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Condensed version: Grandmom had a fall on 12/31 ~ but had no congestion/cough issues until 01/03. She does clear her throat from time to time but it seemed to be more pronounced. Doctor ordered a chest xray - RUL had the start of an infection (opacities/likely start of infection ~ per radiologist report). Zpack was given along with a nasal spray (starts with an I ~ really long word I can’t spell). Middle of the month ~ still seemed ‘off’ (though not as bad as it was prior). Doctor ordered a second round of Zpack but also ordered Mucinex (and suggested I keep Robutussin DM on hand as a backup).  Doc prescribed the second round because grandmom did improve from a few weeks ago.  Second xray was done last week ~ and it’s all clear.  Doctor has no answer about why the cough is still lingering.  Seemed to think it may have to run its course.  No changes in eating or drinking ~ same activity levels as usual ~ no pain (other than the bad shoulder, nothing new) ~ no fever.  I do have home care coming to the house (wanted them to do a home evaluation, looking into getting some modifications - grab bars, etc).  They are just as stumped about the cough as I (and the rest of us are) am.  In the past (long while ago) she was diagnosed with a touch of GERD but it never bothered her.  Tempted to buy Zantac to see if it makes a difference.  I do have the head of her (hospital) bed raised a bit more as a precaution.   She does have heart issues but everything is stable ~ EKG, etc is ok.

It feels like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle, I’m confused.  

I remember as a child that I was diagnosed with GERD ~ part of the treatment included no food/drink two hours before bedtime.  <— wondering if that’s the missing piece? 

Sorry about the “rant” but I’m feeling confused.

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She is coughing? What is your question?
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Sorry - phone glitched (had to retype parts of it).
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Has she recently had any meds changed? My mom has a cough and i read all the side effects on her meds and two of them have the side of effect of coughing. Is she coughing at random, or when eating/drinking?
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Why not try no food/drink 2 hours before bed and see if that helps? Is there anything stopping you from trying that?
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No issues during the day (...occasional cough/throat clearing - normal for her). No coughing while eating/drinking. Medically everything is clear. I’m all out of ideas (hence thinking GERD...?).

Prescription wise — day time: lisinopril; metropolol ER; furosemide (3 times a week); tylenol arthritis. Bed time: aspirin; mirtazapine (I forget the exact dosage but the pill gets cut in half and she takes 0.5 mg); probiotics (per GI doctor ~ probiotics to prevent c-diff relapse); and travatan eye drops (macular degeneration).

Side note: also sees an ENT ~ ears ok ~ had wax removed (nothing new). No fluid buildup (like me, she’s got PE tubes).
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lisinopril has a cough side effect, but hope you find your conclusion to the mystery, best wishes. let us know.
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@Ali ~ that’s what I’m going to try next .... no eating/drinking two hours before bed. But I do have a question (likely silly but humor me) ~ takes three pills at night with water. Not a lot of water, but fluid none the less. Would that little bit of water cause the cough to start up? Was thinking Zantac ~ but should I go the NPO route 2 hours before bed first...before giving more pills to her.
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@smeshque - good to know about lisinopril. But she’s been on it since 05/2017...with no (cough) issues until now. Is that a long term side effect of the medication? Thanks.
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I had to stop taking Lisinopril, because it caused annoying coughing. It is now listed in my medical record as something I am allergic to.

Allergic reactions don't always start at the onset of taking the drug. Talk to your pharmacist about this.
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May I ask ~ what are you taking in place of lisinopril?
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Lisinopril was quite some time ago, and I don't remember the immediate substitute. Now for blood pressure I take Norvasc, COZAAR, and metoprolol succinate. There are many choices for high blood pressure, and a doctor can definitely find something else.
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I agree that allergies/reaction to medication can take weeks or months to manifest and it makes it that much more confusing to Dx correctly. I know I've had to figure it out the hard way a couple of times that I had developed reactions to certain medications, and had to sort it out in my father, too. It seems that some prescriptions can take weeks and months to build up enough in the body to cause reactions. (My non expert opinion, of course, but I've gone through this a couple of times in recent years and it's perplexing when it's happening.)
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I’m glad I posted my question ~ y’all rock :)

First thing in the morning I’m going to call the cardiologist and find out how close the next appointment is... depending upon that (if it’s too far away) - may email her family doctor again and ask him to switch from lisinopril to anything ‘else’.
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Lisoinopril may be the culprit i have cough issues after voluntering at world trade ctr colapse. Few months ago i was taken off linsinopril with drastic improvement.
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Cough is a side effect with long term use of lisinopril. I have had to be taken off certain bp meds different reasons from mild to severe itching to ineffective to severe coughing. Lucky enough some doctors are on top of these possible side effects.
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There are various heart med options - my first suspicion, like Jeanne's, though I was scanning the px for the "-olol" drug rather than the "-opril".

It is worth asking your mother's PCP to have a look at a swap, but don't expect miracles :( - effective medications without *any* adverse side effects are somewhat unicornish. My mother's cardiologist tried her on spironolactone which was great - until her potassium shot through the roof. We resigned ourselves to the irritating cough option.
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Still has a slight cough ~ definitely no where near as bad as it had been.

Just left the cardiologist office ~ grandmom’s regular routine follow up visit. Echocardiogram was good (actually slightly better than last scan). He did get my message about lisinopril ~ said to stop it (...just found that out today). His wording ~ lisinopril is/was so low he said it’s ok to stop it. Likely the cause of the mystery cough. Next follow up visit scheduled for May.

She’s holding her own ~ vital signs stable, etc.  I’m extremely grateful.
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Get a swallowing study or speech therapist to check her out. Dad had a cough that seemed to be getting worse. Doctor said it was viral, not pneumonia. A week later he was hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia. Also had a UTI, and went septic. Lost him very quickly and wasn't aware that we were in trouble until it was too late.
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If you think it is gerd I highly recommend using aloe vera juice. It is effective at neutralizing the acids without the whole host of problems that come with "acid reducing" meds. You can get a gallon for less then 10 bucks and start small, 1/2 oz at a time. My husband gets great relief from 2oz in 2oz of apple juice. Aloe can be sour tasting, we like honey crisp apple juice not from concentrate and not clear, sweet enough to hide aloe, aloe also has other benefits as well.

Best of luck finding the answer of what the cause is.
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