Reading this made me feel that I’m not alone. I had so many episode. For 14 years, I suffered with GERD that causes my VCD. It was after 8 years after 2014 when finally, my Doctor sent me to Pulmonologist. He then gave me an endoscopy and saw,I was positive for VCD. It was a bitter sweet to know that there’s a name for it. But he said this is a rare case. Only very few had this. He sent me to the speech pathologist, and I was still confused, why speech pathologist. Somehow, they thought me how to breathe properly. 1. You have to breathe out (through mouth) with a pursed lip. With that, it will automatically will make you inhale or breathe-in. It’s like a quick sniffed of air then let it out very gradually out from your mouth. It did relaxed my vocal chord tissue. When I had my worst episode, it was triggered when I was swallowing a big vitamin pill, and it made me panic when I couldn’t swallow it. Stress, anxiety and panic can trigger VCD attack. I was alone, and I manage to ran outside trying to get air. Of course , that didn’t work. I collapsed on my knee and started crying ( which made it worse). So, I finally decided, I will focus and will get my breathing exercise by sniffing through my nose done air, and tried to let it out in my mouth pursing my lip. I finally discovered how to save myself. When I was about to have an attack again, I acknowledge led it right away, since I knew what to do,it became a mild attack. To all that has this, hang in there. Try to relax. Try to find out what triggers your attack. And exercise your breathing from time to time. Good luck to us.
Oh my I'm so sorry. I understand what you went through. I'm currently in the same situation. I do too have reflux. How did you exactly get diagnosed with VCD? I been to the ER many times. They've done a lot of chest xrays everything always coming out normal. Hopefully I don't get cancer due to many to xrays. It's a waste of many and no answers. My episodes started since June 2020. Since then my breathing has not been the same. Im so frustrated and overwhelmed.
@@maryhdez145 hello may be anxiety can cause laryngospasm I am having same my neck tightening i can't get air in or out. Especially i can't exhale well it is stocking in my stomack. Really badly suffering. I dont know what is it and what is a treatment for it. May be anxiety make me laryngospasm.
@Vape Girl hi...it could also have to do with reflux. Than your throat is getting tide because of the stomach acid on your vocal cords. Sorry for my english, I'm from Germany.
Same. Over a decade of being EIA and inhaler treaters, my new immunologist and allergist changed it to EIVCD, and now I have this new thing to try therapy with. Thank goodness for good doctors.
I have had been diagnosed with exercise induced asthma with my exercise induced urticaria and anaphylaxis. After over a decade, it’s been changed to exercise induced vocal chord dysfunction. So now I’m looking for information on therapies. I still use my pre-exercise inhaler. Gotta look into that other inhaler she’s talking about.
My 12 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with VCD and mild asthma. It has been very stressful to watch her have an attack during her soccer games. We are going to look into acid reflux and post nasal drip too. Thank you so very much for posting this video. :)
I️ am 15 years old and I️ have been diagnosed with VCD after the doctors eliminated everything else. At first they were sure it was acid reflux but it turns out it wasn’t and hearing these symptoms it is definitely VCD. The only different thing with me is that not only did I️ have these episodes during exercise but sometimes out of the blue I would have one and sometimes in the middle of the night. I️ once passed out from this and had to stay a week at the hospital. I️ stopped going to the gym and I️ am much better now and I️ want to start going back and hopefully I️ will be ok
I am going through the diagnosis process of VCD or potential asthma after a very bad reflux attack. Do you have any advice? I'm a teen too and I'm desperate :(
(TL,DR- Go to a younger doctor with more recent training if you're in NJ, USA. 80 year old drs do not know jack. Your breathlessness and life quality can improve! )11 years, all kinds of doctors and specialists have called me crazy. 11 years I couldn't breathe. Two ER visits in 1 week. Asthma medicine helps with 75% of the problem, especially my inability to breathe out all of the way. Asthma meds didn't fix my trouble gasping to breathe in, and my feeling of oxygen starvation. I just went to a young doctor who not only noticed that I have vocal cord dysfunction, but could tell that I have EDS-H at a glance (all my other docs had never heard of hypermobility wtf it's not that rare!)
This is soo uncomfortable, i am being evaluated for everything, stress echo, spirometer test, chest CT and everything is fine, asthma meds do not work ( prednisone relieves it a little), cant exercise at all, even running to the car causes it, im thinking I might have this :(
My now 16 year old daughter has been struggling with this for 2 years now. Always exercise induced. She has been diagnosed by 3 doctors with VCD, however, the training is not working. The speech therapist says she is doing everything correctly in their sessions and she is now concerned that there is an underlying lung disorder. We are now being referred to a pulmonologist. I am not sure what other symptoms the readers are experiencing, but she is a very fit athlete, good student, and she has no anxiety issues they keep bringing up on other websites. Her worst episode resulted in an ambulance ride and 2 hours and 40 minutes later, they finally gave her something intravenously to slow her breathing. We have had so many close calls with this. There has got to me more to this...
So inhalers don't work for VCD, unfortunately. The only thing you can do to treat it is do this physical therapy thing where you basically retrain your vocal chords to breathe better.
@@timbettcher724 It works for sure.. but crazy expensive and insurance doesn't like to cover it. Another example of horrible healthcare in America.. denying people what they need.
you cant, you can only take measures to prevent it from happening in the first place such as acid reflux meds,antihistamine pills for allergies and relaxation techniques,and knowing your triggers like strong fumes and odors,speech therapy might help some but it isn't a cure
It can go away after the therapy. It can take a long time. I saw one kid back to running normal after suffering severe VCD. Need to be patient and relaxed, meditation helps with visualizing the focal cord open while breathing. Eat small meals and hours before bed time. Stay away from cold and stress or anxiety. Massage the throat. Stay away from acidic food. Follow all exercises that the pathologist or therapists give you. Pray ! good luck.
My dad can’t even eat anymore because of his vocal cords issues 😭 he aspirated and went in to a coma and now he is on hospice and feeding tube keeps on getting pneumonia 🙏 doctors told me they can’t fix and there is no cure 😭😭😭
I figured I may as well add my story to this. I am 15 years old now, back in 2014 when I was 11 I began to notice a strong tongue and throat pain when I exercised. By the end of 2013 it became unbearable and I quit my football team, which scared my parents so we went to see a doctor. For the entire year I believed whatever was happening to me was normal. After that first appointment, the doctors told me to stop all exercise until they determined what was causing the pain. We assumed this would not take long, but two years went by and it was test after test and always no results. They looked for heart problems, lung problems, ear nose and throat problems, and found nothing for a long time. Then last year on the last possible heart test they discovered I had a heart anomale, which was likely to cause death if not operated on. They were confused because usually people with this anomale got no symptoms, but if any it was chest pain rather than throat pain. Regardless of this, I had open heart surgery last August. Following my surgery and recovery I was cleared for exercise again, only to find that my throat and tongue pain continued. So again I was banned from exercise in fear it could kill me. Mid 2017 they discovered I have Exercise Induced Vocal Chord Disorder. Because I am from New Zealand and the doctors were mostly unaware of this type of problem, I am struggling to find a way to treat it. If anyone has any tips please give me them, also I want this to be a hope beacon for anyone who has unsolved health issues; although my vocal chord problem is not yet fixed, without the throat symptoms it causes I would have never found out I had a heart problem, and would have died. So keep searching for answers. :)
This is a year late, but there are a lot of breathing exercises that help relax your vocal chords, you can find some pretty good ones online. It takes practice.but once you get the hang of it it really helps. This is pretty much all there is to fix it right now, which sucks. Hopefully in the future there will be easier ways to fix it
Check out "McKeon Method" on youtube where I share the exercise routine I use on my clients. You'll need a voice therapist to administer it to you though. Hopefully its gotten better for you.
Reading this made me feel that I’m not alone. I had so many episode. For 14 years, I suffered with GERD that causes my VCD. It was after 8 years after 2014 when finally, my Doctor sent me to Pulmonologist. He then gave me an endoscopy and saw,I was positive for VCD. It was a bitter sweet to know that there’s a name for it. But he said this is a rare case. Only very few had this. He sent me to the speech pathologist, and I was still confused, why speech pathologist. Somehow, they thought me how to breathe properly. 1. You have to breathe out (through mouth) with a pursed lip. With that, it will automatically will make you inhale or breathe-in. It’s like a quick sniffed of air then let it out very gradually out from your mouth. It did relaxed my vocal chord tissue. When I had my worst episode, it was triggered when I was swallowing a big vitamin pill, and it made me panic when I couldn’t swallow it. Stress, anxiety and panic can trigger VCD attack. I was alone, and I manage to ran outside trying to get air. Of course , that didn’t work. I collapsed on my knee and started crying ( which made it worse). So, I finally decided, I will focus and will get my breathing exercise by sniffing through my nose done air, and tried to let it out in my mouth pursing my lip. I finally discovered how to save myself. When I was about to have an attack again, I acknowledge led it right away, since I knew what to do,it became a mild attack.
To all that has this, hang in there. Try to relax. Try to find out what triggers your attack. And exercise your breathing from time to time. Good luck to us.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Very helpful! 👍
Do u breathing now normal?
Oh my I'm so sorry. I understand what you went through. I'm currently in the same situation. I do too have reflux. How did you exactly get diagnosed with VCD? I been to the ER many times. They've done a lot of chest xrays everything always coming out normal. Hopefully I don't get cancer due to many to xrays. It's a waste of many and no answers. My episodes started since June 2020. Since then my breathing has not been the same. Im so frustrated and overwhelmed.
@@maryhdez145 hello may be anxiety can cause laryngospasm I am having same my neck tightening i can't get air in or out. Especially i can't exhale well it is stocking in my stomack. Really badly suffering. I dont know what is it and what is a treatment for it. May be anxiety make me laryngospasm.
Are you treating with some medicine
After a year of Dr. visits and multiple inhalers for asthma......with no result! This makes perfect sense! Thank you :)
Hi there. How are you now. I've just been told I have vcd after being miss diagnosed with copd. Crazy, I was always telling them it's in my throat
I was in the same boat. twenty spirometries with no bronchodilator response
@Vape Girl hi...it could also have to do with reflux. Than your throat is getting tide because of the stomach acid on your vocal cords. Sorry for my english, I'm from Germany.
Same. Over a decade of being EIA and inhaler treaters, my new immunologist and allergist changed it to EIVCD, and now I have this new thing to try therapy with. Thank goodness for good doctors.
I have had been diagnosed with exercise induced asthma with my exercise induced urticaria and anaphylaxis.
After over a decade, it’s been changed to exercise induced vocal chord dysfunction.
So now I’m looking for information on therapies.
I still use my pre-exercise inhaler. Gotta look into that other inhaler she’s talking about.
My 12 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with VCD and mild asthma. It has been very stressful to watch her have an attack during her soccer games. We are going to look into acid reflux and post nasal drip too. Thank you so very much for posting this video. :)
dang I have the same thing. including nasal drip and acid reflux.
Same here I do too.
I️ am 15 years old and I️ have been diagnosed with VCD after the doctors eliminated everything else. At first they were sure it was acid reflux but it turns out it wasn’t and hearing these symptoms it is definitely VCD. The only different thing with me is that not only did I️ have these episodes during exercise but sometimes out of the blue I would have one and sometimes in the middle of the night. I️ once passed out from this and had to stay a week at the hospital. I️ stopped going to the gym and I️ am much better now and I️ want to start going back and hopefully I️ will be ok
I am going through the diagnosis process of VCD or potential asthma after a very bad reflux attack. Do you have any advice? I'm a teen too and I'm desperate :(
@@justinbrar7894 hi what were the symptoms like for you? I hope you are doing better now
(TL,DR- Go to a younger doctor with more recent training if you're in NJ, USA. 80 year old drs do not know jack. Your breathlessness and life quality can improve! )11 years, all kinds of doctors and specialists have called me crazy. 11 years I couldn't breathe. Two ER visits in 1 week. Asthma medicine helps with 75% of the problem, especially my inability to breathe out all of the way. Asthma meds didn't fix my trouble gasping to breathe in, and my feeling of oxygen starvation. I just went to a young doctor who not only noticed that I have vocal cord dysfunction, but could tell that I have EDS-H at a glance (all my other docs had never heard of hypermobility wtf it's not that rare!)
I think I may be going through the same case but no one has yet realised not even my parents
This is soo uncomfortable, i am being evaluated for everything, stress echo, spirometer test, chest CT and everything is fine, asthma meds do not work ( prednisone relieves it a little), cant exercise at all, even running to the car causes it, im thinking I might have this :(
My now 16 year old daughter has been struggling with this for 2 years now. Always exercise induced. She has been diagnosed by 3 doctors with VCD, however, the training is not working. The speech therapist says she is doing everything correctly in their sessions and she is now concerned that there is an underlying lung disorder. We are now being referred to a pulmonologist. I am not sure what other symptoms the readers are experiencing, but she is a very fit athlete, good student, and she has no anxiety issues they keep bringing up on other websites. Her worst episode resulted in an ambulance ride and 2 hours and 40 minutes later, they finally gave her something intravenously to slow her breathing. We have had so many close calls with this. There has got to me more to this...
Pets, animals, chemicals, make up, cleaning products...
What kind of inhaler do you use for VCD that different for asthma?
Donna
So inhalers don't work for VCD, unfortunately. The only thing you can do to treat it is do this physical therapy thing where you basically retrain your vocal chords to breathe better.
ipratropium inhaler
@@dudleydooright never heard of that,does it pull you out of a severe attack?
@@timbettcher724 It works for sure.. but crazy expensive and insurance doesn't like to cover it. Another example of horrible healthcare in America.. denying people what they need.
I have suffering from vocal nodule in development phase so what can I do...now a days( means type of exercises )
How do u heal it ?
you cant, you can only take measures to prevent it from happening in the first place such as acid reflux meds,antihistamine pills for allergies and relaxation techniques,and knowing your triggers like strong fumes and odors,speech therapy might help some but it isn't a cure
It can go away after the therapy. It can take a long time. I saw one kid back to running normal after suffering severe VCD. Need to be patient and relaxed, meditation helps with visualizing the focal cord open while breathing. Eat small meals and hours before bed time. Stay away from cold and stress or anxiety. Massage the throat. Stay away from acidic food. Follow all exercises that the pathologist or therapists give you. Pray ! good luck.
My dad can’t even eat anymore because of his vocal cords issues 😭 he aspirated and went in to a coma and now he is on hospice and feeding tube keeps on getting pneumonia 🙏 doctors told me they can’t fix and there is no cure 😭😭😭
I figured I may as well add my story to this. I am 15 years old now, back in 2014 when I was 11 I began to notice a strong tongue and throat pain when I exercised. By the end of 2013 it became unbearable and I quit my football team, which scared my parents so we went to see a doctor. For the entire year I believed whatever was happening to me was normal. After that first appointment, the doctors told me to stop all exercise until they determined what was causing the pain. We assumed this would not take long, but two years went by and it was test after test and always no results. They looked for heart problems, lung problems, ear nose and throat problems, and found nothing for a long time. Then last year on the last possible heart test they discovered I had a heart anomale, which was likely to cause death if not operated on. They were confused because usually people with this anomale got no symptoms, but if any it was chest pain rather than throat pain. Regardless of this, I had open heart surgery last August. Following my surgery and recovery I was cleared for exercise again, only to find that my throat and tongue pain continued. So again I was banned from exercise in fear it could kill me. Mid 2017 they discovered I have Exercise Induced Vocal Chord Disorder. Because I am from New Zealand and the doctors were mostly unaware of this type of problem, I am struggling to find a way to treat it. If anyone has any tips please give me them, also I want this to be a hope beacon for anyone who has unsolved health issues; although my vocal chord problem is not yet fixed, without the throat symptoms it causes I would have never found out I had a heart problem, and would have died. So keep searching for answers. :)
This is a year late, but there are a lot of breathing exercises that help relax your vocal chords, you can find some pretty good ones online. It takes practice.but once you get the hang of it it really helps. This is pretty much all there is to fix it right now, which sucks. Hopefully in the future there will be easier ways to fix it
Check out "McKeon Method" on youtube where I share the exercise routine I use on my clients. You'll need a voice therapist to administer it to you though. Hopefully its gotten better for you.
@@theahunter9398 hi do you have VCD yourself? Can the symptoms last for hours or is it usually in short episodes?
Doesn’t look like he ever used or will use a treadmill