Anyone have "cough variant" asthma? Vocal cord dysfunction?

I have struggled with asthma (allergy & exercise-induced) since I was a baby, but was not diagnosed until my early 30s because it presents as a cough. And I just chalked up my shortness of breath and what I now refer to as "that Dementors feeling" to my being out of shape. My mother says even as a toddler, I always coughed (my dad being a chain smoker & us living in the woods of North NJ prob didn't help!)...and it never occurred to her that my failure to pass the underwater distance portion of the swim test might be something to mention to the dr!

I started to develop more overt environmental allergies prior to my husband's & my first cat beung about a year old (I was 26) , tho it was then that I sought allergy testing. By that time, in Western NY, every May I would literally lose my voice for 10-12 days due to such bad hay fever...the lead physician at the A. A. I. R. group only focused on allergy testing me, but got me onto MULTIPLE for a bazillion trees, ragweed, dust, feathers, mold, a powerful latent DOG allergy, and a very mild cat allergy (which is the only one which thankfully resolved itself). It was only when we relocated to the SW Houston area in late '09 & I had to find a new Allergist that things got interesting. Dr David Amran (Sugar Land Allergy Asthma & Immunology if you are close by) is BRILLIANT. I went in to get established for shots (I had gone from softball sized lumps to marble sized ones & that year finally retained my voice!, so I knew it was worth it to continue), and as he was reviewing my results he heard me cough like normal. His ears perked up and he asked about my asthmatic history, when i said i don't have any, he told me about the cough variant. Bc of the skin testing he said he couldn't do the true testing that day but he was very concerned esp that it might be allergy induced so he gave me a brief breathing test, an albuterol neb treatment, the after test. My results astonished me- I had NEVER been able to take such a deep breath in all my life!! That said it took several years of trial & error to get my treatment/symptoms managed. My tree allergies are so bad that the sera just weren't cutting it. So about 13 yrs ago he started me on Xolair. I have had to use my rescue inhaler thrice since. And once was yesterday when i had an borderline anaphylactic reaction to a shellfish cross contamination so i don't really count that! (the second was a mountainous hike in alaska in damp chilly weather- i always responded poorly to cold temp exercise so that was unsurprising, and the first was about 20 min after my very first injection.) I never lose my voice anymore either!!

You are definitely not alone in this. I’ve had cough variant asthma for 7 years and am now starting to have difficulty talking without “breathiness” after some exposures. that needs to be diagnosed. Try to figure out your triggers, either chemical or allergic, and minimize them as much as possible. Take your meds. I find this to be a good site to hear of other peoples triggers. For me it’s all chemical- perfumes, gasoline, pollution etc. Good luck!

@drsharon and @debbells18,

I found your posts interesting in that I have a paralyzed vocal cord. About 10 years ago, I had surgery to put an implant in the paralyzed cord so that it would close up with the other cord. However, I've recently been diagnosed with asthma and Bronchiectasis. I've noticed a raspiness in my voice, similar to what I experienced before the vocal cord surgery.

When I met with the pulmonologist about the wheezing, I asked about the vocal cord problem, and he said I could check with the otolaryngologist to see if anything has changed. I'm wondering if using the inhalers could cause the raspy voice. Any thoughts?

@drsharon thank you for your post. I’ve had CVA for at least 15 years.
I used an inhaler Brio for a while but I got tired of using it, and the thrush was annoying.
I am now having breathless speech, and low oxygen levels. The process of having my lungs, and heart tested has just begun.

I will ask the Mayo Pulmonologist about the possibility that the CVA could be the problem.

@SusanEllen66 Hi There Sue...I was diagnosed with Systemic Mastocytosis 3 months ago... going for bone marrow biopsy on March 04,2026...my bones feel like they weigh 200 lbs...I'm down to 113 lbs. It's horrible!!! I am taking AYVAKIT, CROMOLYN,H1 H2. MONTELUKAST, VISTARIL AND 2 INHAILERS...YES, I HAVE ASTHMA 🙏❣️

@theresa1952 and I've had biopsy's from Duodenum, esophagus, large and small intestines ( full of mast cells)and 24 hour urine, severe bloating...I don't want to leave my bedroom...I'm taking meds 3x a day, I also have to use xdemvy for derma mites in my eyes!!! looking forward to hearing from you! Theresa

@SusanEllen66 Hi Susan. Cough variant asthma is asthma and needs to be treated with meds. In my experience, having low oxygen etc. is definitely worse than meds. I really hated the idea of needing medication as well, but came to realize it was a difference between feeling good and feeling bad. I am now so grateful to have these meds. You really have to rinse well when using Brio and the other inhalers to avoid thrush and maybe one day they’ll come up with different meds. Talk to your doctor about your last experience and good luck!

@hopeful33250 I’m definitely not an expert but I have had sore throat and raspy voice (and awful muscle cramps) from some of the inhalers before I switched to Breo. It could be the meds but it could be other things as well. If the ENT doesn’t find anything they might want to try a different inhaler but given your history, I think it’s smart to double check. Good luck, this disease is so frustrating but there is progress.

@drsharon, I agree about the progress. Since I started using the Symbicort inhaler, I'm now sleeping through the night. In the past, I've had sleep studies because I wasn't breathing during sleep. The sleep studies did not show sleep apnea. Must have been from undiagnosed asthma.

Has anyone else had the feeling that there is not enough air? In the summer, I'm always turning the A/C lower, and it's not because I'm hot; I don't feel there is enough air. Such strange problems!

@hopeful33250 one possible thought- when I was first evaluated for asthma my spirometry test showed my breathing was 103% of normal so they couldn’t understand why I kept telling them I felt I wasn’t getting enough air. After a lot of treatments my test results went to 150% of “normal “. They now call me a super breather or outlier. I still have pretty nasty asthma but my readings are different from most. Yours may be as well.