Overcoming VCD

Find a speech pathologist with a special interest in VCD -- the success rate is very high when you find the right practitioner. Not all speech pathologists are skilled or interested in this area. If you can't find someone in your area and are willing to travel than consider contacting the folks at National Jewish..they pretty much wrote the book on the subject vcd treatment program

Still can not swim more than 250 yards in the ocean nor 100 yards in the pool with out stopping and gasping for air. The stridor sound is very audible and is gone within 45 sec. The diagnosis is Paradoxical Vocal Chord Disorder. I have been taking nasal spray for post nasal drip and acid reflex meds since Feb. with no improvement. I continue to work out but it is discouraging. All the doc's have given up on me. Again, any one out there with a similar problem or any suggestions.

Yes, both a coach and a fellow master swimmer. I'm not new to swimming having competed through out high school and college. I am 70 and continue 1 miles swims both in the pool and ocean here in Southern California.

I'm now into a year and 2 months of this Vocal Cord Disorder. My pulmonoligist and Ear/Nose/Throat docs have given up. I'm getting better and can ocean swim 1000yards without stopping but still wheeze while swimming and can not "push" speed. Pool is worse. Chlorine is a trigger for VCD. Again, any one out there with a similar disorder. Research shows 3 - 15% of swimmers with exercise induced breathing problems have this disorder.

Ed, It sounds like you still don't have your vocal cords under reasonable control. I don't have issues with my vocal cords, but my daughter who is 14 does. It started a little over a year ago when she had moved into the "excellence" squad in her swim team. It was as if she was suffocating from all the excellence in that group... (She is very ambitious and wants to perform 150% in everything she does, straight As etc., the typical profile for someone with VCD). I was pretty sure she had VCD after a long night on the computer when the doctors were getting really aggressive about treating her "asthma" with steroids and the like, when she herself felt her problem wasn't like asthma (she had had temporary EIA episodes before). She saw an ENT specialist who referred her to a speech pathologist who taught her breathing/relaxation techniques that helped her to not feel totally helpless when VCD struck in the pool. That fixed a lot of the problem, but not all of it. She then saw a hypnotherapist, and after two or three sessions with him she pretty much had it completely under control. That does not mean it is gone - it still bothers her in certain situations (breatstroke kicking with snorkel, hard butterfly, uphill sprinting when running), but for the most part, it is under control. She finds it harder to control when she is stressed out over other issues. But for the most part, the speech pathologist and hypnotherapist have helped her control it. This is NOT per se something that you take a pill for - you really have to work at it yourself. Things like acid reflux can play a role, but mostly they just seem to contributing factors. I am amazed how well my daughter has done despite this predicament, I had really thought her swimming days might be over. Good luck to you!

Well, here it is in Nov. and the ocean is 58% and I am back to pool swimming. Since my last post all doc's have given up on solving my Vocal Cord Disorder so I'm on my own. Research show's 3 - 15% of swimmers with this disorder. Still, anyone out there with a similar problem? I can go farther in the ocean with out gasping for air then the pool so chlorine is a major trigger. So, I will continue my 80 lap workout with mostly pulls and kicks.

Thanks Swimmom. My research shows that there is a possibility that this condition might disappear over a period of time. I'm 71 so I hope its soon.

Ed, A few years back, I was able to swim 100 laps straight, but my distance started to decline and for the last seven months, all I could do is 50 mtrs before becoming short of breath. I went through what was called a million dollar medical workup - a variety of scans, echocardio, stress tests, largynoscopy.... Everything was normal, except for my VO2 max stress test and largynoscopy. Last month I was diagnosed with PVCD and will begin speech therapy this week. I understand that this is very common in female athletes, but it also affects men. A variety of things could cause your vocal cords to close when inhaling - mine apparently is due to GERD and anxiety. My therapy is supposed to give me the tools to open up my vocal cords, and I was told, I should be able to swim the distance again. I hope the therapy works because this has been an incredibly frustrating experience, especially since the majority of doctors I saw had never heard of PVCD, and I was told more than once that this was all in my head. Have you had speech therapy yet?

My husband and I each had VCD (he in 1998, and I in 2000). We each were diagnosed at Nat'l Jewish, in Denver, CO. Very nice and kind folks working at Nat'l Jewish, which is a respiratory center that is expert at diagnosing VCD, asthma, etc. (Nat'l Jewish's "LUNG LINE" nurses are at 1-800-222-LUNG/5864) After we worked intensively on finding & removing our VCD causes, triggers, etc., and after we stopped having VCD attacks (almost entirely) for a year, I made a website about VCD (in early 2001). The title is: "Can't Breathe? Suspect Vocal Cord Dysfunction!". Here's a link to the home-page: cantbreathesuspectvcd.com I agree: VCD is "not" in the head! It's in the neck (larynx/voice box). Sometimes, there are structures near the vocal cords that "close up" (adduct), rather than the vocal cords closing up. Sometimes, several structures (including or not including vocal cords) can be closing up when they shouldn't. Usually, this "Upper Airway Dysfunction" (coined by docs at Nat'l Jewish) is treated the same way that VCD/Vocal Cord Dysfunction is: --speech therapy (taught by a VCD-savvy Speech Pathologist/Therapist) --look for, find & remove (or treat) underlying causes (see my website for food for thought, at cantbreathesuspectvcd.com ) Chlorine (in pools, and in bleach) is a known VCD trigger, as EdC discovered. I hope that pools will not be treated with chlorine someday, but instead, maybe with UltraViolet light. However, venting would still be needed, because U-V light creates ozone, which is a respiratory toxin & irritant (VCD trigger)! Reflux is also a major VCD trigger. However, reflux meds (acid blockers) have bad side effects that include nerve damage (peripheral neuropathies, etc.), osteoporosis, and promotion of various intestinal infections (including Clostridium difficile/C. diff., Helicobacter pylori/H. pylori, etc.). For some non-drug ways to combat VCD-causing reflux, see webpages 5 & 10, etc., in my website. But, don't suddenly stop taking acid blockers. That can cause "rebound" extra acid production, making reflux even worse, which makes VCD worse. For those who have asthma, consider learning Buteyko breathing methods, which are drug-free. Why? Because many asthma meds are VCD triggers! Don't suddenly stop the asthma meds, though. First, learn Buteyko, and if it helps, work with your asthma doc, to gradually wean down the VCD-promoting asthma meds (if safe in your situation). See info about Buteyko, in Reference #30, on webpage 9 of my website. There's an amazingly large number of causes, triggers, aggravators, and pre-disposing conditions that can lead to VCD. Many of these can be found, removed, or gently treated (often without meds). I've heard from MANY people (most with VCD) since 2001, and most were able to "cure" (or if not cure, control) their VCD. But, it takes some tedious searching, to uncover all or most of one's VCD causes, etc. I'm not totally convinced that more women suffer with VCD than men. I think that men tend to suffer in silence, more than women, so that could be a factor skewing the data. However, there may be a hormonal component, that could cause more women to get VCD. The key is to TEMPORARILY (like for a couple of weeks) look for, find, and then remove all (or most) of one's VCD causes. Search for causes in my website, for example. This means, stop swimming & stop strenuous exercises, for say 2 weeks, while doing an intensive search for all your other non-swimming VCD causes, triggers, etc. This includes keeping a total diary/journal, daily, for, say a week, to help figure out what is causing what symptom. See Appendix F on webpage 10, for ideas about keeping the total diary/journal. Webpage 4 has some VCD-stopping methods. Webpage 5 (and other webpages) describes many causes of VCD. Webpage 10 has "tips" about sinus problems, reflux, ergonomics problems, etc., all of which can promote getting VCD. VCD is not well understood by most docs. But, some do know about it. Good luck to all! Carol/Concerned lady (former RN/nurse, former VCD patient) cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

Bad bout of diverticulosis in Dec/Jan. On the good side, the gastro doc suggested taking bigger doses of acid reflex meds. as a possible cure of VCD. Two swims this week with no stopping to gasp for air. Maybe on the way to a cure?