Slight aerophagia? Leading to gerd induced chronic cough

[legrunt]

Hi all, hope you guys can help me out here.

In 2019, about 1 year after I started using CPAP, I was hospitalised for a high fever and persistent dry cough.
Long story short, it was viral, but the cough persisted.
All this while, I would wake up feeling bloated (but not in pain) and over the next 1 or 2 hours, whatever gas was in me would pass out either upwards or downwards.
The cough, however, was terrible. 

Only after chancing upon an article about cough being one of the side effects of GERD did I suspect that maybe my aerophagia was kind of keeping my stomach sphincter open and causing my stomach acid to aerosolize and get inhaled into my lungs, causing this chronic cough.

I started on Nexium PPIs, and the cough subsided.

I have been on Nexium on and off for the past couple of years, but now trying to find ways to wean myself off it, since googling "long term effects of Nexium" brings up various articles about kidney damage etc.

I reduced the dose gradually until I completely stopped it, but after about 2 weeks, the cough returned and returned quite badly.  I have restarted Nexium again for the past week, and my cough is now gone again.

Does anyone have any advice?

[SarcasticDave94]

I don't have advice on the medication, but a few things I do because of GERD. I try lying on my left side with the head of the bed elevated somewhat.

[legrunt]

Thanks Dave.


Anyone else got anything?

[gettingbetter]

Were you ever diagnosed with silent LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux)?

[legrunt]

No... But based on googling what it is... It seems likely that it's what I'm dealing with. Thanks.

[gettingbetter]

For those with LPR, proton pump inhibitors (including Nexium) or acid reducing medication help to treat it.  Lifestyle modifications can help...such as sleeping on an incline, sleeping on the left side, and not eating 2 hours before bedtime.  Have you checked in with your doctor?

[legrunt]

Planning to check it out with a gastro after the situation here cools down a little.
For a small country with just under 32m ppl, we are getting over 20k new cases per day, with about 300+ deaths daily.