after I'd eaten the chocolate would get heartburn that lasted for hours, as well as the cough.

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 18:38

Sounds like asthma is worth talking about.

I am embarrassed by my cough. I hate the fact I am "known by my cough" Yes it limits me. I cannot exercise when I have my coughing stage.

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takemetomars · 22/12/2017 19:41

Could you elaborate a little more on the tests you have had?
From your history I would say the most likely thing is post nasal drip. As a respiratory nurse I would be taking a good history then treating for post nasal drip and doing spirometry testing.
Asthma does not sound likely from what you have said so far

Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 19:49

takemetomars thank you. I have had spirometry testing ( took a while and by then I had no symoptoms) results were normal. Not sure what a post natal drip means, I don;t have nasal problems, no runny nose, breathing is clear.

Tests over the years and recent;y) were x rays, blood tests, ( cancer presumably)my heart is OK. I was exposed to asbestos 25 years ago, but have had tests ( 10 years ago) to look for lesions etc and all clear.

It just seems stress is a trige for the mucous productio.

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Original poster

speakout · 22/12/2017 19:55

Sorry for typos.

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