post nasal drip/chest heaviness/coughing

[karo2991]

For almost 2 years, I've had this chronic cough and chest heaviness.  I had ex-rays about 1 1/2 years ago, and everything was fine.  The cough is usually non-productive.  It's almost like I have a tickle in my chest.  Does anyone have this?  I don't know if I have post nasal drip or not.  I've always had chronic rhinitis and use a nasal spray, but I'm getting worried that this could be something worse.  I have a drs. appointment in a week, but I'm a nervous wreck.  Did I mention that I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, too?  Any relation to the other problems you think?

[karo2991]

Thank you so much for responding.  I tend to always diagnose myself with every fatal condition.  I also have shortness of breath right now, but that's probably because I'm a nervous wreck.  Thank you again.  You have made me feel better:)

[Victoireh]

Do you clear your throat a lot? Or feel like something is stuck in your throat? That's post nasal drip. A dry cough can be induced by asthma, GERD and post nasal drip. For some people, they don't have any of the typical symptoms of reflux disease, rather they have a dry cough as their only symptom. Apparently it's the bodies way of protecting itself from the acidic contents that have made it's way into the esophagus. There is a test that is done by sticking a piece of pH paper down your esophagus to see how acidic it gets over the course of 24 hours. This is considered the gold standard test. The barium swallow and others are not as reliable. There is a form of asthma known as "cough-variant" asthma. You can get pulmonary function test to confirm for it. Certainly have GAD doesn't help as for some people they can have a psychogenic cough, but this is only determined after everything else has been ruled out. 90% of coughs are caused by these three things: GERD, asthma and post nasal drip. So ease up, nothing horrific most likely. But yes it is good to check it out. Best to be safe then sorry.