why am i coughing?

[sharpie90]

i have had a cough for about a month now. i am a smoker and ive been smoking for about 6 months. i never cough while im smoking or afterwards. i can go hours with out coughing, but when i do cough it only lasts a few seconds. ive tried robutusin and that didnt work. my breathing is normal there is no tightness in my chest im not weezing and im able to still work out and take deep breaths and i dont have asthma. i talked to a pharmacist and he said it should go away especially since i dont have any of those symptoms. im not even coughing up phlem or anything at all really. does anyone have any ideas on how i can cure this?

thank you for your time.

[LivingInHope]

The doctor was telling you something beneficial for those who suffer with GERD.  The heavy meal tends to cause more acid reflux and thus could cause more of the coughing that you are concerned about, if GERD indeed is the source of your cough.  An ear nose and throat specialist or a GI specialist can take a look at your throat and see if it reveals evidence of GERD.   A barium swallow study can reveal if acid is coming back up your throat as well.

Regarding you eating only one meal a day-  if you decide to stop smoking (which speeds up metabolism) for the sake of your health, then you will want to not just eat one meal a day if you are concerned about weight gain, because eating one meal a day slows your metabolism and can cause it, plus just stopping smoking I believe often leads to gaining weight because of the slowing of your metabolism so you'd have two things potentiallly causing the packing on of pounds.  

If you are  taking time to smoke during breaks in work and school, and you decide to quit & and are contending with a common effect of GERD, you will reward yourself with an increase in  time available to eat snacks, avoiding the necessity of the heavy meal that may be making your symptoms worse.

[gottilove9]

hey, yeah i totally get that, i started smoking after a really bad day, like complete breakdown. life is hard so i totally get the stress thing! they really only come (it sounds crazy) when something is really funny and i laugh really hard, or if i need one then i can't stop coughing til i get one..
ohhh freaking addiction.. lol

[sharpie90]

why cant i eat heavy meals? i only eat one meal a day what is it spoused to be soup. between work and school there is no time to eat so dont give me that eat 5 times a day ive already heard it

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
In your case the cough could be due to either post nasal drip or due to gastric reflux, both of which could be due to smoking. Ideally you should quit smoking and try to manage stress by deep breathing exercises, walks, listening to music etc. Other than that you could take antacid gels and Omeprazole. Eat light. Avoid heavy meals.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[LivingInHope]

You may have what they call "post nasal drip".  GERD (gastroesopahgeal reflux disease) is a frequent result of smoking.  I hope you take gottilove9's advice and quit while you haven't been smoking for long.  It is not the answer to managing your stress, it is a way to give you more stress by damaging your health.  I have an uncle who died at a young age because of smoking.  I have an in-law that always gets colds in his chest because of being a former smoker.
For stress management- have you tried exercising, taking vitamin B 50 time release, magnesium, deep breathing, playing relaxing music and taking strategic break times where you do something relaxing?

[sharpie90]

may seem gross but it seems that im always sniffling and swallowing snot. not ALWAYS but frequently.

[sharpie90]

i cant function without smoking im taking a full load and right now its finals time. hard to quite when you have so much stress in your life all the time.. thanks love9. do your coughing spells ever go away or/and does anyone have any more ideas?,,,,

[gottilove9]

I am also a smoker, for almost a year now, and I get coughing spells sometimes as well. For me, it just means my body wants a cig. Once I have one I'm good for a while. I'm not sure that you can cure it besides what I just said but that's only making the situation worse as I know. If I can give any advice, it's if you're still at that stage that you're not really super addicted I would recommend quitting while you are that way.. I'm past that point and wish I wouldn't have let myself get to this point!
Hope that helped some!