acid reflux/ can't breath

[BubblegumUK]

I've had a cough for over 3 weeks, in the last week my breathing got worse, to the point where if i lie down and sleep i wake up unable to breath. I've been to A and E and he said it was acid reflux.

its awful, i cough and my airways seem to close and i have difficulty breathing. I hate it. I haven't wikipedia'd it because thats the worse place to look, but i did briefly see a line saying it could be life long?

Has anybody else experienced this?

I'm scared to sleep in case i wake up choking.

I'm taking gaviscon at the moment, doesn't seem to be doing a great deal in terms of breathing, but the coughing seems to be less.

My sleep has been very very poor since august when i came off my medication, i work nights 4 nights a week and i'm in a constant stare of jet lag, have been doing it for 17 months and i am absolutely f*ucked. Can this kind of lifestyle induce this kind of illness?

i do know that working nights can reduce life expectancy which scares the crap out of me. They won't let me go on days, so i have 3 options, get myself sacked, quit, or get the my therapist and GP to get me to reduce hours based on medical grounds.

Hoe long does this acid reflux thing last? is it possible to die in your sleep?

I'm so fed up with stuff, somebody pleaaaaaase talk to me about it.

Thankyou

---------- Post added at 14:47 ---------- Previous post was at 14:39 ----------

If my GP tells me its anxiety i'm going to scream, i'm such an anxious person about so many things, especially my health which is always very high, anxiety can't be the cause of everything can it?! Every thing i go to see them about, i'm told "oh its anxiety" but i really can't breath sometimes, its so horrible. I still keep thinking the a and e man has missed stuff :(

[tigerlark]

I've never experienced acid reflux, but I have experienced the feeling like you can't breathe and the nervous cough. I also get bronchitis seasonally, so I often have coughs. Anyway, you can have panic and anxiety attacks in your sleep. That might be what you're experiencing when you wake up feeling like you can't breathe, but it's hard to be sure. I CAN tell you that worrying about it will only make it worse. If you've already seen your doctor and done all you can do, rest your mind at ease and trust your doctor because they are capable.

Also, keep in mind that your body has this thing where you can't hold your breath until you die, unless there's something physically blocking your airway or you're having an allergic reaction or something. Try holding your breath for a really long time and see what happens. You will either pass out and start breathing again, or your lungs will automatically make you gasp for air. This is actually how a lot of people drown.

Anyway, definitely don't worry because worrying never changes or fixes anything! Chin up and hugs to you! And remember that I believe in you.

Sarah

[BubblegumUK]

Thankyou sarah ^_^ hugs to you too.

Thats the thing, when i cough, sometimes if i can't bring up the phlegm, it seems to get stuck for a while and it feels like i can't get enough air :( sometimes its just when i cough. Its worse after i've eaten though and when sleeping, subsequently i've been scared to sleep incase i wake up choking like i did the other day.

The doctor said it was acid reflux, but then i stupidly looked on netdoctor and read loads of shit, freaked out and had a horrible anxiety attack, took me ages to calm down.

i feel a bit better today thankfully, but that could be because i've had a bit of sleep.

I try and trust the doctors, but i keep thinking that they have mis-diagnosed me, or they haven't checked properly, or that when i go away the signs that should have been picked up will become a lot more apparent.

My anxiety is pretty bad, on a waiting list to see somebody, wish it would hurry up!

Thankyou for your reply, hope you're well

[LittleMissSleepy]

what kind of cough have you had ?
Might be worth raising your bed (pillow end), and not wearing tight clothing, adjusting your diet and avoid really hot drinks.

If it continues ask to see if it is worth a visit to a GI specialist or some proper ant-acids.

I also have these issues and the not being able to breath is so scary.

[BubblegumUK]

Well my cough started out as chesty, all flemmy on my chest, fearing a chest infection i went to gp but they saiud it was fine, it just viral and not backetrial, pheww!! then it turned into a very bad tickly cough, coughing all the time all day, then it started to subside a little bit in the 3rd week but then noticed a week ago that when i coughed i'd have a bit of difficulty breathing, which then lead to the situation i'm in now.

I have been sleeping sat up or at a high angle, i still wake up though, cough and usually end up feeling like i'm choking.

I was prescribed some omerazapole (sp) 10mg yesterday, i've jus taken the first one about 15 mins ago, she said i am to take one in the morning and one at night. Having had a bad reaction to medication a while back, i am now very fearful of taking anything, even fearful of taking gaviscon last week :( i'm sat hear typing and trying not to think about it too much because i might end up inducing side effects which aren't really there if ya know what i mean?

The breathing is horrible, has it eased at all? got worse? tablets help?

thankyou

[Daisy Sue]

hi Bubblegum.. don't know if this might reassure you, but my Mum has IBS and GERD - is on medicine for acid reflux. one of her additional symptoms which doesn't seem stomach related is constant post nasal catarrgh, which runs from her sinus's down the back of the throat at night, makes her cough in the morning and she has to get rid of it before she can start her day. she's been told by more than one doc that it's related to the acid reflux.

[BubblegumUK]

Thanks daisy ^_^

i just can't seem to breath when i cough but its 10x more at night, its horrid.

I've been to the doctors and a and e and they said its the acid reflux as you know, but i can't help but think they've misdiagnosed me, i hate feeling like this.

Could somebody PLEASE re-assure me that i'm experiencing sounds like acid reflux?

I don't taste anything acidy, my stomach doesn't hurt, i just have a cough, lots of fluid/saliva, a warm, feeling down my throat and find it difficult to breath sometimes when i cough. Its worse at night, and when i do a lot of bending and physical work, and after eating a meal, espeically a fatty one.

I'm on the omeprazole, i started yesterday morning on 10mg, took another before bed, and 1 this morning, my cough is less frequent, but i still feel like my throat is getting clogged up with stuff, and if i can't bring it up when i cough, it feels like i can't breath cause its like it gets lodged there for a few moments, please has anybody experiened these symptoms? everybody seems to have the whole burning chest thing, i'm worried so much :( :( :( i always need constant re-assurance

now i'm dizzy too, part of me is thinking its the omeprazole, part of me is thinking its the brain tumor i've though i've had for over 3 years, and this cough thing is linked to it as its spreads. i know it sounds ****ed up but these are the thoughts i'm getting :( i try and distract myself but they always come back.

[Daisy Sue]

you've got a mixture of real physical things and anxiety things going on, i think...

real was the viral cough, as is the over-production of whatever this fluid is.. probably acid, possibly catarrgh too.. plus it sounds like you could have sleep depravation..

i strongly suspect the rest of it is anxiety.

we all know how physical symptoms can set the anxiety ones off, so try and focus on these.. can you take something to give you a better night's sleep when you're not on nights? or sleep during the day? the omeprazole should start to work on the acid production quite quickly, so hopefully that will ease the other fluid/cough symptoms..

also, if you've got the remains of the cough virus - and sometimes the cough hangs around for ages after - you could try putting a wet towel on your radiator in the bedroom before you go to sleep.. it helps hydrate the air you're breathing in while you sleep.

[illgetthere]

i suffer extreme acid reflux i wrote a post about it couple weeks ago i was omeprazole 20mg worked a while till i forgot to take it 1 day and boy did i know about it the acid was way up the back of my nose in my ears known as silent reflux i was scared stiff i started taking manuka honey 3 times a day an hour before food or just on its own and actimal once a day so far so good id give it a try !!

[BubblegumUK]

Thankyou both (((hugs)))

A lot of people keep saying a lot of it is anxiety, i try and believe it is but its so hard to rationalize when it comes to my health, i'm so fearful of my health and getting ill. I was under my duvet earlier, with the heater on, in a jumper, and my jacket and i was still cold :( i was cold in a hot bath the other day, i just know somethings not right with me. Doctors keep saying its anxiety too.

I really believe that night shifts is killing me, i'm desperate to come off them, i know if i carry on much longer i'm going to end up dead, its ruining my body internally and emotionally i'm really suffering.

I used to take valium to sleep, but apparently that will make my breathing worse so i'm advized not to take it whilst i'm on the omeprazole. My body never seems to know where it is with sleep, by the end of the 4 day shifts i start to sleep a bit more, but then its my days off, and then when i try and sleep at night, i can't sleep which means i'm exhausted on my days off, so the quality of my days off is ruined by it, which is making me more miserable.

I've had 3 x 10mg pills so far, the cough has reduced a bit and it feels a bit easier in my throat, but i still keep choking/stopping breathing on occasions when i cough, and i can't help but think there is something else going on which is making me stop breathing, if its reduced the cough, why has it not stopped the breathing thing? :( :( I hope you're right cause its really getting me down :(



I'll have to get some honey then, and i'll try that, thankyou both

[musicchick581]

I have the same thing but I have GERD. I'm awake right now because two hours ago I woke with inability to breathe and feeling like something was stuck in my throat. Then of course I panic and it makes it worse. I'm trying hard not to panic. Your post is a year old but did you find relief? What did you do? I'm seeing a gastroenterologist Friday. It's Tuesday now.

---------- Post added at 03:43 ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 ----------

Oh and I don't have too much cough but when I do my throat spazzes and I can't breathe. I try to avoid coughing

[B_uk87]

Hi, I have just had the same happen! Woken up in a panic with a deep tickle in my chest and a wheeze and need to keep clearing my throat. Had a mini panic attack when my breathing felt tight but have managed to calm myself down but still having to cough, wheeze and clear throat! This occasionally happens at night which I know can be a sure sign of reflux. I sometimes get it during the day too especially after I’ve eaten certain foods or sometimes when I’m overly hungry. How are you doing now?