Coughing And Passing Out?

[gelann]

My daughter who has autonomic issues has a new problem. About the first week of November a cough started and naturally she thought it was a cold. Antibiotics haven't helped. They tested her for whopping cough and Asthma --both negative. She is 25.

Has anyone had this problem? The coughing is so forceful that she passes out. Her passing out was under control with midodrine. She recently started a new job and she has missed the last month due to this cough. Now she is worried if she will have a job or insurance since she is still in the probation period.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Gelann

[Ernie]

Hi,

I have the same problem of passing out when I cought or blow my nose so I have to lye down not to injure myself.

[Sunfish]

hi gelann -

sorry to hear that your daughter (and in turn you as well) is having to deal with this frustration. coughing can definitely be a trigger for syncope. while it is possible that she's still holding on to a stubborn virus of some sort, i have a few other thoughts for you.

1 - has she had a chest x-ray? if not, it probably won't show a thing, but with a cough lingering so long & other seemingly obvious causes ruled out it wouldn't be an unreasonable thing to pursue. there's always a small chance that she has a pneumonia or something else going on that would be your "answer" & could potentially lead to better treatment.

2 - is she coughing stuff out, i.e. mucus? i only ask b/c - if so - it could be cultured to check for bacteria as well as what the right antibiotic would be to treat. not all antibiotics treat all bacteria effectively so while educated guesses are made based on the clinical situation & are often effective, if there's something to culture it would give you more answers in this regard.

3 - last but not least, i can't recall if your daughter has ever had GI motility issues? either way, reflux/ GERD might be worth looking into if other things don't bring an answer. despite popular belief, not everyone with reflux has heartburn. and a persistant cough can be a symptom of reflux that needs treatment with a PPI. if she has motility issues, i.e. gastroparesis, this may be even more likely, but it's certainly not impossible even without.

i hope this helps give you some new ideas & that your daughter is feeling better & able to get back to her job sooner rather than later,

melissa