Help...coughing fits that stop me breathing

[ThatVikRinA22]

I've got a throat infection and since last night I've had 3 coughing fits in which it seems like my windpipe goes into pasm and I just can't breath in, only through my nose ( which is mainly blocked).
Warning- tmi alert
I've just had another to the point where I was sick but all I brought up was a huge amount of clear mucousy stuff...when this coughing starts I sound like a seal, I can't take a breath in, it's like I'm choking, i end up in the floor, eyes streaming, gasping for breath. I've been to Gp and I'm on antibiotics for the infection, but he said my chest was clear. My voice is very cracked and hoarse, my sister didn't realise it was me in the phone yesterday. Does anyone have a clue what this could be? I'm back at work on weds and am scared it might happen while driving. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the youtube link - laryngospasm seems to be exactly what's going on with me. Terrifying, I can only hope it resolves along with the throat infection.

I have this now and it is scary. I have been to the gp 4 times and they seem to think it is asthma related although my chest is clear. Out of the blue a cough is triggered and I can get a breath in. I force myself not to try and breath in until I have a sip of water then my inhaler or else I whoop and wretch as if I am going to throw up. It seems to be from the top of my stomach to my throat. I don't think the doctors believe it as they haven't seen it happen. Don't know what to do. It takes me about 45 secs to be able to breath although longer for my throats to open up and be ok. Very scary

I had this two years ago.

The GP didn't say it was whooping cough, but he gave me antibiotics, and when I googled them, I found out that they are prescribed for whooping cough, amongst other respiratory tract infections. (I now can't remember which ones they were, though.)

If you have the antibiotics already, you just have to let it run its course. Unfortunately, it's sometimes also known as the 100 days cough.

when I had this it was asthma and I needed to be nebulised then steroids for a week then preventer and reliever inhalers. Have never looked back and was much better by day 2 of steroids

Thank you for feedback. I have been back to the gp and they have referred me to a throat specialist. They say it could be a number of things. I am on day four of prednisone and doxycyline still no improvement but I need to give them chance to work. exhausted.

Interesting thread, and completely agree doctors are not hot at diagnosing this. I developed a cough and went to the doctor who gave me acid reflux tablets, I went back 3 days later as it was getting worse and I was struggling to breathe during coughing fits, he then gave me antibiotics and thought I had a chest infection, I went and had a chest X-ray, 3 days later on a Saturday after a awful night I booked to see a emergency doctor who suggested I went to A&E, they kept me in as my oxygen levels were low and I was blacking out during coughing fits. They did numerous tests and I was on oxygen 24/7. They tested for TB but negative as was pneumonia. They then tested for whooping cough after 5 days in hospital and it came back positive. I stayed in hospital for a further 4 days, and I have been out 3 weeks now. There is a improvement but I still get bad. Lugging fits and still feel like I might die at times. This illness really is frightening. I still blackout, it happened 6 times yesterday which was a bad day, I have bumps to my head and body from where I have hit the floor. I had one blackout tonight as I sat on the sofa with a MacBook on my lap, came round to find the MacBook on the floor and a sore foot where it had landed on it. I have now had this for 6 weeks and it's tough. I wouldn't even consider trying to sleep in a bed as that makes it worse so it's the sofa for me for the foreseeable. On a positive I'm still alive, but can so relate to the people on here who mention they think they are going to die. I've got medication for another 5 weeks or so to break up the mucus and open the airways. I am not allowed to drive for a month from my last blackout which was tonight. Just looking forward to my bed again one day and some normality..

Hi I am also been suffering this
Have another course of antibiotics and some daktarin
They said in March wen I had sputum test
Had bug growth so I’m hoping this course works I can’t cope I won’t even be on own because of fear of choking feeling now 😔

A year on, and no symptoms for ten months or so. The cause was, without doubt, my underlying reflux and a bad cold. The constant acid damage combined with the stress to vocal chords from coughing for weeks caused the perfect storm.
The solution was a doubling of my omeprazole reflux medication, a large swig of Gaviscon Advance before bed, and careful eating to avoid reflux triggering. It took at least a month for the persistent cough to go and the laryngospasm to cease.
Laryngospasm remains the scariest moments of my life, as I absolutely knew I was a minute away from death and there was nothing I could do about it. All I can advise is not to panic, to 'wait' until the vocal chords open again before trying to breathe, and be assured that it will pass in 30 seconds or so.
The key is to understand it comes from vocal chord damage, and that it's almost always caused by acid reflux damage, so the key is to get treatment for that as a priority.

Has anyone tried these tips on how to stop coughing spells? I have similar symptoms and last night I googled it because the cough attacks seem to be more frequent and this was one of the things that popped up. I tried it and it was hard, but it definitely stopped my cough! You have to remind yourself not to breathe through your mouth, which most people do. I hope this helps alleviate the feeling of not being able to breathe!

I had this and it was whooping cough. Was diagnosed via a blood test. After seeing 3 useless doctors.

My ten year old daughter is suffering with these terrifying attacks which started around 3 weeks ago, she had a dreadful cough which started around 6 weeks ago which we went backwards and forwards to the doctors about.
She was prescribed oral steroids, montelukust tablets and inhaled steroids over the period of two weeks.
After several attacks back to back at school and the school calling me I took her to A&E and they did a blood test for whooping cough which I am awaiting results of and they prescribed antibiotics for whooping cough too.
Still the attacks continued so I paid for her to see an ENT Consultant privately as the Gp request for an urgent appointment is 19th September and I wasn't sure about taking her abroad without a formal diagnosis.
He confirmed that it sounded like Laryngospasm as a result of her vocal cords being irritated and said they will disappear in time.
She's still coughing although her cough sounds very dry now and still clears her throat a lot, both of which the consultant told her not to do, but she's only just turned 10 years old.
Tbh I'm scared to let her out of my sight in case she cannot get her breath and she's with other people. Such a shame as she is missing out on summer holiday outings with friends that have invited her out for the day.
Please can anyone tell me how long these attacks will continue for? My daughter is fantastic at staying calm but I feel like a nervous wreck. Please help!

Did you ever find out what was wrong? My daughter is experiencing the same thing