Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Does anyone else have trouble with coughing up mucos

You're quite welcome. I've gotten so much from the people on these boards that I'll be delighted if anything I say can make a difference for someone else.

For the past year there really hasn't been anything I could do to make the coughing worse - or better. Your situation may be similar to mine in that I started with a virus that became bronchitis, so my lungs were overly sensitive - maybe your home remodeling irritated your lungs so they are overly sensitive and something that didn't bother you before does now. (Before IBS, I figured an occasional cough after eating was just something odd my digestive tract did and never gave it a second thought. Boy, were those the good old days!)

My chronic coughing this past year never triggered an IBS attack, thank goodness, but as I said maybe something that's causing slight reflux is also triggering IBS or, perhaps, the coughing itself is triggering spasms for you. Call me crazy, but if I put pressure on my tummy after eating (like bending over to tie my shoes), my digestive system gets very unhappy with me. My stomach goes bloop-bloop-bloop like the Maxwell house percolator and my lower digestive tract gets wobbly. Maybe your coughing is pressuring your gut.

Also, if there's something in your carbs that is a trigger - maybe whole wheat or dairy - that could be the cause, too. I'm sure dairy is a trigger for phlegm, but the only place I can remember actually hearing that is on BtVS, so take that for what it's worth.

I'd suggest you talk to your doctor - she might be able to give you something to help with the coughing and that might quiet down the spasming. If the coughing is acid reflux, you probably need medication to quiet it until your lungs are recovered. If you're IBS-D, you could try Immodium when you get a coughing fit - if the coughing is causing the spasming that might interrupt the chain.

In closing, I'll just say that coughing after an occasional meal is something I've also observed in quote-normal-unquote people, so it's not just restricted to us IBSers. Maybe it's something as simple as a mild food allergy. Again, maybe your doctor knows.

HTH. Good luck.

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