Need someone to tell me it's all in my head

[Hansagan]

Hi all, a brief background...51 y/o non smoker, I had a mild cold back in early november and the symptoms persisted for about a month after in the form of a ticklish cough and some congestion. So far, so reasonably normal. But now its over three months later, and I'm still dealing with throat congestion, throat clearing, chest tightness and the occasional ticklish cough, maybe once a day. My physical fitness seems unaffected, I can still go 20 mins uphill on the treadmill without too much effort. Sometimes my voice is really croaky in the morning, sometimes it isn't, and generally clears up fairly quickly. Absolutely everything seems to point to Post nasal drip or catarrh, but...I can't get the thought of Lung c out of my head. Every time I get a ticklish cough, its the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes I'm in a state of tension all day waiting for a ticklish cough to come. Yesterday it didn't. The previous two days, it did.

Saw the doctor yesterday, he gave me some medication to clear up post nasal drip, listened to my chest and said it sounded clear, but they never want to say 'no, I'm sure it's not (Insert disease here)

I will state that that I'm currently about a month into a seperation from a 25 year relationship, so my mental state isn't exactly optimum, and my anxiety levels are generally through the roof, so I just need someone to talk some sense to me, please. I just want to move past this and get on with my life. Thank you.

[jojo2316]

So i do sympathise. I am a month out of flu and still coughing and (as i knew I would!!) i am thinking of lung cancer even though i KNOW post viral coughs are normal. Also the act of coughing irritates the delicate membranes in your trachea which causes more coughing! It is a vicious cycle. But you know this. So sorry to hear you are going through a tough time….

[ErinKC]

This sounds like silent reflux!! I just went through the exact thing. I always forget that this can happen and start out thinking I'm getting sick or it's my lungs, etc... But reflux high up on the throat causes literally every single one of these symptoms. I bet that the cough you had with your cold prompted it (and the stress you're under isn't helping!) - I always get worse reflux when I have a cough. And when it's high up like this you don't usually get the normal heart burn feeling, so it's so easy to miss. I'm usually remiss to tell someone on here to google, but if you look up laryngopharyngeal reflux, you'll see that it can cause everything you have, including the chest tightness.

I would pick up a longer-acting antacid like Pepcid (famotidine), switch to a low-acid diet for a week, and see if these things go away. Ignore anything you see when you google about people dealing with this long-term. Any time I get a flair up a week of mild eating and antacids kicks it. It's such a simple fix for a zillion scary symptoms that seem like something else. It's really a rouge, this silent reflux. The first time it happened to me I kept using my inhaler that I have for when my seasonal allergies get bad and I couldn't figure out why it wasn't helping my breathing. Finally I talked to my doctor and she figured it out. The inhaler was making it worse because it was loosening up my airway and letting MORE acid splash in.

It can also CAUSE post-nasal drip and other sinus symptoms. I've never felt more confident about advice to someone on here - please let me know if this works!

[Hansagan]

That might explain why when I used a nasal spray it actually made the PND far worse…I’ll try a few things and report back, thank you :)

[Pkstracy]

I go through this and I have acid reflux, also stress can cause this, post nasal drip, not drinking enough water.

[ErinKC]

That might explain why when I used a nasal spray it actually made the PND far worse…I’ll try a few things and report back, thank you :)

For sure! A lot of people online swear by gargling with warm water ands baking soda. I didn’t have any baking soda during my flare, so I didn’t try it, but could be worth a try. Good luck!