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annoying gagging cough that won't go away

I am 50 years old. About 4 months ago, I started having these coughing spasms.  They start with a little tickle and I began a spasmodic sort of coughing, until I often gag.  In between these spasms I am fine, but they are becoming more frequent.  I am a non-smoker.  I had asthma as a child and the doctor has put me on two inhalers, a corticosteroid and albuterol, and Singulair.  It hasn't helped.  Now, to add to the coughing spasms, I have begun burping with them.  I never burp anything up, there is no sore throat or burning, and their is no productivity to my cough.  Sometimes I feel like there is "something down there" but nothing comes up.  I had a CT of my chest a couple of days ago and am waiting to hear the results.  Any one out there with a similar experience?
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942934 tn?1268108382
one small correction I meant to say that post nasal drip can be caused sometimes by GERD, if the contents aspirate high enough to reach your throat area. And GERD can worsen asthma. So you see they are all interconnected, and it can be complex sometimes to work through all the symptoms or the lack of symptoms... just a cough!
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942934 tn?1268108382
Sounds a lot like GERD to me. Especially that you mention the burping part. Also there is a type of GERD that is presents with only a cough. Hence why it is called silent GERD. Your doctor could either do a test trial of reflux medications and see if it makes a difference. Or do various tests first, like the barium swallow (doesn't always show positive)  Or the other one where they put a strip of pH paper down your esophagus and read it after 24 hours to see if anything is coming up your esophagus. The other cause is post nasal drip. For some they only get a cough with it and feel nothing else. Most people will feel something dribbling down the backs of their throat. Or they do a lot of throat clearing. There are a variety of causes ranging from rhinitis, sinusitis and GERD (if it aspirates high enough to reach your throat area) The three most common causes for a cough is: asthma, Post nasal drip, and GERD.  I would say that it is just best to continue working with your doctor, eventually you will figure it out.
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