Chronic Cough - Did you have prior to OSA diagnosis?

Just curious if any of you suffered from chronic cough before being diagnosed with OSA? I have coughed non-stop for 3 - 4 years and since I began treatment about a month ago it has improved immensely. I don't think this is a very common symptom but wanted to hear others experiences. I am looking forward to the day this pesky cough is gone all together. I am averaging 4 - 5 hours a night with the hose on and usually take if off at some point and sleep for an hour or two without it - I am trying to break myself of this. I am hoping once I am 100% compliant the cough will be gone for good. If you had issues with coughing let me know how therapy has helped you and I appreciate any tips, thanks!

I did have a chronic cough which my doctor said was due to allergies. The funny thing is that the allergy meds didn't make a difference with my coughing. It was the CPAP that has helped with my coughing. I only get the cough if my AHI is high, other than that it is just about disappeared.

elmo42 wrote:Just curious if any of you suffered from chronic cough before being diagnosed with OSA? I have coughed non-stop for 3 - 4 years and since I began treatment about a month ago it has improved immensely. I don't think this is a very common symptom but wanted to hear others experiences. I am looking forward to the day this pesky cough is gone all together. I am averaging 4 - 5 hours a night with the hose on and usually take if off at some point and sleep for an hour or two without it - I am trying to break myself of this. I am hoping once I am 100% compliant the cough will be gone for good. If you had issues with coughing let me know how therapy has helped you and I appreciate any tips, thanks!

Get yourself checked for GERD. I had the same issue and the apneas caused stomach acid to come up and irritate the throat. Once they stopped most of it went away. However sometimes it causes enough irritation to trigger asthma.

Add me to the list.

I just commented to my wife last week that I noticed that my cough had almost completely disappeared. It had been kind of mild, a clearing-of-the-throat sort, and I was so used to it that it took a while to notice the improvement.

I probably had it for most of the last year...

I have gotten good advice here re: "reflux". I never had "heartburn" but there is a silent reflux with the initials "LPR" laryngeopharyngeal reflux that you can search here. I started myself on a trial of Prilosec a few weeks ago and I notice a big difference - ie. chronic cough going away. Good luck!

I had chronic dry, nonproductive cough. Was told it was due to asthma, which I've never really had; only when I've been sick. Never had GERD. But I started having bouts of bronchitis at appx. six week intervals, which ultimately drove me to see a pulmonologist. Regular doc ordered a chest x-ray. Normal. Then an MRI. Again, normal. Then he said it was just asthma. So I asked for a referral to a pulmonologist. When I saw the latter, about his third question was, "Have you ever had a sleep study?" That question, and my response, "no," was life-changing.

Are you taking Lisinopril? If so, it could definitely be the cause of your coughing.
I found that out the hard way and had my GP switch me to Diovan.......not nearly so bad.


Den

In any case......
If you ARE taking medications, go to Drugs dot Com and look up their side effects. It may help you narrow it down.


Den

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as Vasotec (Enalapril) that are used to treat high blood pressure are well known to cause cough after long-term use. I took Vasotec for many years without that problem, but eventually developed a terribly-annoying cough. Within a few days of switching to a different blood pressure medication my cough vanished. That was several years ago and the problem hasn't returned.

These are other ACE inhibitors that are available in the States:
benazepril (Lotensin)
captopril (Capoten)
fosinopril (Monopril)
lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril)
moexipril (Univasc)
perindopril (Aceon)
quinapril (Accupril)
ramipril (Altace)
trandolapril (Mavik)

Any of those medications can cause a cough.

This is SO interesting. I have been diagnosed with asthma, variant type because of my chronic cough. I've been on asmanex for a month now and seeing some improvement. I wondered if there might be a connection with sleep apnea, but have not been explicitly told this by either my PCP or my Sleep Specialist.

I've had several bouts with bronchitis in the past two years.



Update: Now on a different med for the asthma (Advair), and a different mask for the cpap. Coughing is better, but not 100%.

ahjchicago wrote:This is SO interesting. I have been diagnosed with asthma, variant type because of my chronic cough. I've been on asmanex for a month now and seeing some improvement. I wondered if there might be a connection with sleep apnea, but have not been explicitly told this by either my PCP or my Sleep Specialist.

I've had several bouts with bronchitis in the past two years.

Yep! same here. I was given albuterol. Some improvement, but only temporary. A pulmonary function test ought also to be ordered just to rule out anything else. I had mine a week or so after I started CPAP. Result was perfectly normal. No asthma, no indication that anything had ever been wrong. Pulmo-doc said the cough had been due to the untreated sleep apnea, not to any other pulmonary condition.

He was tickled pink when it suddenly went away and all the tests confirmed his suspicions.

Sad thing, though, my GP was totally clueless that sleep apnea could be at the root of my 18 months' worth of chronic bronchitis. Shows you how undiagnosed OSA is.

Too bad there aren't more doctors visiting this forum--
(medical lurkers--welcome)
The patient feedback here can help you be a better physician.

chunkyfrog wrote:Too bad there aren't more doctors visiting this forum--
(medical lurkers--welcome)
The patient feedback here can help you be a better physician.

I don't doubt that's true. However I wonder how much time M.D.s have to peruse internet forums. Get a cup of coffee. I'm in verbose mode:

I sat next to an Internist a couple of months ago on a flight. As I was standing in line waiting for all the Big Spenders to board first, then all the Frequent Fliers, folks with mobility issues, and parents with young kids sporting Mickey Mouse ears returning, no doubt, from their first trip to Disneyland, etc., I kept trying not to listen to this very busy youngish gal standing a dozen feet away from me as she called a dozen numbers, or received messages from someone to which she was making careful, guarded remarks. I gathered she was likely a doctor, confirming her schedule and deflecting inquiries from individuals to someone else through her assistant, who I gathered it was she was speaking to on her iPhone.

Finally, all the Big Spenders and "special" people had boarded, and the gate attendant signaled that it was time for the riffraff to board. I've always wondered why they don't board the back of the plane and window seats first, followed by center seats, followed by aisle seats, followed by the Big Spenders in 1st Class. Seems more efficient to me, but what do I know?

Anyway, I was at the front of the line. The Alpha-Riffraff. Walked past the ticket-taker, down the jetway and plopped down in my usual seat, 17F, so I could be sure to see Yosemite Valley as we flew over the foothills of the Sierras on the way to Seattle and my beautiful wife for a weekend visit. A few minutes later, after I was into my book, the busy young woman sat down in 17D, the aisle seat, smiled at me and said "Hello." She set a laptop case on the middle seat while she stuffed a black leather bag beneath the seat in front of her, then resumed fielding calls from her office.

After a while the front door thumped shut and it was clear there were no more passengers on the flight. The woman caught my eye and said she had some work to do and hoped I didn't mind if she used the middle seat for her stuff. "No," I replied, "Go ahead. I'm just going to read. You sound busy."

"It never ends," she said with a wistful look.

As the plane pushed back and the flight attendants went through their requisite safety pantomime , bored smiles pasted on their faces, the woman was reading a medical journal. She briefly put it down as the plane accelerated down runway 19R and took off over Newport Beach, then banked right over Avalon on Catalina Island, and climbed to cruising altitude. At 10,000 feet, the double chime sounded. The flight attendant announced it was OK to use portable electronic devices, then recited a litany of devices that were considered taboo. The woman took out her laptop and opened it and began working on a spreadsheet. I could see the nametag on the bag that said "___ ___ M.D." And then, "Internal Medicine," which confirmed my suspicions.

After an hour or so she put away the laptop and took out a Kindle and began reading. I could see that she was reading a technical paper. Then she put that one away and read a couple more and frequently switched between screens, busily, jotting down notes, I suppose. After the flight attendants began picking up the cups and trash from the second round of drinks, I knew it was about time for the plane to begin its descent into the clouds that seem to cover the PNW so much of the time. Soon we were enveloped in a dense cottony veil as the plane bumped and slewed its way downward on its initial approach to SEA. When we pulled up to the gate, the woman smiled at me and remarked that it had been a smooth flight and we exchanged pleasantries. Last time I saw her, she was talking on her iPhone as she disappeared into the crowd with all her electronic gadgets.

I don't know how typical my observations of the Internist's busy life is of the breed in general, but I suspect a lot of doctors, especially those who are still working to establish their practices and pay their bills are rather disconnected from what the rest of us experience by their work schedule and their need to constantly stay on top of their craft.

I too have asthma but since being on the hose I have used my inhaler maybe 3 times TOTAL in a month. Before CPAP I used it at least 3 times a day! I suspect my chronic cough was due to the snoring keeping my throat dry and irritated. I had days where I could barely talk. I dreaded conference calls at work because most of the time I couldn't speak when it was my turn. I have researched all my meds and switched anything that could cause coughing to something that shouldn't.

Although, I am not really enjoying hooking up to the machine every night, the difference it has made already is incredible! I have to love that. I just need to work on keeping it on longer each night. Last night I made it to 5.9 hours, so little by little I am getting better! I never dreamt CPAP would be the solution, I was starting to think I had some weird undiscovered lung disease. My coughing was so bad that I've thrown up pretty much everywhere. In the car while driving, wastebasket at work, once on a shelf at my local Target store!! (Yes I cleaned it up). I used to carry plastic bags in my purse because I never knew when and where I would be when the coughing fits took over.Sorry for the weak stomached this may be TMI, but if this could help someone else.

I suppose like all thing in life ,there will be good CPAP days and bad ones too. I wish all of you more good days than bad and cannot express how glad I am to have found this forum!! I am sure I would have given up after a few days without you all!

I have bronchial asthma and a chronic post-nasal drip, so many times during the year I have a chronic cough. for the last 20+ years (since I was a pre-teen) I got bronchitis at least once per year - so I feel your pain.

I've only been on CPAP for about a month, and so haven't really noticed a big difference, but I am finding my cough more productive these days. Maybe something is helping the post-nasal drip by keeping my airway open at night?