Violent coughing

[JV20189765]

I posted a few months ago about my mother in law. She’s been doing dialysis for a few months now. She has end stage renal failure with repeated fluid around the heart. She’s been doing okay, she has good and bad days. My post today is about her cough. She’s been coughing often and violently. It’s to the point that she throws up and soils herself. It seems no one knows the source of this cough. She’ll be doing fine one minute then the next have a coughing fit and can barely breath. Is this normal with kidney failure? Is there anything we can do to help her? She’s on oxygen, she has a humidifier, cough drops... It’s really very difficult to hear and live with. Any advice, please!

[Cazzy41]

As she is in dialysis I presume her fluids are restricted??? I am wondering if extra fluid is maybe a reason. Whilst I was on dialysis I saw a lot of people suffering with chest issues and the majority were actually carrying too much fluid which restricted the lung capacity and therefore chest and coughing issues. I may be completely wrong but it’s just an idea also BP medication like sinipril and such like caused me to cough and splutter quiet badly as they did not suit. Fingers crossed you get to the bottom of this please keep me updated on her situation. Xxx

[JV20189765 in reply to Cazzy41]

Her fluids are restricted. I’ll mention the BP medicine, thanks!

[Cazzy41 in reply to JV20189765]

Just because a restriction has been set is she actually doing as advised? It’s to easy to have an extra glass of water or beverage thinking it won’t harm but it soon adds up if it’s not all being removed properly. Just a thought that’s all. The amount of people who go into a dialysis session with an extra two or 3 kilos weight which is equivalent to 2-3 litres of extra fluid is silly but they don’t take responsibility for it. Either way I really hope it settles and good luck xx

[TaffyTwoshoes27]

I was coughing taking the blood pressure med "Lisinopril" as well. My PCP prescribed Benzonatate and it worked very well.

Recently I was put on Eliquis (blood thinner) and started coughing again. The Benzonatate did not work this time. I would cough until I gagged and then threw up sometimes.

Is your mom an ex-smoker? I am. I "snuck" a cig recently and it started me coughing. It has finally passed.

I would suggest watching fluids but also make a list of meds and talk to doc or pharmacist. I called a Humana pharmacist and went over my whole list of meds and made sure nothing was contraindicated.

I hope she feels better.

[Hidden]

If she is end stage renal nausea can be a real problem so that when she coughs it will trigger vomiting. Does she need anti nausea meds?

Sometimes this type of coughing can be caused by gastric esophageal reflux which can be treated.

You might try some humidity in her room in case a dry throat is causing issues.

Good luck

[JV20189765 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. I hadn’t thought of anti nausea meds, and I don’t think anyone brought up reflux.

[Oldearkie_83]

This does sound familiar to me. My cough can be so violent that I caused myself an umbilical hernia. I have been to a throat "specialist" who found nothing wrong in my throat, just a sensitive nerve. My cough can be brought on by the food passing in my throat when I begin to eat, or dust or dry air, or rain, etc. I just never know. I did find out that most cough remedies are useless, including the Tessalon Perls, and every cough drop I tried was just so much candy and, as such, useless. The only useful remedy for me, though no cure, is Halls Intense Cool cough drops. Check the ingredients: this contains 15 mg menthol, the most of any cough drop on the market so far that I have found. Though made in Canada, it is available in most grocery stores, drug stores, Walmart, Amazon, etc. in the US. The package is mostly black and white. I hope this can be of benefit to your mother in law.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador]

If she's had issues with fluid around the heart it MAY be side effect of congestive heart failure. Those are the exact symptoms when I had CHF. Get her to doctor for an echo to rule it out. JMHO. BLESSINGS

[GeminiSister]

I would imagine that her lungs are filling with fluid. In end stage heart failure cough is prevalent. Kidneys and heart failure are connected.

[JV20189765 in reply to GeminiSister]

Is it a sign the dialysis isn’t working? Should we be prepared for her passing? She was just in the hospital last month for fluid around her heart. Does it build up that quickly? Sorry for so many questions. This is all new to me.

[TaffyTwoshoes27 in reply to JV20189765]

She can tell how well her dialysis is working by the KTV labs. I cannot remember whether you said she's on hemodialysis or PD. My PD renal nurse does a KTV lab every 3 months to determine how effective the dialysis is for me. If the number continues to decline, my renal nurse adjusts my treatment by adding time and/or solutions.

I do not know if they perform a KTV lab on hemodialysis patients. I would consult with a cardiologist or ask your mother's nephrologist to provide orders to have an echocardiogram performed on your mother. I was put in the hospital in September with an A-fib incident. It was mainly caused by dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. I had been throwing up for days and that caused the dehydration and electrolyte imbalance -- my potassium and sodium were too low.

I was taking Zofran, 4mg, for nausea and vomiting during the period when I was coughing and vomiting. It had helped initially but it stopped working for me.

[Munkie]

I've got a similar situation but some what different. I'm stage 3B. On a side note, I'm not on dialysis so the difference for me is my coughing has been apart of me since I was little. It has been gettin worst in the sense it happens usually in mornings & night everyday. Sometimes durin the day. I've nvr been able to get an answer but did find out thru researching that mine may b due to a birth defect. I have a submucosal cleft palate, which is the roof of my mouth partially formed & my uvula is split into 2. As well as eustachian tube dysfunction in left ear w horrible scarring & about 30% hearin left in that ear. I end up coughin pretty bad & have extreme throat clearing but no success. I have 3 possibles I'm lookin into which is the GERD, Esophageal & Esophagitis