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Suggest Treatment For Vocal Cord Dysfunction

Posted on Mon, 25 Apr 2016

Question: HI I am a 40 year old female over the course of the past few months I have been experiencing a sensation of air hunger I have been to an allergist who ran lung function tests and believes I am suffering from vocal cord dysfunction due to my symptoms tightness around lower throat area inability to take in a deep satisfied breath along with a tickle sensation in throat I also have a pulmonologist dx with asthma at 20 he believes it's my asthma acting up and pointed to some FVe at 79 I believe he said 80 is norm and increased pulmucort my question is it possible that it is vcd rather than asthma when I take my peak flow at home it's around 340 350 is my personal best and 02 level is always around 99 even when I feel my worst albuterol seems to be of little help to further complicate things I have also been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder

Answered by Dr. Drkaushal85 (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
No need to worry for worsening of asthma.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your question on Health Care Magic.
I can understand your concern.
I don't think it is due to worsening of asthma.
Possibility of anxiety related symptoms is more. Another possibility is vocal cord dysfunction.
But I don't think vocal cord dysfunction is the cause. Because this will cause hoarseness of voice, cough, wheezing etc along with throat tightness and difficulty in taking breath in.
And you are not having hoarseness of voice or coughing or wheezing.
Please let me know if you are having any of these symptoms.
Also tell me your recent PFT values. Is it normal?
Vocal cord dysfunction will show in PFT as extrathoracic obstruction.
So also let me know your recent PFT values.
Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Drkaushal85 (22 minutes later)

Thank you for your quick response the only values that the dr brought to my attention were 105% and 79 which dr pointed out as being due to asthma not sure what the numbers pertain to no I am not coughing but do have a tickle in my throat can anxiety cause a feeling of constantly needing to take a deep breath

Answered by Dr. Drkaushal85 (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, anxiety can cause similar symptoms.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your follow up question on Health Care Magic.
I can understand your concern.
No these values do not suggest worsening of asthma.
See, PFT is effort dependent test. So we need to make sure that your effort in performing PFT was satisfactory. Is it?
And yes, anxiety can cause difficulty in taking breath in.
So please let me know whether your effort during PFT was satisfactory or not.
I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Drkaushal85 (6 minutes later)

Yes my effort was satisfactory do the numbers reflect a problem Dr did not seem to be to concerned

Answered by Dr. Drkaushal85 (6 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, your values are not problematic.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your follow up question on Health Care Magic.
I can understand your concern.
In my opinion, your values are not problematic. These are not something you should concerned about.
So worsening of asthma is not a cause for your symptoms.
Do you have hoarseness of voice or voice fatigue?
This should be present if it is due to vocal cord dysfunction.
So please let me know answer of above asked question, so that I can guide you better. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Drkaushal85 (1 hour later)

My voice is a little hoarse on and off sometimes have dry bark like cough once again thank you for all of your assistance

Answered by Dr. Drkaushal85 (50 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Hope I have solved your query.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your follow up question on Health Care Magic.
I can understand your concern.
In my opinion, your symptoms are mostly due to stress and anxiety. Possibility of vocal cord dysfunction is less.
So avoid stress and tension. Be relaxed and stay calm.
Don't worry, you will be alright.
Hope I have answered your query.
If you are not having further your queries, then please close the conversation and rate my answer.
You can ask me directly on bit.ly/askdrkaushalbhavsar.
Wish you good health. Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Naveen Kumar