27M, cough for 5+ years that disappears every time I leave the country. Reflux meds help, allergy test negative, but antihistamines still work. What am I missing?
27M, 167cm, 82kg.
Been dealing with this for over 5 years and would love some outside opinions.
The cough: Productive, with phlegm, and worse at noon.
The weird parts:
- When I travel abroad it disappears completely. Like fully gone. Back home, it returns within days.
- Way worse when I sleep on my right side.
- PPIs help.
- Allergy test came back zero, but cetirizine still clearly helps my post-nasal drip.
What's been done: My internist thinks it's LPR (silent reflux). H. pylori breath test was negative (done after properly stopping PPIs). Laryngoscopy is coming up.
Current meds: lansoprazole, Vometa (domperidone), Dogmatil (sulpiride), Disflatyl (simethicone), plus cetirizine and saline spray. After about a month the reflux/stomach stuff is noticeably better, but the post-nasal drip hangs around.
Questions:
- What should I do next?
- Could this be two problems at once, like reflux plus non-allergic rhinitis?
- Any other tests worth asking for? Sinus CT, pH monitoring?
TL;DR: 5+ year chronic cough with phlegm, worse at night, gone whenever I travel, better on PPIs and cetirizine despite a negative allergy test. Suspected LPR, laryngoscopy pending. Wondering if it's reflux, the environment, or both.
Anyone been through something similar? Thanks!
#chroniccough #LPR #silentreflux #GERD #postnasaldrip #rhinitis