night time cough

[susanc1961]

i am wondering if anyone can tell me why i cough when lying on my right side, when settling down to sleep on my left side after an initial cough im ok and go to sleep but on turning around the coughing starts and will persist until i go back to my left. has anyone else had this ?

[pilch]

Hi Susanc

Sorry i cant answer help with your question apart from saying i am exactly the same although I cough on my left side. It gets boring always facing the same way but I suppose thats a minor grumble.

My worst trouble is when shopping bending to pick things of the lower shelves really gets me coughing.

Best wishes

Pilch

[Hidden]

I always lie down on my right side first and I always cough there. When I change to my left I don't cough as much. But it can vary a bit. x

[O2Trees]

This could be acid reflux susan, especially what is known as silent reflux which means you don't tend to get much heartburn if any, but the refluxate from the stomach reaches above the upper oesophageal spinster and enters the throat. From there it can be aerosolised into the top of the lungs and cause irritation.

Reflux is very common with people with copd (not sure if you have this).

Owing to the physiognomy of the stomach, the oesophagus is on the right hand side nearer to the top and lying on that side means the acid can get out via gravity easily.

When you lie on your left its much harder for it to escape and back up.

Mention this to your GP - reflux is not something to take casually as it can cause serious conditions if left untreated.

One way to see if this is what it is would be to buy a wedge pillow off the net, or raise the head of your bed by about 6-8" - this also increases the protection gravity can give you.

The BLF helpline will have information, and may think of other possibilities for your symptoms - worth giving them a call. (click top right on balloon for contacts)

[Hidden in reply to O2Trees]

I also have this problem, and I use a wedge pillow. Since I was diagnosed decades ago as having mild acid reflux. In my case it seems to be accumulated fluid in the lungs on the right side, (or when lungs tipped to the right it becomes pooled and is a problem due to placement of organs) and it's been like that for years. In fact that's why I got the wedge pillow, not using again until recently however.

I am 75 and in good health, take no prescription drugs, or any drugs, drink very little alcohol, exercise twice a week, active at work, never smoked cigarettes. 11% body fat, lost 8 to 10 lbs since went full vegan in mid May of 2018, now 145Lb. @ 5'10".

I also have a leaking heart valve since 1998, Doctors say not life threatening. On my own I just decided to keep my heart rate lower than 120 or so. Okay to go higher if I increase exertion slowly. To do this I exercise & ride my bicycle every week, 30 to 40 min at a time, to maintain a level of fitness where the heart doesn't need to go higher than 120 or so.

But the arrhythmia (heart skipping sometimes as much as every 3 to 4 beats, then 30 beats, and noticeable when lying down on my back at night, and in the morning!) and the coughing when on my right side does concern me.

[Snackjack in reply to O2Trees]

I also have this problem when I lay on my right side and am Ok once I have laid on the left side. I recently purchased a wedge pillow and found it does help and is quite comfortable. Prior to this I used to take Gaviscon.l I was on Ranadine prescribed by my doctor but for the last few months for some reason it has been taken off prescription so the doctor has now given me Pantoprazole but it still happens if I lay on my right side. Certainly worth speaking to your GP to check it out.

Good Luck

[susanc1961]

thanks everyone for your answers i did think that maybe because my right lung could be weaker and that it gets squashed when lying on it that maybe that may be the cause but i can relate to pilch with the bending over and down to reach for things from the floor etc. i have looked a little into acid reflux and maybe needs a little more investigation.and yes when in bed it would be nice to vary my sleeping position.

[EvaSamantha]

Hi, not sure how to word this really. I coughed more on my left side cos thats where the tumour was. Didnt know at thetime though found out later.

[susanc1961]

so sorry to hear that evasamantha,and what you must be going through , i really hope somthing is being done for you. my xrays did not pick up anything like that , well not as yet anyway.

its only when people tell me their problems that mine seem to fade out of significance in comparison .but living with this invasive disease is like a ticking time bomb knowing that it can only get worse and never better and a certain amount of paranoia creeps in each time you experience a different symptom .

i hope you feel better soon evasamantha xx

[soulsaver]

This happens to some people lying on their left side because gas in bowel is squeezed and compresses left lung and squeezes up mucous to trigger a cough.

If it happens right side then that as O2 says is more likely acid reflux.

So, don't eat anything for at least 3 or 4 hours before bed, and take a ranitidine tablet before bedtime (over the counter antacid) with at least a small glass of water will quell reflux. May take a it a week or so to settle the inflammation, which is 'silent' in some (others get burning pain behind the sternum- 'heart burn') If it works great, and you can get Dr to add it to your script.

If it improves but doesn't go away explain to Dr, who'll prob prescribe a Proton Pump inhibitor (for example Omeprazole) that will quell acid completely.

If that doesn't work, at least you ruled that out.

Good luck,

[Snowbrd in reply to soulsaver]

The best PPI is Nexium.

Try sleeping in a recliner some night if you have one and see if that doesn’t solve the problem.

[soulsaver in reply to Snowbrd]

I don't have a problem sleeping or cough. And note this thread is over 4 years old.

[Hidden]

My husband is the same always much better on his left!! Xx

[Floatiejoe]

I have the same situation!

[CertainD]

Yes I have this and that is why I googled coughing when laying on my right side. And then I found you. My cough sounds so croup and barky. No clue

[XIII in reply to CertainD]

I know you posted this a couple years ago, but struggling with same sounding cough. Have you come to any conclusion on why? 😊 thanks.

[PandaPal]

I see this was 4 years ago, but I’ve been searching for answers to this issue and haven’t found much. Just over a year ago I was hospitalized with a pleural effusion, collapsed right lung, sepsis and pneumonia that turned out to be legionella. It has been a long recovery, but I’m getting there. Then last week I started coughing again and since the pollen counts are really high, I’m pretty sure it’s allergy related but, of course, I’m anxious about not going down the same path again. I have been able to sleep in any position for months, but this spell seems right side oriented. It’s so strange. Sleeping on my back or my right side, I might cough a few times, but the right side produces serious coughing and drainage and gasping. After I sit up, I recover quickly. Makes me wonder if that lung hasn’t recovered as well as I thought. 😔

[PandaPal in reply to PandaPal]

I meant “sleeping on my back or my LEFT side...” 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Hidden in reply to PandaPal]

thanks for your post. I hope you are doing okay.

My post is above. we all have our problems

[Hidden]

Same thing with me. I’m 44. It all started after I had my 2nd child at 39. Reflux, hiatal hernia and asthma and allergies. Not sure which one is causing it.

[Hidden]

I also had a biopsy (thoracotomy style) when I was 24. It ended up being histoplasmosis which is very common where I live in the Ohio Valley.

[Pammyn]

I am the same, the minute I turn to my right side I start coughing, so I turn back to my left and it stops. Weird.