ros publisher not publishing in debug

edit

Hi

I'm running my node in debug (vscode) and getting weird results. I have a loop which is publishing to a motor

while (std::abs(orientation.roll) > ROLL_FLAT_SURFACE)
{     
    ros::spinOnce();
    bla bla bla


    robotControlPublisher_.publish(motor_cmd_);
    ros::Duration(TIME_TO_SLEEP).sleep();


}

if I put a breakpoint before and after the loop and run in debug the publisher will publish. if I stop each iteration the publisher won't publish. how can I fix it? Thanks