Cough

If you're a smoker, that's the most likely cause. If not, I can think of two hard-to-find causes to consider. One of your medications or supplements might be doing it. If you're able to stop each of them for a reasonable trial (perhaps a week) you might discover a cause. Most likely is one that started last January or a bit before. Vitamins and protein powders are definitely on the list of possibilities.

The second thing that comes to mind is Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (also called LPR or Silent Reflux). It's hard to diagnose, but even harder if the doctor doesn't consider it. Good luck!

Thanks Scott  I have been on lomotil, antibiotic, VSL#3, vitamins and adavan  for 5 years .  My diet is the same.  Oatmeal with half of banana protein powder in morning .  my diet is basically the same of what I eat at noon and evening. You think one of these may be getting the best of me?  If I take away the adavan I won't be able to sleep at night.   If I take away the lomotil I won't feel right. Maybe I should stop with VSL first for the week  and than change my breakfast the following week and see what happens.  Thanks for advice

My mom developed a cough from gastric reflux/GERD. It was silent gastric reflux. I can't remember the exact med she was prescribed, it was one of the histamine blockers, though (like Pepcid, Zantac). Once she started taking the med, the cough subsided. Again, she had no symptoms of GERD up front, but this is what they diagnosed, and it went away after treatment. 

Grace, if your meds really haven't changed in 5 years then they most likely aren't responsible, and of course it's a terrible nuisance to stop them, even temporarily. Rachel reminded me that the easiest way to find out if it's silent reflux is to try an acid-blocker like Zantac (ranitidine) or Prilosec. I prefer Zantac because it's less trouble to stop taking it. You could try a significant dose of Zantac (150 mg twice a day) for a couple of weeks and see if you notice any improvement. What's really nice is you don't have to visit a doctor to try it. If it works you can try lowering the dose so you take the smallest amount necessary for a good result.

If that doesn't help, it could also be asthma. I developed a chronic cough about 5 years ago and jumped through all kinds of diagnostic hoops. It finally turned out to be asthma behaving in an unusual way. I tried a variety of inhaled steroids until I found one (Alvesco) with my allergist's help that made the cough go away.

Thanks Rachel and Scott  That is what I thought at first , acid reflux  but my gastro told me to see a lung specialist.  I will try the acid pills.  If that doesn't work I will mention this to my gastro about asthma.  Thanks for your suggestions .

Grace