Problem with throat closing over when spasm coughing.

Over the past three months I have been suffering with these symptoms which can start at any time of the day or night,I suddenly start coughing and my windpipe goes into spasm and I cannot breathe in or out.The noise of me struggling to breathe frightens everyone in the house and I get terrified. Some of the attacks can last for almost a minute and when I finally start breathing again my throat is irritating for sometimes  for up to two or three hours. I am almost afraid to sleep because of this.The worst attacks would wake me up just before starting ; this would be at about 2am. Latterly it has been starting at about 3am which I now realise is the same time as the clocks have been put forward by one hour to summer time. While my windpipe is in spasm there is a watery fluid coming up into the throat wehich I have to allow to run out to prevent the spasm from getting worse. I have left my doctors unable to offer me an explanation .These attacks happen on a daily or nightly basis and still occur at least once in a twentyfour period. Kenneth at ***@****

I'm wondering if you go see an acupuncturist for this, if you haven't tried. When something happens at a specific time, acupuncturists can look at their charts to see what organ correspons to which specific time. I was looking at this site because I had a windpipe spasm last night. But when I saw your comment, I thought of my other problem which is a large intestine. I had a pain every morning at the same time on my upper left abdomen, but no doctors could tell which organ it was, till I mentioned this to my acupuncturist. She said between 6-7am corresponded to large intestines. I went to see two doctors since then, and they said that it was a large intestine where it was hurting. Sometimes, a illness or a symptom is related to things that you never thought of. May be an acupuncturist could tell you something you didn't know. Besides he/she may be able to help you directly with your windpipe spasm.

To Midgely,

I have had this attack a few times.  I think your problem is acid reflux.  I know that is what I have.  When I lay down at night the acid goes to up my windpipe and It hits the voice box area.  And I cant breathe in or out.   I go into a panic.   About every twenty seconds a get a little air by gasping, alot weird noises.  Cant talk.  Ask doctor about getting acid reducing medicine, also sleep with two to three pillows so acid can not climb into throat area.  Acid reflux during the day also can start your windpipe going into spasms.  You should go to a GI doctor.  And get your throat and stomach looked at.  The extra pillow took time to get use to.  But I dont get the acid going up anymore.  Hope everything goes well for you.

Hi Barry,  I have just had the very same for almost 2 weeks and i can confirm this is very frightening. My air supply would be cut off for about 30 to 40 seconds at a time when coughing. I dont think it is anything to do with Acid reflux because i have suffered  with this for many years with no choking. I am just getting over the throat problem now and the choking is getting less but i want to get to the bottom of the problem because i dont want to have this again. If i come up with anything i will let you know or if you or anyone else can throw some light on this my email is ***@****
Many thanks Ray

This is Barry again. Thank you all for your comments. I too can rule out anything to do with acid and like so many of you people the doctors cannot help as they are way off the mark. I just wait until I get that sore throat and straight into the antibiotics which I have on me all times. Will continue to keep everyone posted on this debilitating problem.

II have had this problem since about the 4th grade.  That is about how far back I can remember.  I am not sure if it is related to whopping cough.  When I get the sinus/cough type cold it last a month it seems.  My spasm cough starts with a tickle in the throat.  I have to cough.  When this happens I try to excuse myself from whatever scene I am in.  I go somewhere so nobody sees me look rediculous.   Nothing helps.  I raise my arms to try to breathe and/or I have pushed really hard on my chest, trying to push the air bubble out.  It feels like a hug air bubble in there blocking the ability to breathe.  Yesterday, when it was over I burped!  Hmm, I never noticed that before.  I aim to check into this problem because I am now 47.  I do not know if my body can handle this when I am in my 70s or 80s.  It is scary.
Look forward to finding more info, so I am going to continue to google this.

hi
I have had a cough for about two weeks, when i cough my throat and chest feel sore. i went to the doctors who reluctantly gave me anti bi otics, the sore ness went but the cough continues, I notice i have a lot of catarh which wont dry up. today after a coughing spell, i found i was unable to breath in, i was making some scarry noises which frieghtend my son and I, this lasted about 40 to 60 seconds. I also noticed that I had a lot of water coming into my mouth, I was trying to swollow this as well. I was realy scared, but after reading your comments, and some other web entries I feel calmer, I think I will go to the doctor to put my mind at rest, mean while no coughing. karen

I have suffer with acid reflux and asthma. My reflux has me coughing all night long. I also take a blood pressure pill that list one of the side effects is coughing. my asthma sumptoms Ihave mucous come up with small beads  that are thick. I have a dry cough with acid reflux and have heart burn and a Burning stomach.

I have the same thing and this is the first time it has manifested two weeks ago. I am a retired paramedic and when this first happened, I went into a coughing fit just after waking up. I had a CPAP on. My throat closed completely for about 30 seconds. I ended up swallowing the air that was coming through. I looked around the night stand for a pair of scissors or something to do a cricothirotomy. I couldn't find any, so I tried to stop panicking. The spasm dissipates if I stay calm, but I have very labored and stridorous breaths (still can't really breathe when this happens). It comes on with a ticklish feeling in the back of my throat. Sputum or nasal mucous makes it worse and also triggers my gag reflex as this is happening, which makes it all the more distressing.

Onset of symptoms were deep chest congestion, low fever, and productive cough which became more violent as I needed to cough up mucous. Whatever this is ate azithromycin like it was candy. Next antibiotic was a course of levafloxacin. The levafloxacin seems to have slowed the deep respiratory infection. Doctor also wanted me on OTC Mucinex q 12h. Also OTC Zyrtec OD. I had a codiene cough syrup which I changed to DM, which works better for me (non-narcotic), but none of these things is really effective.

I also had to fight with my HMO and doctor's staff to get back in to see the doctor and get some face time with her for the second visit. It was downplayed as 'bronchitis.' Third time I got in because I "stopped breathing." I was presecribed 4mg methylprednisolone to relieve the swelling in my throat. This is a seven day course of pre-packaged pills. The first day, the swelling went down substantially and I was able to survive a coughing fit without closure and stridor. Now I'm on my fourth day and the dosage is going down. I find I'm okay up to a few hours after taking one, but it wears off too soon. I was bolt upright at 4 AM today with stridor. A Proventil inhaler does nothing for this at all.

On my second visit, I suggested to my doctor that she do a sputum culture to see what specifically this was. She did not like the idea (what would a culture have cost the HMO?) and just said to try the levafloxacin, which worked, but did nothing for the swelling. Close as I can tell, this is epiglottitis that may be caused by fatigue in the anatomical structures of the throat and not of HIB or other common causes of epiglottitis. She concurred. My next course of treatment would likely be to see an ear-nose-throat specialist and be 'scoped' under anesthesia to see the extent of irritation.

Couple of things - I do not have acid reflux. I have no history of asthma. I have been sleeping upright with pillows and I still get laryngeospasms. I can be breathing normally, then it feels like a mucous plug has freed up or I moved and it feels like there's congestion I need to get out and I get an urge to cough it out. Like others have said, when I do, everything gets irritated and swells up. When I am in laryngeospasm, I tear up, salavate, and get a lot of nasal mucus. Like you guys, if I stop after two coughs, I can stop from spasming. I can't do that at night, so I, too, am afraid to fall asleep as I can kinda do something about it if I'm awake.

Now my daughter has started coughing. She knows about what I've gone through and I taught her to be calm and not panick if she does get a throat spasm. We also bought her something to make noise with to get help if she gets to the level of what I have.

I'm more alarmed that doctors tend to downplay this and write it off as asthma or bronchitis. Seems the only thing these diagnoses do is tie people to thousands of dollars a year in recurring perscriptions, but deliver no results. I'm alarmed that this seems to recur in you guys and nothing seems to help it.

I am going to get through the weekend without going to the ER (hopefully) and then ask her to up-dose the methylprednisolone (this does work for me) and continue it for a longer period. The 21 pack at 4mg is too light-duty and for a guy who is 125 kg, probably being metabolized very quickly.

I'm going to bookmark this page and check back frequently. GOOD LUCK everyone!

Barry again, The "fat guy" has it much worse than me. I would like him to keep us informed of his progress in relation to methylprednisolone as it may well be the help I need. Although I dont think it is something you can take for any length of time as I know prednisolone is powerful stuff and you need to wean off it.

I came across this thread while Googling after similar symptoms I've experienced recently. I had a bit of a cold recently, and still have lingering congestion symptoms, often clearing mucus from the throat, light coughing, etc.

First time was last weekend.  Was coughing up some phlegm in the shower, and the coughs were getting pretty deep. I think the coughing triggered a swallow, and once I swallowed, my throat closed up and I couldn't breathe (although technically am I breathing if there is a loud heaving/wheezing in and out but it doesn't feel like I'm getting any air?). I had never been so frightened in my life; was trying to draw a breath for probably about 30 seconds or so before my throat finally opened up and I was ok again.

Nothing for a few days.  Then last night, twice I woke up coughing, which again triggered a swallow and the throat closing up.  I think because I didn't panic this time and knew it would probably pass shortly, I was only unable to draw air for 10-15 seconds, but still obviously fairly scary.

I'm fairly young and have yet to need to use my health insurance, so I'm scrambling to find a PCP in New York City, to at begin the process of figuring out what is going.

I too will be checking back here often, as well as giving my own updates.

Hi All,

I think I've figured out what's going on in my situation. About a day after I wrote this, my kids' school district sent an email telling us they were experiencing an ongoing problem with a pertussis "outbreak." As school emails go, this one was very vague. With a little digging, it seems that the elementary school my younger kids go to was one of two sites that had students with "whooping cough." After some more digging, the pertussis vaccine lasts for about 5 years and is 85% effective. Most kids don't get it, but can become carriers. The problem is in older teens and adults whose immunity has worn down. My symptoms were characteristic of whooping cough. The first several times I had what's called paroxysmal cough, it was a dire emergency. My throat closed off and I could not take in a breath for at least 30 seconds, sometimes more. When I could, it was very slow to come back and I had very loud stridor (the whoop noise) that indicated an upper airway blockage.

In retrospect, the azithromycin was the drug of choice for pertussis, but I may have had a secondary infection that did respond to the levafloxacin. Nine days later, I no longer have the stridorous spasms, although I still have paroxysmal coughing that is triggered by post nasal drip, stress, and exposure to cold air. Sipping on some liquid helps, as does having something handy to receive the discharge I cough up (otherwise I cough even more). This discharge is a very viscous, clear discharge. I cough until I run out of air in my lungs. Then I try to relax, count to ten, and take in a breath. I can usually breathe at that point. No more whoop. The danger I perceive is if this happens to me with a mouthful of food. It can go down the wrong way and I can actually choke, or the food in the wrong place may cause an infection.

My daughter was taken from school immediately when she began to feel sick. Today is day 5 of her azithromycin treatment. She has not "whooped" at all. I've read in literature that early treatment may possibly arrest the disease. Hope that's so. My wife has not experienced any of this, nor have my younger children.

Scared breathless,
My husband had the flu and then a cough for over 3 weeks and coughs until he passes out almost every day.  They have done some tests now and I think he will be seeing a specialist, but when he coughs and becomes unconcious it is very scary and it must be harmful to his body and dangerous.

When he coughs really hard and cannot stop, his throat closes off and he just cannot get a breath of air. He has tried: Cough medicine, antibiotics, steroids and an inhaler. Keeping a thermos of hot tea by the bed helps him in the night more than anything else so far. He doesn't have his usual energy and is getting depressed by this ordeal. I don't think it is whooping cough because he doesn't whoop at all.  None of the rest of the family have got his bug.

Dingaling2005 - I no longer have the whoop (I've only had a "whoop" for about a week). It has gone to coughing fits. I get a ticklish feeling in the back of my throat/ upper chest which feels like I *HAVE TO* cough, then, it if I cough, I will cough 10 - 15 times rapidly in a row until I completely run out of air. Sometimes I vomit in the end because of my gag reflex. Running out of air is like a crushing feeling and sometimes I have to brace myself because I feel like I'm going to pass out. Not all the time, but sometimes, like this morning. That coughing fit (paroxysmal coughing) happens about 10 - 20 times a day for me, but each day it seems to be less and less severe compared to when it happened. I can stop some of my coughing episodes after two or three coughs now, but I am completely exhausted after a long fit, and the ticklish feeling is still there most of the time. No whoop anymore. Some of the literature I've read shows some people never manifesting with inspiratory stridor. My doctor's office took a nasal swab one week after I had undergone antibiotic treatment and I recently received a letter from them that it was negative for pertussis. Still, what I went through and my wife observed from me initially was unmistakable. I too was given like $160 worth of non-formulary medications as a shotgun treatment. Most of them were for asthmatics. Virtually none of them worked. Well, only one did. The methylprednisolone reduced swelling in my throat after all the coughing started, but those were only 21 pills. I remember nearly emptying my puffer during my first spasm and throwing it at the wall because it was completely ineffective and my throat was completely closed. I thought I was going to die right there. Then my doctor was amazed. "Why, I can't understand why it didn't work!" When I get over this, I'll be looking for a new physician who can give me more face time and doesn't have a pool of 10,000 patients to deal with. I feel like a write-off because I wasn't "simple."

And, I'm angry at my children's school district for not telling parents that there had been a pertussis outbreak specifically at my children's elementary school. I received a non-descript mollifying email the day before my daughter started coughing. I only learned it was my younger children's school because of a chatty school nurse in my older daughter's high school. I'm also angry at myself for not knowing that pertussis vaccines do not build life-long immunity and that they're only good for about 5 years. My last tetanus shot was only a tetanus shot, nothing more. There are vaccines that include pertussis.

Good luck to your husband. Try a humidifier in the room. I breathe easier in a steamy shower. I hope his specialist will spend some time with him and take the time to actually diagnose what he has. Even though we may not have the same thing, I can completely empathize with him! Please advise!

I have a coughing fit like 10 times a day depending if its a good day, when i am finished my coughing fit my airway closes off for about 5-10 seconds then it eases off its pretty scary and its really embarrassing at work i freak everyone out cause i gasp for air afterwords, my doctors don't have a clue what it is either they called it a "post viral infection" that was supposed to clear up in a week but its going on two months now and its just as bad as it ever was.
  
One of my "fits" was at a friends house it was the worst, I passed out for a full minute on the floor I was coughing so much that i couldn't get any air especially because my throat closes off afterwords so i guess my body couldn't take it, that was a close call, I hope someone finds out what this is I'm only 16 years old i don't want to die of suffocation because of a stupid cough...

I am presently going through the very similar problem. I've been prescribed antibiotics at the moment. One thing that has been very handy for me is a drinking straw. I always carry it in my pocket. When wheezing, it sends a jet of air directionally to the trhought.I hope this advise might get helpful to someone in trouble...

hi,
I have the same problem as barry, I get a bit of a sore throat and then a dry cough, then when I  cough my throat closes over completely and I cant breathe at all for quite a few seconds, then when finally my breath is able to get through it feels as though it is through a pin hole, it is the most terrifying thing and I have had it three times now, I would love any advice or help in dealing with this.  It is most definately not a panic attack, luckily when it has happened my husband has been with me and called an ambulance, they gave me adreniline and it seemed to help, my doctor wont prescibe me an adrenilin pen, but I think having one to hand would help to give me a bit of piece of mind, has any one else found adrenline helped.  does anyone know what causes it and how to handle it.
I am a 48 year old female who is normal very healthy, mild asthma in the hayfever season.
I cant seem to get a lot of joy from my doctor.
any help would be much appreciated, I was so scared and feel quite traumatised by it.
Frances

Hi, it's good to know that I'm not alone with this problem. I have had this condition for over 10 years now. My throat closes in response to excessive mucous or food "going down the wrong way". I had very bad attacks initially where I nearly passed out and have learned to avoid swimming pools and crumbly foods. My Doctor (I live in England) sent me for investigations luckily it's free here and I had all sorts of tests done. They concluded that I had a hysterical reaction.... not very helpful when you are having near death experiences.
I was diagnosed with asthma a couple of years later but asthma attacks are much different to the throat closing episodes.
I have learned to cope over the years first off...DON'T PANIC try to tell yourself that you are getting a little air in. Also tell yourself that if you do pass out you'll probably relax enough to breathe. Do not run away from people or lock yourself in the loo as I once did with embarrassment.When you learn not to panic and avoid coughing too much you will learn to deal with this. It's interesting to read about the Pertussis (whooping cough) thing because I have had whooping cough twice even though I was injected against it. I can remember panicking and trying to shout for my mother when I was vomiting and choking as a child. I don't know if this made me over sensitive? I do find my Ventolin inhaler helps but this could be because I am doing something constructive/diversional. I am generally allergic to insect bites etc.I think an epipen would be useful to carry round if you can get one.
Hang on in there and good luck,
Christine.

Hi, my husband is 44 yrs old he first thought he had a fresh cold because of the coughing.  Then he started the coughing like 7-9 times in a row all of a sudden passes out and all this clear fluid is running from his mouth.  At this point he is not aware of anything for the next 40-60 secs or so.  The first time he passes out I called the ems they did all kinda test and checks and said he was fine but if it happens again take him to er.  Well it has continued to happen after getting cough syrup w/codine and antibiotics too an inhaler also.  My problem no one knows what the real cause of the problem comes from I don't understand that because they are the doctors not us that's why we go to them.  I just don't want him to fall out and hurt himself when no one is at home.  He seemed like he was getting a little better fewer coughs but all of a sudden its like we are back to the beginning all over again.  I cant seem to get any sleep nor can our sons we have three now they are affraid to leave their dad alone cause they think he might pass out and not wake up.  Hopefully everyone will get answers to their questions soon and everyone will get well too.  

Hi;
I just experienced this anomally on Dec. 23rd. I like many of you have been suffering with this sinus/cough/cold. I cough all the time. The other night was bad. I had a coughing fit that started with that tickle. At the same time I took a large breath and at once my windpipe closed shut. I couldn't speak or breath. I mouthed to my husband that I couldn't breath and he called 911. They told him to have me sit down and try to remain calm. Thank God for Lamaze training.That did help me.lol. It was like breathing through one of those coffee stirrers. Within about a minute my windpipe had started to open up enough for me to talk. I told my husband to call the EMTs back and let them know they didn't have to come, but they wanted to make sure I was alright. This is the first time I have ever experienced this and am scared that if I am alonge I could die. It has made me very paranoid. It would help if I could get rid of this cough. I have been taking Mucinex which is what my doctor told me to do. It is nice to know I am not alone in this.

Wow...I thought I was having some freak episode only known to me. I experienced this in October with a sinus type issue and dry cough. My throat would get that little tickle and then I knew what was coming next. My throat would close up with a tiny passage way for air to get through. Id pretty much drop to the floor with tears and mucous running down my face and drooling. Very very scary experience!! I thought I was dying and my friend called 911. When they got here I was breathing normally but lost my voice from it. All vitals checked out fine. I went to teh Dr the following day because it occurred 2 more times. They gave me a Zpack to help if there was an infection.

The thing with me is I had my thyroid removed in June of 08 due to thyroid cancer so I thought that maybe it was something brought on by the surgery. I do have asthma and allergies that I think my cat is exacerbating. Ive had a cold for a few weeks now with a wheeze and dry cough runny nose and I had a small episode of the throat closing yet again tonight. This dry cough is seriously irritating my throat. Now that I read that everyone else on here has experienced the same thing I feel semi normal about it but the fact that no one has had it figured out...that is a whole other story. I guess its back to the Dr for me.

I have had this same problem probably for about 15 or so years.  My situation always begins the same with a little cold, then stuffy nose then the cough starts up and lasts for quite a few days.  When I go into these coughing spells and breathe in when coughing my windpipe closes up it is the most PETRIFYING thing in the world.  Alot of people say maybe it is asthma but it is not my chest closing up it is my throat/windpipe I don't understand how doctors cannot seem to actually find what this is and how to prevent it.  This is another reason I am so scared of getting a cold or make a  big thing out of being around someone with a cold because it turns into this horrible situation for me.  please write back if you know any doctors who can find out what causes this and anything that can help.  I use to feel that I was the only one with this problem.  It makes me feel a little better that I am not the only one in the world with this.

Same here folks.  I've had a bad chesty cough since Christmas, and during the past week have begun suffering this frightening closure of the windpipe with a coughing spasm.  I'm on "amoxicillin" from my GP (I'm in the UK by the way), which I've had now for a week.  It's clearing the mucous a little, in that it has now turned a paler shade, but the cough is the same.  

My worst time is in the mornings, and it seems that shortly after waking I'll cough involuntarily and the windpipe just shuts completely.  I find I can force a bit of air out, but can't get anything in, and become a burping, salivating, grunting imbecile!  It's the most scary thing I've ever experienced.  I'm in my fifties, and pretty healthy normally, this is the first cold/chest infection I've had in years.  

Although the spasm lasts only for a few seconds, maybe 15-20, it feels like I'm never going to be able to breathe again.  My doctor says it's due to the collapse of the windpipe around the voicebox after expellation of all the air in the lungs due to the severe cough.  The only advice I'm given is to try to reduce the amount of air expelled, and to try to keep the throat lining moist...neither of which is something I can actually do when struck by this awful invountary coughing spasm!  I guess the good thing at least is that we're all still here, so it's clearly not going to kill us, eventhough it feels like it might at the time!  I'm just praying that it'll stop soon, hopefully when the current ches infection abates.

Really good to find this site, and to at least understand that others have exactly the same thing happening to them, and that it's going to be OK, eventually...

lol
Peter

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one to experience all of the above. Two nights ago it happened again, at 1.00am. The first time was about 4 years ago. My wife has had laryngitus for about a week and a half, now I have it. Anyway, we saw our doctor yesterday, he asked me if I was hyperventilating, I said no. Did I have an acid reflux attack, I said no. Well, he said, next time it happens breathe in and out of a paper bag. You need carbon dioxide to help you breathe properly. So, I have a paper bag by the bed now, trouble is, how do do I breathe in and out of the bag if I can't breathe at all? I told the doctor that I was afraid of brain damage, He said you might faint, and you would relax, even your throat will relax and you will then breathe normally and you will wake up. I want that in writing!!

Like silverbackpeter I was born in the UK but have lived in the USA for over 50 years, I'm glad he said it's going to be OK, and just in case, like Peter, I pray too....

In addition to the paper bag I will have a straw to suck on like Kreesus suggested.

Any thoughts from MD's out there?

Hai everyone! after reading all the posts here i suspect do i have the same problem or different?  Pls do help me.  I have tried all natural and home remedies along with medication but no use.  I had sorethroat in september and a week aft had cough then wheezing with cough and then severe cough.  I have been given all the medications like codral, amoxyllin, panafcort, clarithromycin etc but no use.  It's been like more than 3 months now.  I am scared to SLEEP and my ribs pain a lot and cannot move to otherside when sleeping.  I have not had a good sleep since september till now - starving to sleep.  My symptoms are fluctuating.  I also feel itching in throat and can feel air passing through which irritates and also wheezing and flem stuck somewhere.  So i really have to bend and cough to get rid of flem then automatically my wheezing goes and cough goes and i become normal.  I had all tests done the results are normal.  I don't have whooping cough or asthma or T.B or pneumonia - nothing related to lungs.  My doctor went on holidays so i waited till he came for 20 days without taking any medicine after clarithromycin but one day all of a sudden intensity of cough is decreased(why did this happen? Is it due to antibiotics that i used 20 days before which made my flem came off and resulted in less cough) but still went to my doctor.  But doctor gave me tablets to remove my flem (chesty tablets) and also asked me to use asthma puffs.  He told me i had bad congestion.  I started taking them from the beginning of jan but still feel my throat is not normal - occassionally i am having flem stucked and a bit of cough which is not a problem but not able to cough openly something is stopping me(consticted).  Why is this happening to me?  Does anyone have these symptoms?  What is it?  Do i get cough back again or do i get better to use my throat normal without any problem?  

Sorry to interrupt u all - i have been very HEALTHY till now.  Never used sick holidays as i was not really that sick anytime.  But the only problem i have is COUGH which normally goes by strong dose of antibiotics.  that's all.  This is the first time in my life since i am sick for so long which is stopping me from JOBHUNT as i cannot attend any calls or cannot go to any interviews.  I request u all to help me to get rid of this little problem so that i can continue to reach my goals. Thank you all.  I appreciate your patience

Hi Eveyone - I have the same symptoms as many of you - a tickly cough that provoces a coughing attack which sometimes results in me being unable to breathe in - my doctor says its the windpipe going into spasm - a suffocating feeling that's really scary.  It always seems to happen after a cold or throat infection of some kind and it can last several weeks.  In between each cough I struggle to get my breath and its really difficult to control the coughs - they just get stronger and stronger until the spasm occurs.  My doctor has just prescribed some medicine to relieve the sore throat which she says will then reduce the involuntary coughing and [hopefully] stop the spasms.  

hi,
I have seen two ENT specialist now and they say what I experienced was a laryngeospasm, but they dont know why, but they have both assured me that should I become unconcious due to lack of air the throat would relax and I would start to breath.  I have been given an epi pen (adrenaline) which has given me a bit of piece of mind.  I believe that what happens is the larynx gets inflamed with the infection and the cough causes it to spasm, when the medics came and put me on a nebuliser, every time I coughed my throat still kept going into spasm, even though it was for a shorter period of time, and my throat still felt as if it was just a pinprick open so it was still a struggle for the air to get in and out, but once I had the adreneline injection in the ambulance I didnt get any more throat spasms and my airway seemed to clear within about 15 minutes.  So if I were you I would ask my doctor for a epi pen, just in case and also for peace of mind.  I hope this information has helped also there are so many of us suffering from these "episodes" and we are all still here so that is positive.  Stay well.
Frances

For 3 years in a row I have come down with something (about this time jan/feb).  It starts with a mild fever, slight sore throat, and a thick mucus draining down the back of my throat.  Within hours the mucus becomes extremely thick and if I cough, it plugs my air passage and I can NOT breath for about 30 seconds - 45 seconds, then when I can breath it is very very difficult for a few minutes, I have to stay very calm and just try to stay conscious on what I can manage to gasp through my constricted air passage.  My nose is clear, I am not congested.  Drinking hot tea helps immensely, BUT once I go to sleep (usually propped up on pillows, I am terrified to lay down), one cough and I can't breath again.  These breathing attacks will occurs 1-2/hour until I get antibiotics in my system.  My 12yo son (I am a single Mom) has seen me having these attacks, and now he is more scared than me.  He will not leave my side and has become an expert at making hot herbal tea with honey, just the right temperature so I can drink it right away.  The only thing that seems to make it go away is to get on a z-pack asap.  This time the minute i felt the tickle in my throat and the mucus start to slide I called the Dr.  I had no breathing attacks this time, (last time an ambulance was called it got so bad) but, I know they were just hours away if I had not started taking an antibiotic.  I am scared.  How long can this cycle repeat before antibiotics don't work.  I am not comfortable with Dr's telling me that it is a spasm and not to worry... worst case I will just pass out and wake up/come to once my throat relaxes.  Wow, so we can't prevent this???  Just pass out... The mucus is so thick! and it seems to come on so very fast.  One minute I am fine, within an hour I can feel thick heavy mucus sliding down the back of my throat.  I can't cough it out.  I don't know what to do, I have read everything I can on the internet and talked to Drs and specialists.  They all agree that it's a spasm and I am panicking.  Actually, I stay very calm considering I can't breath :(  I am so worried about how this is impacting my son.  I want to know what is causing this, and what impact taking antibiotics every time will have over time.  
Desperate for answers,
Franne

All:

I am pleased to have stumbled across this site from googling about coughing spasms.  I am experiencing many of the same symptoms described, and welcome advise from those who have also "been there."  

Here is my story:  since about the time I was in middle school (am in mid 30s), I have always had problems with coughing --- from thanksgiving to Easter I was basically referred to as Typhoid Mary (no joke; talk about a fun nickname!).  I have just lived with the problem for years, esp. since my grandmother (paternal) had huge issues with phlegm and had to "pump" it regularly when she was old (eighties) (I don't remember what the machine was called, but she had to place this tube in her mouth that sucked up stuff from her throat and lungs - everyday).  My entire family suffers from the congestion probs, so I figured it was just a way of life - a miserable life, but it was "normal" for me.  In college, I even popped a blood vessel in my eye from coughing and also ended up in the ER after "brusing" the muscles/ribs from coughing.  

A few years ago I had had enough and went to an ENT doctor, and was diagnosed with "chronic sinusitis" and was given a nasal spray and directions for nasal cleaning.  I'll be honest and say that I have not kept a regular regime with these things - but mostly because I have been experiencing less symptoms.  I guessed I had grown out of it - I'm not hacking away from Nov - March anymore, but my situation is that whenever I get sick I have a cough that lingers on.

Which brings me to now --- last week I had the flu.  I actually was not so congested during that time, but as I came out of hte fever symptoms the cold/sinus problems set in.  For the past 4 days, I have been feeling totally fine but cannot kick the cough -- I have a scratchy throat and you can hear the congestion when I talk.  What worries me, though, is the coughing --- I start coughing and I cannot get control.  It is sometimes triggered by drinking something, from cold air, or it just comes on from nowhere.  My chest feels a little tight (was worse earlier in the week), like there is a "knot" in the center of my chest. It is worse in the afternoons and evenings, and of course when I lay down at night.  I cannot stop coughing (loud, body-shaking/convulsing coughs) generally for a minute, sometimes longer.  And, I sometimes break, and then start again, with a coughing period that lasts 5-10 minutes.  There are times when my windpipe must close because I start gasping for air.  I also tear up in the eyes, and am embarrassed to admit that I sometimes have minor "incontinence" problems during a fit - my whole body seems to give in to the cough.  

I haven't gone to the doctor because I don't know what they can do for me; they have done little for me in the past and I think they just don't get it (and of course, whenever I am at the doctor my cough seems to disappear).  But, I can't continue with these body-wrenching coughs.  When I'm done with a fit, my whole body is fatigued and my chest is tight.  My co-workers have started again with the typhoid mary name (only because I mentioned it to them, but they feel it is appropro).  The only way I can sleep at night is to pile 4-5 pillows behind me, take a Mucinex and a double dose of Robitussin - I get about 3 hours of sleep and then wake up, have to readjust on the pillows, drink some water, and try to sleep again.  I'm usually up another 2 to 3 hours and then have a fit, and start again.  When i wake up and sit up in the AM, I usually start coughing again - to the point where I have to gasp and stand over the toilet afraid something is going to come up (all that comes up are small pieces of phlegm).  

I recognize the symptoms are probably from post-nasal drip, but my cough is severe that it can't be something I simply live with ---- suggestions anyone????  Should I go to see a particular kind of doc???  Help --- I need my sleep and control of my body back!

Hi Mary and all,
Sorry to hear you are suffering so much from this horrendous cough, Mary, with regard to the mucus, I have friends who have suffered with the same sort of thing and they cut out all dairy products and they found the mucous problem dissapeared. Maybe it is worth a try, if you do try it give it a go for at least a month.

I know how you feel It is truly terrifying and I have had the same answers from Doctors, they just dont know what these throat spasms (laryngeospasms)  are caused by and they think I am panicking, or that I must be able to get some air in, but I am Not panicking and it is as if a trap door has closed my throat completely and absolutely no air is going in or out.

I have a sore throat at the moment and I am scared I will have one of these "episodes"  my doctor won't prescribe antibiotics as he says they dont work on this type of thing.  I got my epi pen out last night and reread the instructions just in case and it did give me a little bit of piece of mind, alhough I was still scared and every time I nearly fell asleep I kept waking up with a jolt as it felt as if my throat was closing up.  I think the worst thing is the cough as that is when I get the spasm, I think the violence of the cough causes the larynx to spasm and close the throat.  

I hope this helps,

Take care,

Frances

OMG   im not the only one. i have a cough only! had it for 3 months been on z pack twice, levq, and had steriod shot, still have coughing fits that go on till i vomit. laughing in paticular really triggers it, once i sater i cough about 10 to 15 times in a row and gasp for air only to cough one last time that always brings up something with it(vomit) then im fine till next episode. my family freaks and now i wonder if its something serious. i have no allergies no asthma. did just have a small bowel resection in dec. for crohns disease, anyone think that has anything to do with it? need help im stumped, and docs are not helping . had chest x ray and tested for whooping cough , it was all negative.   thanks a bunch

I just had a similar episode -- frightening. Check out www.cantbreathesuspectvcd.com Here are the first paragraphs from this website:
Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) is a hidden, yet common, usually unsuspected condition of throat closure &/or choking sensation that can strike any age, can cause sudden, severe episodes (attacks) of breathing difficulty, sometimes with wheezing (whistling or sighing sounds) &/or stridor (harsh, high pitched, ‘windy’ gasping sounds). In the Emergency Room (ER), VCD is usually misdiagnosed as being difficult (refractory, or brittle) asthma, anaphylaxis (severe, life threatening allergic reaction), or hysteria (all in one’s head).
VCD can feel like straining to breathe through a straw. Some cannot get any air in (or out) at all. Panic and fear of dying from feeling that one isn’t getting in enough air, often causes repeated ER visits or hospitalizations.  

The "throat" closure actually occurs inside the voice box (larynx), (behind the "Adam's apple") when the vocal cords go into a "closing-up" spasm.  (See drawing on web-page 1).

bl2468, You may have hit the button RHSphd on at least my problem. Checked your site but to implement the breathing etc at the time of an attack is impossible. The spasm cough comes too quick and it takes all my time to control it so that it doesn't end up closing my throat off.

Been suffering this for 50 years. Often with a cold, but can happen anytime. My best friends got used to me flailing my arms in panic. Could always struggle to get a tiny bit of air between coughs. would break out in a sweat from the strain and it would slowly ease up in 10-20 minutes. At night I believe it was caused by post nasal drip. But often happened with things like vinegar or sweets, or like others said, just saliva. A bit of anything, even just the tickle mentioned above causes the cough which causes a spasm in what I assume is an overly sensitive larynx. The PANIC causes the continued spasm, I bet. But for the first time ever, I was eating a candy bar and, no big bites, but too sweet, started to cough and my throat closed completely. There could not have been anything big enough to literally choke on, but I did the Heimlich to myself as hard as I could. Nothing popped out but I did start to breath. I think maybe the forced air interrupted the spasm.  

Even yawning will start it ... cough, can't inhale or exhale, nose runs, eyes tear, water running out of my mouth, sometimes my voice won't come on for till after a few silent words. Very upsetting, scary, and embarrassing when not at home. After reading your posts, I started reading up on vocal cord damage which can be caused by hard coughing, which is my case. Also, a few months ago, I had a major upset which had me screaming ... my throat and voice have not recovered yet. Some kind of bug going around caught me after that and voila, I have this mysterious unexpected thing, just like you all. I started wearing a comfy scarf the last few days, keeping my throat cozy and it is soothing. When the closing in my throat happens, I breath through my NOSE, when I am able to stay focused (learned when doing yoga) and that seems to put a stop to the spasms.

Thanks to the one who started this post, I am no longer alone and will have an explanation when I go to work tomorrow.  

It would be interesting to find out if there is a psychological trend we all have in common. Or a life situation which is tough and puts a strain on our throat. I certainly have been battling to heard, desperately VOICING in order to be validated. Are any of you in the same sinking boat?

hey RAJ888, I'm with you on this, My last and worst 'fit' was shortly after I talked too much in a certain situation, and thought-- how interesting that I have literally shut myself up. But this is probably too psychoanalytical for most people. Too put it simply, this is our common stress issue.

Hello all. I just joined this board. I want to say that I am comforted to know that this is not some weird thing that has been happening to me. THe scariest thing is when my airway is blocked after coughing or just clearing my throat. It does last for about 30 seconds and my panic is what is the scariest part. My wife and kids freak out when they see me grasping my neck. The important thing I have learned after having these "choke attacks" is to stay calm and look upward to open your air-passage all the way. Then breathe as best as you can THROUGH YOUR NOSE!. If you have to, try to cough real hard to "blow it out", but STAY CALM!!!! That was my hardest part, (I went to the Emergency room 3 times, 1 via a 911 call).  Docs 1st said GERD, reflux, now are saying Viral related (which means antibiotics won't help). I believe the chest/sinus cold I have, created this CLEAR very sticky film of mucous and it just comes down from the nasal areas. I have tried a Sinus rinse which seems to help. They also gave me albuterol inhaler for any seasonal allergies (this time of year is bad).... PLEASE REMEMBER to STAY CALM, breathe through your nose. !!!!! If you feel the flem coming to your throat, try to get it out in small increments so it wont completely block the airway. I hope I helped anyone out there with this. It is truly the most scariest thing I have ever encountered! Godbless you.

Tom

Just found out my sister suffers the gasping cough part, too. She had a cold, was having a fit, and some woman on the street gave her a piece of 'Cough gum', she was in Iceland. It was a Wrigleys product from Scandanavia with XYLITOL. It's a sugar substitute you can Google. It immediately stoped her cough, I have yet to need it. We should all check it out and report back!

I'm suffering from this too guys. I'm 32 - I go to the gym 4 times a week.... last week Friday, I developed a cough... then Tuesday morning 6am, I woke up, and tried to cough up some phlegm - next thing I knew, I was choking. I couldn't breathe in.. when I did, it sounded as like some sort of distorted howl... I was panicing, thinking I was going to pass out, but managed to scream at the top of my lungs and suck in a bit of air whilst still howling 5-6 times before finally clearing the throat and managing to breathe.

This is a nightmare. It happened again the Wednesday morning (i.e. the day after), and again on Friday(yesterday morning).

I'm now scared to sleep in bed.

The doc didn't seem to know what was going on, and just prescribed me antibiotics which I have yet to get.

This is scary as hell.  I don't want to live with this for the rest of my life. I can't believe I'm going through this :(

I hope there is an end in sight...  I will post back if there ever is :(

Hi All,

Glad I found this site - the same problem is happening to me too.  Spent Friday in teh ER at a local hospital, diagnososo was bronchitis with asthma components.  Got some prescriptions and have been taking them, but they don't seem to help much.  Have already passed out three times today (only 12:30pm now), no passing out yesterday, three times on Saturday.  Am seeing my PCP today, so will hopefully learn more.  Will pass on anything useful that I learn...

Guys, can you all also check out...

http://www.whoopingcough.net/

Because I actually think some of us could be suffering from this including myself - even though the two doctors I've seen did not reach this conclusion. The coughing sound I make is very similar to the sound sample of the 40 year old male on the audio section of this site. Let me know what you think....

Update...

Found out from my PCP that a CAT scan Friday showed a possible nodule on my thyroid.  Could be that is causing my cough, and not necessarily bronchitis.  Any thoughts, ever happen to anybody else?

I am older woman  very ill for over a week with the throat spasms ,cough  no voice ,temperature and full upper respiratory tract  infection.I get an attack every three years which is so frightening and debilitating as I live alone but anyway there is nothing to be done but hope attack will pass and try to relax.I have passed out twice.
I have been on two anti biotics  and a high dose of steroids this week. I was also prescribed a steroid inhaler which makes me worse for hours after using it so I stopped using it. Previous occasions,I also had the nebulizer but again I was doubtful of its effectiveness.
What no doctor ever told me and I did not see it posted in any anybody else's comments was the use of anti histamines.I had some Neo Clarityn from holidays and was so desperate I tried them and I definitely think they work as there is a definite link with the allergic  response and they should reduce the re-action .
I have huge tiredness and lethargy which is not my normal life as I am a swimmer ,golfer, and walker,but I am getting better and when  do , I forget how ill I have been.
If anyone has thoughts on use of histamines with this condition, I would be glad to know.
Daisy

Taking a day away from work after two separate episodes that had me gasping for air yesterday, Thursday.

I am 50, otherwise in good health. Active cyclist, commuting to work (total 1-hr daily) until recent job relocation puts cycling out of reach (for past 2 mos I take transit, 1.5 hr each way).  No asthma or serious allergies that I know of although I do not eat much dairy and sometimes get leg cramps (lactose-intolerant) when I have some milk. Have mild psoriasis, and have always been asked when I see doctors for it if I have asthma too, but no. For the past 2 years I've controlled the psoriasis (on my face only) with calipotriol (aka Dovonex)--less-than a pea-sized amount 4x per week. Otherwise (after 35 years) I leave psoriasis alone, after many ultimately fruitless attempts to control it including coal-tar/light therapy (Goeckerman) treatment. Several years ago I was riding my bike past a railroad yard on a warm day, and the stench of creosote (like coal-tar) from the yard suddenly overwhelmed me--my windpipe seized up and I coughed, then felt the symptoms as follows--felt like I was breathing through a water-clogged pin-hole and had to get off my bike and try to suck in some air, finally able to breathe in enough (after 30-50 seconds?) cough up some phelgm, and more tortured breathing and coughing until I finally felt close to normal (10 mins later), but with a frightening thought that I was finally being stricken with asthma. But until last March, no repeat episodes.

I am a design teacher at a college (post-secondary) and rely on my voice as a main tool of my work. The other tool is the board--until the end of March, a "whiteboard" with (toxic-smelling) markers but since job relocation a chalkboard with so-called "dustless chalk" that leaves my fingers covered with residue.

Last March (before the move, and before the chalk) it was the end of a final presentation for my students, and much stress was over. I stood to deliver some final parting words (these students were graduating and would be entering the workforce with their diplomas--I have to say I felt the weight of their expectations on me to say something profound) when suddenly the same thing occurred as had by the trainyard those years previous--a tickle in my throat and sudden closing of my windpipe. Unable to speak, I thumped my chest with no result--my students thought I was "choked up" with emotion or else joking--all eyes on me. I waved my hands and wheezed in some air, then croaked an excuse and left for the washroom. After a difficult coughing-up of phlegm and a few sips of water I felt able to return. While my throat was still rough, I was able to speak my words, and explain that I had no idea why my throat had seized up.

Had a highly stressful 2-hr architect's exam on Monday and felt bleary after--too much caffeine and sugar on top of the mental exertion. Cold symptoms that evening included stuffy nose. Woke myself up in the night with snores--uvula swollen--changed position on pillow (two pillows). Drank some water. Felt fairly nauseated. Went to work on Tuesday and felt somewhat worse by end of day--it is study week so no classes to teach except Thursday a make-up class. Wednesday the same, but coughing and ticklish throat on top of runny nose. Phlegm pale yellow/creamy.

Wednesday night I felt sick enough to consider staying home--no fever though and a makeup class to conduct so bad form to miss it--jokes about "swine flu" notwithstanding I went in to work Thursday morning. I got through most of my students, although with a hoarse throat and inability to speak very loudly. At one point during my introductory lecture I felt my windpipe closing up, but not so badly that I had to leave the room--I gasped a bit for air and coughed into my sleeve and continued. Desk reviews followed, and at my last student I was suddenly stricken again--I had to leave the room, just like the other episodes, wheezing for air, I made it to the john where I managed to cough up phlegm and spit it out, I drank some water which calmed my throat, blew my nose repeatedly (creamy snot) and eventually was able to return to teaching...

Now waiting to go to the doctor tomorrow; I had a conversation with the nurse on the phone who asked if I had numbness in my chest or arm or chin (no), asked about history of asthma (none), did not have an answer but said to call 911 if the symptoms return while I am alone. She took it seriously enough. Looking over the sight mentioned above I am intrigued by and will ask my dr. about "vocal cord dysfunction." Sounds like it could be me--especially the fact that the recent episodes were all triggered when trying to speak. It may be that fear of embarrassing oneself by just "coughing it up" makes matters worse. The website is lengthy--much to absorb--but it looks like the "dysfunction" may not have a simple cure...what else is new.

Forgive my wordiness. I will bookmark and return with any news.

Hello all,
I posted last month and wanted to share what I believe caused my airway to close for 30 seconds or so after coughing. The first time it happened, I drank a "virgin Mary". It was spicy and caused a lot of flem in my throat. After 3 weeks of doctor visits, antibiotics, nexium (thought I had reflux), I know it wasnt that because I had an operation for that 10 years ago and havent had heartburn since. I then tried the same mix (Maj Peters) and guess what, again that night almost 60 seconds my windpipe was closed. I was gasping for my life. Doc said stay away from it. Prescribed me a lot of antihistamines, deconomine and allegra helped with the nasal drip which seemed to get rid of the "tickle" in ky throat. One last time a few weeks later, I tried the same thing. Yes, it happened again a few hours later. Same chocking session. So now I am looking at the ingredients, it has anchovies, and alot of tomato sauce. I will never try it again,  and so far, no attacks. MUCINEX does not help! Get sudafed and some kind of allergy med to dry up the nasal drip. Drink alot of water and watch what you eat. I could have a mild tomato allergy. I wanted to share this with you all because the trauma I went through of not breathing was the scariest thing in my life. If docs cant help, try some kind of allergy medicines. It could be that!!!!!

UPDATE!!!

Just came from ENT specialists. He knew right away what I had was a Laryngeal spasm. This is caused by your vocal cords constriciting due to some irritation caused by fluid (Post nasal drip, Acid reflux,..etc).... He said usually Acid reflux is the culprit (Silent acid reflux?).... Anyway, good news is that if you pass out, your body naturally will relax. He said breathing out (exhaling) fast and inhale very very slow will calm down the spasm. Anyone can get them because this is your vocal cords natural reaction to substance irritating it (sends messages to your brain to avoid drowning).... There are breathing techniques as I mentioned, also I read that Calcium/Magnesium deficiency can increase the chance of getting these. Basically keep your throat moist, avoid reflux by medication and diet (no spicy food), and if you have post nasal drip, (sinuses causing you an itchy throat), take sudafed and allergy medecine. I finally feel relieved after almost 2 months of this. Panic makes it worse. Inhaling rapidly will close it shut! You need to first exhale rapidly, then inhale very very slowly to calm down the spasm. Hope this helps everyone! Take care!

May 12, 2009 SweetVivor

I have had this congestion, worsening, for over two months. Doc said, not flu (rolled his eyeballs, but
didn't test). Gave me Nasonex (sprays drown me) and amoxicillin didn't work a month ago, either.

I have a slightly differnet problem--the mucous comes up and it isnt necessarily thick or copious.
Instead, it is so "sticky" like a plastic net, that it won't come out, and falls over my trachea
(windpipe). I cannot breathe! It's different than laryngeal spasm--I have that too, like my dad did.
I actually dreamt I was choking one night, drivng over the mountaintops with Keifer sutherland (hey--not my first choice. Ha) and I looked up to see a marker for 7900 feet. That, in real life would be a death sentence for me. I woke up becasue I really was choking from the mucous net.

It is very important not to panic. Easy to say. It's like the time I was almost drowned, and my clothes were dragging me down. I realized much later, that if I only had flotaed on my back. . . Anyway,
I "bark" or shout out loud, kinda like a self-heimlick maneuver without the punching in the tummy.

It gives me a pretty good airway. 95% effective. As I am among the world's oldest living insulin-
dependent Juvenile diabetics (48 years) I live every minute of every day, with managing risk and
trying not to panic during emergencies. And it still ain't easy--nor fun. Good Luck. .

Sounds like I've found the right place.  I've had this "tickle" problem since I was a child and I'm 63 now and have been experiencing these spasms for the past 3 weeks.  I'm still looking for a cause and cure, but this is what I my experience has shown me.  As soon as I feel it coming on, I tense up, making my throat dry, and making the spasm worse. You must try to relax.  Drinking/sipping warm liquids helps tremendously.  Be careful which cough drops/lozengers you choose - some make it worse.  I've found that "Fisherman's Friend" cough drops are great.

I have been experiencing all of the above and looked at member RHSphd  's suggested link.
Have a look at http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com/page4.html
I have found i have managed to control the blocking of the wind pipe and can now 'pull myself back from the edge' by using the breathing out method that i have pasted below.
Now that i know i can control my breathing when an episode occurs, this has made me less anxious which also helps.
Try this method, i hope it works for you all since i know how scarry this is. Even at the hint of the 'tickley cough' which then leads to the episode, if i do the breathing out, then i can stop the attack happening. It's also free! I know this doesn't cure the cause but it has calmed me down and i am no longer frightened of coughing cos i know i can control it now.
Thank you so much RHSphd for the link.

4) On the way to the Emergency Room (ER), or while waiting for an ambulance, the VCD patient can try EXHALING (breathing out) through slightly pursed lips, (like gently blowing out a candle), whispering a gentle "fffffffffff". This may sound like a gentle wind or breeze, or it may be silent. Do this, using breath & lips, without vibrating the vocal cords. Keep lips in a position that is not quite as puckered, as for whistling. Keep lips SYMMETRICAL around teeth. Do NOT have lower lip touching upper teeth. It's like gently blowing out a candle, but with lips not pushed out. Some prefer whispering "ssssssss", or, "shhhhhhh". This breathing/speech therapy exercise has helped stop VCD attacks in many patients. (Ref.17)

Some people prefer to whisper an exhaled "ffff", "ffff", "ffff", against a little resistance, in somewhat short, quick bursts, all in the same exhalation.  This is like blowing out a slightly stubborn "trick" candle, and you can hear the windy sound of the "ffff", "ffff", "ffff".

5) If any of this helps, try SLOWING DOWN the EXHALATIONS a bit, (gently whispering "fffffffffffffffff") through slightly pursed lips. (similar to gently blowing out a candle). Some Doctors and Speech Pathologists know about the theories of how this Speech Therapy can get the vocal cord muscles to relax and come out of spasm, stopping the VCD attack.

Some of these experiences sound like what my husband is experiencing.  I went to the whoooping cough site mentioned earlier - and the sound file is very close to the noise he produces mid-spasm.

Coincidentally a friends young children have been diagnosed with whooping cough.  She was told to blow in her child's mouth to stop the spasm, telling me it helped her children.  That night I tried that method on my husband.  After two weeks + of  days / nights of not being able to "catch his breath" .... and the situation becoming worse (two visits to dr & no assistance in how to deal with an accute phase - and the same old story about it reverting if he faints) I thought I'd try the technique.

It was incredibly successful - instantly it stopped!  He looked at me & asked "What did  you do to me?".  I can laugh now, because we now apparently have a simple solution.

I just instructed him to open his mouth.  He struggled a bit to do this - but when his mouth was open, I blew a short, sharp blast of air into it.  (Like blowing out a candle.)  The result was amazing - I think it is some sort of reflex - but for what ever reason, it helped- both it dealing with the actual situation, but also just knowing there is a simple way to control it.

Until recently no one in this post has mentioned a dr. who recognises a spasm for what it is; throat closure not from asthma, bronchitis etc but from irritation to the throat especially in the area of the voice box. In my case this appears to be where my spasm initiates itself either from a sore throat or irritation from dust of any kind. I was cutting some panels for cupboards the other day and inhaled some of the dust which started my cough off which kept on tickling my throat causing another cough bout. I felt my throat starting to close over simply by coughing too much. I took a suck of Bricanyl and a drink of alot of water until it subsided. I started this column off so my history is at the top. I can only say that ANY irritation can start this off and Rhsphd has hit the nail on the head. It is near or at the voice box and is caused by anything that can irritate the throat. I also noticed after any attack that my voice changes its pitch completely which reinforces what Rhsphd has said. As to cure, well there isn't one that covers ALL these people in this column. Just read all the comments and be your own judge. Barry

I can't tell you how better I feel knowing other people have gone through this. The ER and the Doctors made me feel like they had no idea what I was going through. It started November 2008 as a cold and turned into the worst cough I have ever had. Then out of the blue I coughed one time and my throat closed shut. I could not breathe in or out. This is the most scarest thing that had ever had happened to me. It put so much fear in me.  Then  every time I coughed it would happen again. I was on vacation in FL for 2 weeks. This was the longest 2 weeks of my life. I went to the ER and they just give you meds. I was given an inhaler which I think helped.(how do you use an inhaler when you can't breathe)  I really can't explain everything I went through. I would be here all night.  This condition stayed with me for a good while. ( 3 Weeks)  It than got to a point where I would start to fall alsleep and I would wake up and I was breathing like I had Asthma. I would run to get my inhaler. I still carry my inhaler with me. The fear stays with you for a long long time. Now I live with the fear that this will happen again. I am so scared. I guess we have to tell ourselves that we lived through it . It did not kill us. That is what I am afraid of. I feel the pain for all of you. It is so scarey that you can't even cry. I just would stay as calm as I could . ( wasn't that hard)    Krista

Mucus Suction worked for me...

My husband and I both got a terrible virus a several weeks ago. My doctor told me I had Bronchitis and i started the zpac. My coughing continued to get worse and i was having trouble breathing. I have an  inhaler that i used but it seems to irritate the throat. The mucus is very thick and i know i was struggling to get it up. it felt like it was covering my airways so i could not breath in or out. After several days of these throat attacks i went into the hospital to see if they could give me some answers. I was put a strong antacid and Claritin. I had very bad breathing attacks during the night and a doctor finally got to see one when i took a shower. he quickly made apt with a speech therapist and a ENT. They thought it was vocal cord dysfunction along with the Bronchitis that was giving me such bad attacks. The results showed that i had some bruised vocal cords from the severe coughing but no other problems. The speech therapist thought I was dealing with a bit more than VCD. The Claritin was a bad idea. it made the mucus thicker and harder to get out of my throat. I told them that it felt like a hard sheet of mucus covering my throat so we stopped the claritin and they gave me an humidifier in my room.

I have botox injections in my neck for spasm torticollis. The Botox relaxes the neck muscles around my throat so my shoulders will relax. I think i am not strong enough to get the mucus out because of the Botox so when I try and try to cough the mucus out my throat spasms and i can't breath. They kept telling me to calm down and work on my breathing methods. I feel like they didn't understand the fact that when the spasm happens i have already exhaled and there is no air to work with.  

My saving grace- I finally asked for a suction yoonker to remove the mucus stuck in my throat. I did this myself by sticking it down the throat and sucking the stuff out. My mucus was white/cream and thick, very sticky. i removed a huge hunk about the size of my fist.
Once i had the thick sticky mucus removed i could control the neck spasms by grunting and breath!!!

My doctor is sending me home with a suction device. I feel much better knowing I can suck it out when I am having a neck spasm attack. For all of you with the thick mucus try the suction. I thought i was going through hell and I had lost all hope until we tried this. I am coughing much less now and i am feeling confident for the first time in many weeks.

Be positive and keep searching for answers.
debbie

Sounds like I have what the rest of you are dealing with.  I was recently sick with Bronchitis and while dealing with that I developed these sudden respiratory attacks.  My airway completely closes after a short coughing spell.  It usually starts with a sever and sudden tickling sensation low in the throat which triggers my cough response.  After I cough out all the air in my lungs my throat closes and I cant get any air back in my lungs for 30 to 40 seconds.  This happens 10 times a day now, and it scares the hell out of me.  Will this ever subside?  I don't want to live this way for the rest of my life.    Wilt

You have read all the comments in this column Wilt and they do vary a bit but the bottom line is throat closure is common to all. Rhsphd, as I have previously mentioned, has identified the area where this blockage occurs and it does seem likely that most of the cases listed here might have the same area to contend with, as well as yourself. Armed with that info I went to a Dr who I had never seen before (my Dr doesn't seem to want to know probably because he has no ides himself) and when I put it to him my case hstory he agreed that the area around the voice box is very sensitve and has been involved with what we call VCD (vocal chord disfunction). As to a cure he has not got one except just avoidance of what might bring it on. It wont kill you but it can make you go out to it (I imagine just like drowing) . A nice thought and one I havent faced as yet and don't want to. Some people in this column have experienced this as you have probably read and it is not nice to look forward to. It occupies my everyday thinking and am on the lookout for any sign that may bring an attack on. Good luck Wilt and everybody else. Barry

OMG!  Thought I was gonna die.  I am on antibiotics for a bronchial infection and cough medicine with codine for the cough.  For the past two mornings I was awoken to a coughing fit which then led to a throat spasm causing my throat to close up.  With every cough, precious air was leaving my lungs and inbetween I would gasp for every molecule of air I could get.  Very quickly I completely ran out of air.  I was slowly able to breath again by calming my self with Zen like thoughts.  .  .  (Breath light, relax, relax, breath.)  I will keep you informed if these spells increase in number and severity.  I don't know how much worse they can get short of my passing out, then and only then I should be relaxed and breathing should go back to normal.  (If the fall doesn't kill me)

I read your blog and the same thing happened to me 10 yrs ago.  I ended up in the hospital because the spasm was called lorengo spasm.  This can be deadly!!  They diagnosed me with a bad case of acid reflux.  It took 6 months of treatment before the spasm went completely away.  Hope this helps.:)

Thank you for all of the above. Just knowing that I am not alone in this has been a big help. My first episode came completely out of the blue two weeks ago - at 3.00am. Then ten days went by before my next attack. Since then, five days ago, it has happened at least once every day - twice so far today. I've seen three docs so far - none with any experience of this. The GP I saw today (I'm in the UK) gave me both an epipen (which is reasuring) and a prescription for an acid reflux drug - Omeprazole. I took one of these about four hours ago, but it didn't prevent me having an attack half an hour back. I'm going to hospital for a chest x-ray tomorrow, but my GP doesn't really expect this to tell us much.
I would hate to think that this is going to be a recurring feature of my life from here on in.

It's 6:20 a.m. I"ve been up since my throat closure after a coughing spell at 3:00 a.m. I was too scared to go back to bed. Desperate to find out what was happening to me I got on the internet. Thank God I found this site.   THANK YOU so much for the breathing tips. If my throat closes up again after coughing I will try not to panic. I'm going to try breathing out slowly with the short puffs of air before I try to breathe in.

Thanks to everyone for their posts. I have the same symptoms as you. I got them after a week of strong coughing associated with the flu (H1N1?). I also panicked at first and went to the emergency room, where they were baffled and just told me to go back home. The interesting thing is that my girlfriend, who visited from Brazil and gave me the flu, has the same throat-closing symptoms now! So it's clear that we both were infected by the same agent that has produced these VCD symptoms. I am having about 15 breathing crises per day now. Occasional incontinence, which I only notice after the attack has passed. I haven't found anything that works - forget antibiotics and asthma meds, they're irrelevant or even harmful. My larynx feels exquisitely oversensitive and is on a knife-edge.

It was strange to be arriving in Brazil yesterday, from Canada, with so many airport staff wearing masks, and then having an uncontrollable coughing attack while peeing my pants, turning beet red and then gasping desperately for breath when my throat did not open up naturally, despite forcing my self to wait, wait, wait with the patience of the Dalai Lama. Stranger still that none of the other passengers even blinked or raised a finger to help.

Wow! I am not nearly as bad off as the rest of you seem to be, but it does scare me. Unlike the majority of you, I am not sick. no cold, flu ect. I was diagnosed with asthma years ago, and occasionally do need my inhalers, but I only use them if I really need to. What happens with me is I start to laugh, it then turns to a cough, and then I can not inhale, only exhale. like a choking exhale. It is the worst feeling imaginable, and one day I am afraid that I will not be able to inhale again. To be honest with you, I do not know how long I lose the ability to inhale, I only know I do, I feel my face going red, it feels like i am blowing up like a baloon. I cant explain to anyone what is happening. It scares my daughter and bf as well as myself. nothing seems to help, the doc has no idea what it is. When I do regain the ability to breath in again, its like coming up from under water, i take huge gasping breaths and I am still coughing, but at least I can get the air in and out now.

Teressa

I'm just going to do a followup post. My last comment was 10 days ago, July 5th. From 15 breathing crises per day, I'm now down to 1 or 2. I still don't know what causes these reactions. It seems to be a combination of several reflexes: the coughing reflex is in high gear - I don't know what is stimulating it, but it seems to be something stuck on my vocal cords, like mucus; the swallowing reflex, which doesn't seem to be able to clear that gunk out; and the breathing reflex, naturally. I find I can prevent a gasping, throat-spasming episode almost every time now by the following strategy. Whenever I start to cough, I cough aaaalllll the way, until there is absolutely nothing left to cough out - and here's the critical part - I take the trouble, before starting to draw any breath in at all, to expel any and all secretions from my throat into my mouth. If I succeed - and I do take the trouble to succeed every time, even if it takes 2 or even 3 tries - then my throat will quite happily open of its own accord and I can breathe again quite naturally without any dramatics. You must expel all mucus before your throat will allow you to take any air in.

Now, to get to this point, I had to do some very serious work on getting rid of all that mucus. My throat is at times an inexhaustible fount of gooey mucus. To dry that up, my first defence was Tylenol Night-time Flu pills - the blue ones (in Canada at least). There are 4 ingredients - only one of them is useful for this affliction, and it is the antihistamine that they put in the night-time pills (chlorpheniramine maleate). This antihistamine makes you sleepy but also dries up your throat secretions. What relief.

Next, I washed my nasal passages twice per day with saline solution, and especially the nose-clearing spray that cuts mucus thickness (let me look that up for you - here it is, nasal moisturizing spray with antifreeze :) polyethylene glycol). On top of that, I used a nasal corticosteroid spray twice per day. This nasal cleaning help to dry my throat and cut down on mucus. I suspect that an important part of the throat mucus comes from the sinuses, because when saline nasal spray is used, all the mucus coming from my throat is very salty.

Next, what is the cause, the trigger? Either some sort of extreme reaction to the flu I had, with severe coughing, or else a severe reaction to dental composite, or a combination of the two. My symptoms started at the same time that I began to get a bridge replaced in my mouth. I had a temporary bridge for several weeks, which was a horrible tasting thing that had a clove taste and burned my cheeks. Now that the new bridge has been in place for almost two weeks, and the dental composite cement that holds it in place is slowly dissolving away, so are my throat problems - I hope.

Note, the Tylenol night-time pill was taken only at night, and I took nothing during the day.

IT FEEL LIKE MY THROAT IS CLOSING AND MY CHEST IS SINKING IN . I REALLY WANT TO KNOW HAVE ANYONE WENT THROUGH THIS BEFORE.  

Add me to the list.  I've been dealing with this since late May.  I have asthma and chronic sinus issues.  My family physician tried Advair, steroid nasal sprays, and heavy duty antibiotics... nothing.  He sent me to an ENT who thinks it has to do with reflux and started me on me on a medication regime for this about 2 weeks ago... again, nothing.  It's very scary when I can't breathe after coughing due to a tickle in my throat.  I try to calm myself, as I go into panic attack mode.  This helps.  After the attack, my voice is gone for maybe 10 minutes.  I'm 59 and this is the 1st time anything like this has ever happened before.  It has helped to find this site and learn I'm not the only one.

yea i seem to have that same problem. it didnt start that way though.  i first just had simply dry couph that turned in to more active couphing where it made my chest sore and loss of voice breefly i seen my dr and she recomeded over the counter meds..three days later i went to e.r. the coup seem to get worse they checked airways and did x ray and everything was clear..but they cheated me as if i had respritory infection...gave me breathing treatment and RX for inhaler, antibiotic and couph syrup with pain meds in it. i did not take inhaler bcause i did not have trouble breathing and took coup syrup for like 3 days but did not do anygood..i did take antiboitic and it did seem to clear up the couph..but about 2wks later i started couphing so hard that i could not catch my breath.  i would couph back to back like four times and try to breath inbetween and but cant because i keep couphing..and like you i thought i was not going to make it at one time...but one day i drank like teo bottle of water and had couph and it was a small dry couph almost normal...so i continue to try to keep throught wet and it seems to do the trick.  although i still seem to have trouble] at nite and when i get up...keep in touch and let me know how you do

My husband has been suffering from the exact same scary throat closure after coughing fits for a month now. We initially thought it was a bacterial infection, and later we were thinking it was a reaction to inhaling some flea powder that was put down in his office. He is a surfer and I worry about this happening to him when in the ocean. After reading all these posts for an hour, I believe the larnyx spasm seems to make the most sense, and it is REALLY discomfiting that doctors don't know how to fix this problem. I am also kind of wondering whether this might not be some sort of contagious virus since these posts began last November and so many people seem to have had this since. I will also mention that two other people in my husband's office are now having the same symptoms which leads me to think it's a virus whose hallmark symptom is the cough followed by throat closure. My husband has been on two Z-packs, two courses of week-long oral steroids, Advair with steroids, and Mucinex. He commutes to work and after reading that people pass out from this I am very worried about this happening while he's driving, although he has never passed out. Now I have been having post nasal drip for several days now and starting to cough and sure hope I'm not getting this. From reading this, it sounds like an ENT is the best choice of doctor for this problem and the epipen sounds like a good idea, if only for peace of mind. I also like the idea of breathing into the person's mouth. Perhaps I will try that with him to see if it works.

About a month ago I started a cough which was just annoying but not much else. A week or so later I started coughing until I couldn't breath and would gag or vomit. My husband was out of the country at the time so my kids were left petrified each time it happened. When he returned he made me go to the Dr. I felt kind of stupid explaining the symptoms but thankfully he did take me seriously. He said I was having laryngeal spasms and prescribed prednisone and an acid reflux pill. For a day or two it seemed to help but as I am being weaned off the 6 day dose of prednisone it is starting to come back. It is really scary when it happens and I think I may make it worse when it happens at work ( I work with teens ) because I am embarrassed and scared. I also end up wetting myself, adding to the embarrasment. I am so glad to read that I am not alone in this but sad that you are also experiencing it. I had emergency gall bladder surgery a few months ago followed by gastritis. I am wondering if this could have started something in me. It is all very frghtening and I feel ridiculous because I can be fine for a day or two and then have it happen several times in a row. Why aren't the Drs trying to figure this out?  

yes, i believe what the other posted... it is all over the states and what is it.,,,  I know a friend that got a bad cough, coughing alot, for 3 months,  she took all the meds. everyone else on the postings took, she still has it, and I got the cough, but not a cough all day and night, just a cough every now and then, but led to this throat closer thing. now for pass couple days got sinus drainage too along with my ear equal lib.( the ear equal lib. I have had in pass years off and on)  so took a claritin for sinus/ ear thing . ear thing gone  after one day, but not drainage.. nor cough.. very scary, last night had one spell of cough, cough only 3 times in one setting and throat close up, .. i will try the breathing tech. . and continue to take some antihismine... but what in the world is this stuff...??? my brother up north has it too, i have not been around him for years...so..????

Since my last blog on June 27 I have been to the family doctor twice and the ENT three times. As of now they have diagnosed LRPD (laryngopharyngeal reflux disease). This is different than GERD. I didn't feel any pain or burning from acid reflux at all. It is very common to misdiagnose as Asthma, Sinusitis, etc. Finally after pleading with my ENT and telling him for the third time that the drainage in my throat didn't feel like the typical seasonal allergy related sinus drainage and reminding him that I have had a cough for two months along with panic in the middle of the night with my throat closing and not being able to breathe for a few seconds, he finally decided to do an endoscopy. Previously I had been put on steroids, antihistimines, decongestants, nasal sprays, etc. My condition only got worse. Now that he could also see that I was hoarse, he obliged to my pleading. The endoscopy showed my larynx was red and very swollen. He said I was past stage one with larynx damage. I was diagnosed with LPRD. He put me on 30mg of Prevacid and explained that it may take 8 weeks for me to start feeling better. I only pray that the diagnosis is correct this time. I am tired of feeling bad and being afraid to go to bed at night for fear of my larynx closing up.

He also gave me some literature to read on LPRD from the Methodist Hospital in Houston which has its own Reflux Center. LRPD most often doesn't have the typical acid burning like GERD. So, one doesn't even know he has it until the hoarseness and lump in the throat feeling comes into play. You can get info by going to: www.methodisthealth.com/reflux7

Quick tips from what I have learned: Eliminate ALL caffeine, peppermint and chocolate. Even an ounce of chocolate will cause a mighty flair-up. Cut way back on salt. Movie theater popcorn nearly did me in. I thought I was drowning in the fluid pooling around my vocal cords. Eat a red delicious apple daily along with a tablespoon of honey. Make sure you take the Prevacid or Nexium. Don't wear tight clothing around your mid-section and try not to sit for long periods.

I'll blog again to let you know if all this is working.

About 5 weeks ago I developed a tickle in my throat - it then went into what felt like the flu 3 days later.  The coughing attacks started about a week later and unless I can control how hard I cough, my throat will close for a few seconds...scares the daylights out of me.  I have been on 2 antis, predisone, some sort of cough (pres) , many OTC cough, acid reflux - nothing seems to stop it....and I will feel like I am getting the flu towards the latter part of the day.  I have been diag in the past with acid reflux but this felt like a viral bug that somehow has attached itself to my chest and refuses to budge!  Like everyone else, I have burning, I throw up afterwards which hurts even more and my children are scared to death and my back even hurts from the spasms.

I have the same general symptoms as many of you. This has only been happening to me for a few weeks. it began after a bout with "bronchitis". But now the problem is almost certainly in or around my larynx. For me the proof of this came the other day when I was experiencing the tickling sensation that usually precedes the coughing, gagging, vomitting, and throat spasming and closing, and what brought it on was me trying to hit a "high" note while singing. Really I was just humming, but I noticed that the higher pitch my humming was the more my throat tickled and when it got to high, the reaction came and I started coughing, seems like it must be my larynx no?
This seems to happen more frequently when my throat is dry, like at night when my mouth probably falls open and i begin breathing through it instead of my nose. During the day I mostly get the tickling in cold places or where there is a fan or AC blowing on my face. I am interested in LDU's LPRD diagnosis. Going back to the doctor in a few days, fortunately this doc hasn't just dismissed my symptoms as asthma or viral infection I think with what I have learned on this forum i can possibly get his feedback on a few of them. thank you all for sharing. glad I am not alone. D

by chokey, August 14, 2009 9:15pm


I am experiencing the cough that closes my throat.  My doctor did blood gases which all came back normal.  He gave me an inhaler which does not help much.  Prednisone 20mg twice a day for 4 days.  I am on the second round of those.

It is so good to know that there are so many others who are experiencing what I have.  The LRPD sounds like the diagnosis  to my strange  symptons.  In the past, I was diagnosed with reflux, but this feels different.  However, once I get my air back, I burp.  

Today, I started slowly drinking a coke, which of course, makes me burp.  I also take a generic Tums.  I'm also taking omeprazole (generic prilosec) at night, along with codeine cough medicine and two diphenhydramine 25mg (Benadryl) at bedtime.  I still awake unable to catch my breath at first.  I walk around the kitchen until I can breath again.  Tonight I'll be thinking of my fellow sufferers and praying for you.

Not a good way to do it, but I've lost almost 10 lbs. in a week because I'm afraid to eat certain things.
May the Lord be with us all.  

If antibiotics sorta work, this suggests a bacterial origin. Bacteria don't do well with spicy foods. Start with some jalapeno peppers with your dinner, and work your way up to habanero, thai peppers, or an equivalently hot pepper. The odds are good that you will kick this bug. If your problem does not respond somewhat to antibiotics, however, this method will not work. For reflux conditions, I have no idea if it would help, but my guess is probably not.

I found this blog very interesting.  I thought I was experiencing something unique but after reading all the comments realize I'm just one of many.  My symptoms started in mid July. After feeling lousy for a week, with a mild fever, and having had two bouts with bronchitis the previous month, I saw my family doctor. He said I had bronchitis again, gave me a 5 day course of Avelox and another inhaler to add to my collection. I went back a week later feeling worse than before and with a rib that hurt badly from the violent coughing.  This time he gave me Nexium, saying I had acid reflux, and gave me instructions such as sleeping on 3 pillows, avoiding spicy foods, etc. Two days later I began having difficulty getting air after a coughing spell. Then suddenly every time I coughed it ended with my larynx closing completely for several seconds before relaxing, gradually allowing me to take in air.  This terrified me! I googled my symptoms which led me to Whooping Cough sites.  I showed my husband and he said,"That sounds just like what you're going through!" Back to the doctor I went.  I told the doctor this was unlike any cough I had ever experienced.  My husband suggested I had Whooping Cough.  The doctor said he still thought it was acid reflux and said sometimes it can make you "think" that you can't breathe.  My husband insisted I be tested for Whooping Cough. (my daughter-in-law who lives with us is pregnant and due in 3 weeks and we read Whooping Cough is deadly to infants.) He reluctantly drew blood for the test.

A few days later I had an appt. with my GYN, and though this wasn't her field, I explained what I was experiencing and she too suggested I had asthma and/or acid reflux. She sent me to an ENT 2 days later.  Again, I went through my list of symptoms (the tickling in the back of the throat, difficulty swallowing, the coughing spells, throat closing completely, and the urge to cough constantly) He said I had laryngeal spasms and scoped me to see what was going on and found my larynx was red and swollen. He doubled my dosage of Nexium and told me to come back in 4 weeks.

I called my Neurologist @ IU Medical Center (I have MS) to see if maybe he could help me and he actually said he was stumped and that I should go back to my family doctor. That was 9 days ago.

My husband had a routine appt. with our family doctor this past Monday and while there, the doctor said, "By the way, your wife's test came back POSITIVE for Pertussis (Whooping Cough). HELLO!!!! He put all of us except my daughter-in-law on Azithromycin and we're on our 3rd day's dose. My son and husband are both showing symptoms and guess what? My daughter-in-law went into labor just hours ago!!!  My question - if Whooping Cough is making a comeback, shouldn't doctors be aware of the symptoms and be able to diagnosis it??? God knows how many people I've exposed to "acid reflux".

What test did they do for whooping cough?  Do you know if it can be done after the antibiotic treatment?   I think that is what my daughter might have had.  She is still having vocal cord spams and it is so frustrating.  I do not think I can send her to school as they will have no clue what to do with her if it happens.

I thought I'd add what I have learned to cope with this monster, in case others haven't seen this info.  This docs web site has two techniques that nip the spasms in the bud:http://homepage.mac.com/changcy/vcd.htm.  We use the most simple one, which is closing your mouth and breathing in through the nose and puffing out through the mouth.  That works effectively for the ones that aren't violent.  For the others I press behind my daughter's ear lobes moving her jaw forward...that stops things really quickly.  Sometimes she doesn't want me to do it if she feels she is getting things under control.  

My daughter is 11.  All of this started for us after she had a typhoid shot...she had malaise for a couple of days and then started with a dry little hack that after a week went to full blown bronchitis (which now I am thinking was pertusis...mayabe)  I thought it was odd that I did not get it nor my husband, but we both have had tetnus shots in the last couple of years and now I think they are all pretty much DPT...P being pertusis.  She was due for one now.  Anyway, when she was sick they put her on zithromax and two inhalers and nexium. The zithromax definitely cleared up the bronchitis/fever/productive cough.  But after the inahlers and nexium is when the laryngospasm started...and though it has quited down it has never gone away.  She was scoped my a ped. ent and he said her vocal cords looked fine...and to see GI.  We changed her to prilosec twice a day, but don't see that that has done anything to help.  I have done all the GERD stuff...elevated the head of her bead, no food after 6:30 (7 the latest,) avoiding all GERD foods...citrus, chocolate, spice, acidy, high fat etc...she doesn't really complain of acid, so I am not sure that is even the problem.

I am next scheduled for pulmonology...don't think that will show much.  My big problem is that school starts in 10 days and I don't even know how to begin to deal with that.  I feel I need to be able to get to her if she has a spasm.  It is taking its toll on me because waking up in the middle of the night to a choking child is a real shock to the system...and this has been going on for almost a month.

I hope we can all figure this out!!

I am going on 10 weeks of a constant tickle/mucus in my throat/chest area.  I went to a 4th doctor and made them run lab work to test for whooping cough and valley fever (I live in AZ).  All tests came back negative.  The coughing attacks are not as severe as they were a couple of weeks ago so I am hoping this is on it's way out.  I just feel drained and I cannot talk fast or have cold liquids as that will set it off.  The cough is more present at night and first thing in the morning!  The one thing that has given me some relief is the Childrens Mucinex for cough...but I am 10 weeks into taking OTC drugs and my blood pressure has risen as a result.  I try to only take something at night so I can sleep.  The doctor now wants to do lung tests thinking it may be asthma...I think they just don't have a clue and they just try to keep you coming back so they can soak the insurance company.  The throat doctor actually billed my insurance for "surgery" just to stick a scope down my throat.  I am so tired and frustrated!

We have been dealing with this in our household since mid-August.  My daughter (11) has asthma, so she has been on preventative meds and allergy meds and has an inhaler which she uses as needed.  She started with this persistent cough, bad enough that I took her to the pediatrician for it about 1 week before school started, and the doc said he thought it might be asthma related, and to try starting up her steroid inhaler to see if that didn't help.  He also said if it didn't make a difference in a couple days to get her tested for whooping cough.  I did notice a slight improvement, so I didn't mess with the test.  She still has a cough a month later, though not nearly as bad, and she hasn't had any throat closures.

Now, my 20 month old son and I both started coughing a couple weeks after she started, but it was just a persistent cough, not anything too crazy, then it started getting worse.  The coughs became quite violent and much more frequent, so up to the doctor with him I went.  They checked him and his lungs were clear, and the doc had us try zyrtec thinking it might be from post-nasal drip.  2 days later we went back to the doctor because he started wheezing, too.  Doc started him on an oral steroid, and albuterol nebulizer treatments until the wheezing stopped, and also has us doing a daily nebulizer steroid breathing treatment until "this is way over" - like 30 days!  My son is still coughing violently, and sounds like he might be having throat spasms, but I can't be sure.

The kicker is me!  I, too, am coughing, and it has been very annoying, up until last week.  I'm pregnant and due in a few weeks, so I haven’t been able to take much for this, and the coughing has become more and more violent.  Last week I was so tired of peeing myself every time I coughed I wanted to scream!  Then things got worse - I had a bout of bad diarrhea last Tuesday and got dehydrated.  Later that day, after that finally stopped, my coughing became very violent and I started pulling muscles in my abdomen and back.

My OB had me try cough syrup with codeine which didn’t help.  The only things that seem to really help is steam, lots of sips of water to keep everything wet, and when it was very bad I was using cough drops.

It took several days, but I have re-hydrated and things have improved.  I am still coughing violently, just not nearly as frequently, and now instead of just regular pains from coughing, I have excruciating pain in my right side from pulled/strained muscles or cracked ribs or something.  

My first time with the throat closure happened 2 days ago.  I was finally able to sleep most of the night (only got up twice – pregnant p- it happens) after days and days of getting very little, very broken sleep from coughing and pain.  My throat was extra dry because I was not sipping water all night for a change, and I woke needing to cough, so I went and sat on the toilet as I usually do, to cough, because I always lose my bladder because of the pressure from the baby, and I started into this fit, and my throat closed.  It scared the heck out of my husband as I was gasping for air and nothing was getting through this pinhole that was left.  He said it sounded like an asthma attack to him.

I’ve been to the doctor twice myself for this coughing thing, and my lungs are clear, and there’s no sign of infection or anything – it just is very dry!  Doc said he was surprised I wasn’t gagging it was so dry.  As long as I keep it moist, it’s not so bad, but again, last night, slept most of the night through, woke up with a dry throat, and had several very bad fits with throat spasms.  Now I’m midway through the day, have been sipping ice water all day, and things have really settled down.  I haven't had a chance to bring up the spasm to a doc yet, and I'm not sure there is a point after reading all of this.  I'll just do my best to keep everything nice and hydrated.

I think this is from some sort of virus or something, and the hope coughing and spasms are being exacerbated by the dryness.  Being pregnant, I have no choice but to hope this goes away soon, but reading all of these posts has really got me worried that I may be dealing with this for much longer than I care to.  With a new baby coming, and such horrible pain in my midsection that I can’t even lay down – how am I supposed to heal if this coughing doesn’t stop?  Especially after my c-section next month?

I finally went to a Pulminologist (my 5th doc) thinking maybe I have adult asthma.  He feels I have Valley Fever!  If you live in the Southwest it is pretty common.  He prescribed Diflucan and I am now going on my 4th day and my cough is not as severe.  I haven't had an spasm at all.  The throat is not normal yet and if I laugh or breathe in the air will tickle and I will feel like I am about to go into a spasm but have been able to control that.  Really hate that I can't just do a belly laugh!  Today, some of my old energy is back and I feel pretty hopeful that this may be what is wrong.  BTW - had a blood test for Valley Fever and that tested negative.  The Specialist said that is common - only true way is to do a blood and a CT scan.  Gosh I hope this goes away!

To everyone.  I have all these symptoms, saw acupuncturist today, really, really helped...and just now, after eating watermelon, had an attack.  Looked it up.  Total possible allergic reaction - throat swelling.  Anyone else notice what they eat anytime before attacks?  Cucumber is in that family...and all kinds of foods I'd imagine.

I cannot explain to you all how relieved I am to find this site.  I was beginning to think I was alone with this horrible feeling of suffocation.  I first experienced it several years ago after developing a cold. It was absolutely terrifying and I thought I was going to die. I was rushed to A&E and the Doctor looked at me as if I was a penny short of the full ticket. He said I must have had a Panic Attack and was obviously suffering from Anxiety and must go and see my own GP. He prescribed diazapam 2mg. for 1 week.  Over the passing 5 years or so, I have become terrified of getting a cold just in case it happened again.  Fortunately it never happened again, until last night.  All day I was feeling short of breath, I had a scratchy throat and found it very difficult to talk.  I began to start coughing, it was very dry and I tried hard to suppress it. I kept drinking hot tea and this seemed to help a little, but then all of a sudden I coughed and that was it. It was as if my windpipe was suddenly shut, I could not breathe in or out. I remember making these horrendous noises, rasping uncontrolably. My husband started to panic and said he was going to ring 999. The fear I felt inside was tremendous and I really thought this was it.  The whole process must have gone on for at least 45 seconds but it felt like forever.  Gradually I felt the air coming back into my lungs and I began shaking and was unable to speak.  When the ambulance arrived they took me to the A&E and again they had no idea what could have caused it, although the Doctor did state that the lymph nodes in my throat were raised and thought that I may have a throat infection and that I must go to my own GP and he would more than likely prescribe antibiotics.  I must say they made me feel as if I was wasting their time. Today I am feeling very nervous and again trying to suppress my cough, but reading through all the information given by other sufferers I at least feel secure in the knowledge that the worst that can happen is that I will pass out.  It doesn't stop the fear though.....................!!!! God Bless You All and Thank you for all the information given above.

umm welll, i have a sore throat and when ever i cough , okay so i worry to much and when i cough it just wont come up so my heart starts racing and im just so nervous and i dont know what to do i just wont it to go away, can someone help.?

I just spent the night in the hospital, experiencing the exact same thing as Barry. A cough that results in my throat closing up and yes, struggling to breathe, no air coming back in for a good minute or two...panic sets in, as you feel like you're going to die. When the muscles in my throat finally loosen back up and i get a bit of air in, everything is really sensitive, and my chest cavity is in so much pain.  The docs kept saying asthma, tho, i know it is something worse...the just told me not to drive because i may black out from it. They sent me home with 3 prescriptions and a ventalin puffer....no matter how much i tried to expain, they didnt seem to understand how serious and scared I was. It's hard to relax when YOU CAN'T BREATHE. Nothing else matters....

I too also get the same thing. It started about a month ago. At first, I started to have a lot of phlegm and it would hover in my throat & make me cough. This cough is unlike any other that I have ever experienced! It is a deep, in the body type of cough. The coughs were not that long but would make me feel faint & almost pass out. That lasted about 2 weeks. Now for the last 2-3 weeks, If the cough is enough for the spasm, my wind pipe closes and I make that horse sound, gasping for air like everybody else. I also get the gag reflex thing going from the cough and it makes me vomit. I feel totally normal before & about 10 minutes after an episode. I don't have insurance, but as soon as I do I am going to get a endoscopy.

Prior to all this, I believe I had, and still have a GERD issue for about the past year. I would get major hick-ups, feel like food is right at my throat, and just a bad feeling overall. I had many sleepless nights due to this. I have been on Prilosec for about 6 weeks and it seems to have helped a lot! Sometimes after I wake up in the morning, I get the hick-ups a little and have a crappy feeling. It lasts for a few hours. I am glad I found this post to express my symptoms...

Excuse me while I cough this out...

Well whadaya know, I'm not alone. It started about three or four weeks ago. (Late September) I developed a tickle down deep in my throat or esophagus, feels like where it meets the wind pipe. Definite fluid buildup, dripping into the wind pipe or lungs. This prompts a tickle and the need to cough which quickly developed into a violent wheezing, almost to gagging. The first week of this (several spasms a day) would leave me dizzy with the feeling of being close to passing out. I was worried I was going to have a brain aneurism. The pressure the wheezing puts on my brain is tremendous. The second week I found it hard to catch my breath, but less episodes. I thought it was my lungs collapsing or something lung related. But realizing my lungs are clear and after reading others findings, I know now it's my vocal cords or throat sizing up from the severity of the wheezing. The cough I understand is brought on by the buildup of fluid, which is clear by the way. It doesn’t do much good to try and cough it up as it brings on the wheezing. A controlled clearing of the throat helps to clear the flem and avoid the wheezing. Last night I scared my family while we were out to dinner. After the spasm (short bursts of wheezing) it took about a minute or two to fully recover and talk and breathe normal. I sipped water (that’s all I could do is sip) after the wheezing spasm which seemed to help somewhat. I have not passed out yet, that would and I'm sure it does, suck allot.

When this all started, I initially thought it was allergies brought on by the change of weather, I live in the woods on the foothills of Mt Hood Oregon, it's nearly always wet with lots of ferns and moss. But now I'm not so sure. After reading all the above and even though my family is prompting me to see a doctor (no job, no insurance by the way) I see no reason to feel confident they will know what to do.

Comments would be welcome, thanks and breathe deep.

I posted first here 3 months ago, in mortal panic. Since then, all that confusion and those desperate attempts to make connections with everything and anything have disappeared, now that I know that the symptoms I had (and have, though they are now getting under control) are due to, you guessed it, undiagnosed gastric reflux problems. Check the message from LDU, August 3, it's all there, for me at least. The drug of choice, for me, has been "Pantoprazole", one pill 40 mg per day in the morning. Wikipedia says it is a protein pump inhibitor used to relieve the symptoms of GERD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantoprazole

Advice to myself: Don't eat after 7 pm, don't go to bed with a full stomach, try to cut down on coffee (impossible in my case since I'm such an addict) and chocolate (ditto), wear looser clothing around the waist, quit worrying so much, get more exercise to release your tension, eat regular low fibre meals, time to lose weight.

Wow! so many tips, nut no-one is sure what it is??? going to see ent specialist on monday, been experiencing this for almost a month now, scary as hell!
I am a missionary / evangelist / youth leader and all eyes are on me, my group gets scared more than i do when i have these fits. Have not passed out yet, but experiencing all the other symptoms.

I am not overweight and very fit, finished 3400KM mountain bike tour beginning of Sept.
I dont drink any coffee, gassy cold drinks/soda pops, milk or any mucus causing drinks, for almost a year now (99% intake consists of spring water)
I eat a vegan diet, very healthy stuff, i am very picky of what i put into my body. lots of fruit and nuts.
i dont eat after 7pm, no spicy stuff ever. No sugar or syrup, only honey. No colorants, no preservatives, no agents.
i dont touch anything with alcohol except mouthwash (which triggered it this morning, so stay away)
i dont smoke or find myself in smoky environments.
live outside Dundee, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa on a farm, no allergies.
I dont have the flu, did not have bronchitis, feel absolutely fine all day long, but this irritation makes me cough and then my air pipe shuts.

This helps - dont sing / whisper / shout/ laugh / talk for more than 2 minutes without having a sip of water / dont cough, fight it off when you can, suppress it where possible. Any air rapidly moving OUT of your lungs past your voice box triggers the attack. I dont know for sure where i got it from but i have some ideas, probably stupid and wrong but it night help some genius figure it out...i was in touch with a big boerboel dog that i was told had kennel cough. and my scratchy throat phase followed soon after that.

Please contact me immediately if you find a cure or answer.

God bless you all for posting these! It is a massive relief to know you guys/girls have it and are still alive!

Nelis Theron +27 790878650

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I read every single posting - feels better to know I'm not the only one.  I was diagnosed with bronchitis last week.  The doc prescribed antibiotics, steroids for the inflammation, an inhaler and cough suppressant pills.  Have not used the inhaler, finished the antibiotics and the steroids.

The coughing has gotten better.  I try to suppress it  The slowly exhaling helps me a lot. My present bronchitis/cold has exacerbated the throat spasms but I have always suffered from this though very sporadic.  I remember being a kid and choking on saliva and struggling to breath and being embarrassed because people around me thought I was dying.  

I have never discussed this with any doctor, I have a follow up appointment tomorrow and will let my doctor know and will post back and let everyone know what he says. Thank you so much for all your experiences.

Sounds like whooping cough. I have it. My brother has it. He just passed out in the bathroom coughing.

I can't believe all these docs don't recognize whooping cough/Pertussis. It is bacterial. Immunity wears off from childhood vax at appx age 15.  There is now, since 2005 a booster shot for older people. TDap-get it. I did get mine today even though I know I have it now. Very Scary. Told my bro 2 mos ago he had it. First doc said sinus infection and gave no antibiotics. Now it is even worse, and the doc he went to in his new city diagnosed it and said he was having a flare-up and gave him Biaxin. IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR A CHILD UNDER 18 months (AND MORE IMPORTANTLY 6 MONTHS) get your TDap vax. MANY ADULTS GET IT AND WHILE IT IS STILL MILD THE FIRST 2 WEEKS PASS IT TO INFANTS WHO CANNOT BE VAXD UNTIL 6months AND WON"T FULLY BE IMMUNE TILL 18 MONTHS IF THEY GET THEIR WHOLE SERIES OF SHOTS. THIS WILL KILL A CHILD!!!!! LOOK UP Help prevent whooping cough/ sounds of pertussis/ and whooping cough dot net....there are others but you can HEAR THE COUGH THERE NOT EVERYONE WHOOPS EITHER!!!

This is a condition that stumps the doctors.  

I have been dealing with this since Oct 10, 2009.  It began at the same time I developed my annual "change of season" allergy symptons - and the day I went to the dentist to get a temporary crown.  The covering is made of metal and has a pink covering.  It also has a taste: metal.  Did not think much of the dental situation - until now.  I am going to have it removed asap. Even is the permanent crown is not in - this metal tasting thing is coming out.

The allergy coughing hurt my head so bad that I had to hold my temples while I coughed. It was a deep cough with nothing coming out. Always the same; 2 shallow coughs then 1 or 2 deep coughs. (The choking came a few day later)    Finally went to the doctor to address what I thought was allergy.  Got meds for upper respiratory to take care of the sneezing, runny nose and sinus headache.  After leaving the doctor's office and the nearby drug store with my meds the dreaded killer cough got me at a stop light in the middle of the buisiest street in the city. The 2 shallow coughs came then 2 deep, long and ugly sounding coughts followed by the clsoing of my throat.  I started gasping and clutching my throat.  The man in the car next to me came to my rescue.  He began hitting me on my back - like you would help a person who was choking.  I struggled for a long moment. My wind slowly came back but it was a sturggle for the muscle to relax and allow more air in.  I was able to get back in my car and drive to a store and get a drink.  It took a while for the raspy feeling in my throat to go away.  I sipped on liquids continuously.  

Luckily the doctor had given me coughing pills, along with a zee pack, something for sneezing, etc. They said it may be silent reflux or acid relfux. They ordered an ex-ray of my throat and chest - all clear.  They told me to go to the ER if it happened again.  It would all be over by the time I could even call EMS. If the ER sees no blood; they would not see me either.

I later went back to the ENT, had a scope down my throat and a steroid shot.  While the nurse was writing her final notes I had an attack in the office and she did not know what to do.  The cough and my choking were so loud 2 doctors came in and they were all looking at me with blank looks on their faces.  They were stunned.  Then they gave me 2 inhalers and other meds to dry up the post nasal drip. They have also said it was laryngo spasm and checked my epiglottis.  

The episodes have happened 7 times in 10 days.   It happened at work 2 times and a co-worker was able to perform the heimlic which really helped.  At other times it has happened while at home.  Two of those times I have been able to get to my neighbor to hit me on the back until it goes away.  Each time I am not coughing up anything - just a ticke that leads to a choking cough.  The tickle is hard to resist. The muscles start quivering and if I don't get to a bottle of water and sip it out - I am in trouble.  I have bottles of water everywhere in my home and car.  It happens at any time.

I am a trainer and talk everyday.  It has been hard talking through a workshop but it has not happened while training.  I get a wisp of air that weakens my voice which causes the break down which causes the urge to cough. This is the first week I have not had a full attack. I think I have so much medication in me that all of it is doing a little something.  But truly I feel none of it is getting to the root of things.  

I felt the current ENT professionals were unable to figure this out. They said my throat area looked fine; so I was able to see my former ENT who also said reflux along but felt saw red and irritated throat muscles.  He gave the prescribed list of things to stay away from along with lifting the head of the bed. If it is reflux; I do not have any gas or burping or burning.  When I come out of the choke there is a lot of slimy clear saliva, lots of tears and nose drippings.  The cough and choking are so hard that all of my body muscles contract and my bladder releases. I have a constant presence of something strange lurking in my throat - no pain - just the presence of something that can become active at any time.  Sipping water and catching it as soon as I can has helped.  I will continue to gargle with the solution of salt water and baking soda and continue to take the coughing meds and the pills to dry up the post nasal drip.  I will not use the 2 inhalers anymore.  Let's hope a few ENTs read this site.  
We should all forward these comments to them.  I know I will.

hey guys good news!!!
Doc does not know what to call what i have, but he took a shot in the dark and it worked!!!
A shot of Cortisone in the butt and 15 days on Avelon antibiotics.
Still have a bit of flem in throat , but back to normal, can cough as much as i want and it does not close up anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,

I am recovering from a cold/flu and experienced the same irritation, phlegm, very painful heaving, coughing and choking that everyone described here. One breathing exercise I found really helpful is the Buteyko Breathing Method, pioneered by a Russian doctor who treated asthmatic patients. Basically, you should only breathe through your nose all the time in shallow breaths. To relax your lung muscles, you hold your nose, keep your mouth closed, nod your head for as long as you can hold your breath, then breathe through the nose and repeat until all sensation of suffocation and spasm are gone. Do this frequently, even before any attacks. Try Googling on Youtube to lean more about this. There is a whole lot of science behind the methods, and a lot of asthma and sleep apnea sufferers have benefited greatly. None of these prescribed drugs, Ventolin, Prednisone, EVER cure any sufferers, and dosage has to be amped up to treat the problems over the years. There's also a Youtube video for children. I find these exercises extremely helpful in relaxing the upper respiratory tract, and beats pumping your body with drugs.

Good luck and let me know if it works.

My throat just completely closed while coughing, scared the crap at of me, and making strange noises when gasping for air.  This lasted for  an hour, and happened about an hour ago.  I thought I was dead, feels like a muscle in my throat closed and got stuck, and I couldn't open it again.  My wife was getting ready to call 911, but the muscle started relaxing, and I went right on the web to check it out, and wound up here.  I'm 48 yrs. old and this never happened to me, and I reall thought I was Dying, I'm hoping it was a one time thing.