Hi all,Interesting how unique all of our journeys are and how similar they are - thank you all for sharing your knowledge, experiences, and compassion!
TL;DR - I think mom coughs to signal discomfort, stress, pain, illness, anxiety, etc. rather than the cough being a symptom of a cough problem (i.e., GERD, post nasal drip, allergies, pneumonia, cold, aspiration).
My mom is 86, has stage 5-ish dementia, is just back from a 5 day hospital stay for pneumonia. Her recent medical journey began with a UTI (to ER, discharged with abx), back to the ER 4 days later b/c of a chronic dry throaty cough for about 5 hours straight - there they discharged her with abx to treat for pneumonia, although her lung was clear mostly.
She came home and just continued to cough for another 1.5 and declined and was so weak and uncomfortable, praying for help. I thought we were waiting for the antibiotics to kick in but brought her back to the ER where she was admitted. She coughed ALL NIGHT LONG - but not a pneumonia deep cough - more of a tickle in her throat cough.
No tessalon pearls, robitusson, cough drops, etc. could stop this cough.
After carefully observing it seems the cough is a response to something else - whether it's b/c she needs to be cleaned, or needs a tums. I've tried discussing with folks but she keeps getting prescribed cough treatments that mostly don't do anything to limit her cough.
Anyone else have this experience? Is this a thing? I read one forum question like this in the past and wonder if others have this experience.
Mom is home now, has 24/7 care, and I am glad she is in her home rather than at a facility. When we leave the house now she starts coughing and it lessons when she gets home.
Thank you all for your support and insights!Lindsay
I hope your mom is not suffering from a relentless throat tickle. But, honestly, she may just have trouble expressing her needs, and the cough is something she can do. You just have to go through a list of things she may want or need, and try to make her comfortable, because she has lost the ability to identify or say what she needs. She may not even know what it is she needs, she just knows she feels uncomfortable or wants something.
Best of luck with a difficult situation.
I agree that comfort care is a merciful thing <3
Definitely there can be something around her moving around more and exercising her lungs - but we do that inside also. And she gets the cough inside also, it's just the being away from home results in more coughing.
She is not on an any beta blockers but good thinking. She is on donepezil which I wonder if its involved. Although in hindsight, I feel like Mom has had a cough for many years - and it was just a thing she had with no real explanation.
We are definitely open to finding some sort of help for Mom b/c like your family member, the coughing is exhausting for my poor frail Mom!
I have no medical background and am not aware of this as a “thing” but I think you may be onto something. Does she take anything for anxiety and if not maybe that’s worth trying? Also acid reflux can cause chronic cough without a lot of other symptoms, apparently. Maybe that’s an avenue to look into?
The challenge I'm finding is that she coughs when she has pain or bodily discomfort so while the anxiety medicine can help suppress her cough, it's like some serious observation and detective work to get at what is exactly the issue - and when I ask her and palpitate her as to where she is bothered, she says she is fine! Yes, poor mom! And I just want her to be comfortable <3
A cough can be a symptom of so many things! When you leave the house and she starts coughing, do you think it could be from the change in position, such as from half-reclining in bed to sitting up straight in the car? I have no idea why this would cause a cough but have seen it happen.
Is she taking metoprolol? It's a beta-blocker that can cause narrowing of airways. This can cause a cough, shortness of breath and perhaps other symptoms resulting from narrow airways. A family member of mine took this medicine and coughed about every three minutes for months. He refused to call his doctor about it and wore himself out coughing! Not to mention his wife couldn't stand to be around him. He had a history of asthma.
I'm not a medical person but decided that these things are worth mentioning because I've observed them in sick people that I know. A doctor might not investigate before reaching for the prescription pad to prescribe cough syrup.