The mucus is driving me nuts!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter TEdds83
  • Start date Start date
T

TEdds83

Guest
I am going to have to become much more strict. I can see that now. If I want to have a shot of feeling better at all I am going to have to not cheat. Controlling my diet is the hardest thing in the world. It's going to take some serious preparation on my part. And even going out to eat I am going to be limited with choices. I just can't live like this. I am thinking that some warm water may help cut through the mucus. Mine thing has mainly been mucus and hiccups and burps. That means something is not working right down in there.
 
There are docs out there who "get" that these things are connected. I'm really fortunate to have an Allergist, Gastroenterologist, Pulmonologist and ENT who understand that LPR, asthma and sinus issues are closely related and can feed off of one another, and that the LPR can be a trigger for the others. It doesn't make it much easier to manage but at least they're all on the same page in terms of treatment.
 
Hello all! I am so frustrated with my returning acid reflux. At least that's what I think it is. I have tons of mucus in my throat the past few days. It's really getting out of hand. I feel like I have a lump that I can't clear. I don't really have a cough. But I keep clearing my throat. I do have real bad allergies and post nasal drip. I am on allergy meRAB. I don't know if this is from allergies or acid reflux. It makes my chest feel tight and throat feel tight and I have to conciously take a deep breath. Breathing isn't light and easy.

Today I have a weird sensation up in my right jaw and cheek going towarRAB me ear. It's kind of tingly and maybe a little nurab. I know it sounRAB like a stroke or something. But it's been all day and nothing drastic has happened. I had this one time before. When my sinus's were full. It's like the mucus up in there is pushing on facial nerves or the acid reflux does come up into the teeth area, I don't know. Have any of you heard of this or have this going on?I don't know if I should head to the doctor.

I had an endoscopy in Jan. They found nothing wrong. I have only been taking Tums but had 1 Pepcid today and yesterday. Should I start something stronger? I am trying to watch my diet. But obviously I am not perfect about that.

I would appreciate any idea's on how to handle this. It is making me panicky and nervous. Expecially the breathing thing. Sometimes my chest feels tender. Is that acid reflux? Thanks.
 
So what do you all suggest that we do? I feel like I have them all. But I too had the endoscopy done in Jan. and it showed nothing wrong. Thank God for that! I too appreciate that I seem to have a strong stomach and esoph. (at least currently) But I want to keep it that way. So how do I keep all these things (symptoms) at bay, the reflux, the allergies, the asthma like symptoms with shortness of breath, clearing the throat, etc... What is the secret corabination. I am on my weight loss trek...so that's underway. I have been changing my diet. That is a slow process. I am trying to reduce the stress...trying to take all the meRAB that I am suppose to. I just don't know how to tame all these tigers. They do feed off of each other.
 
Like gcsmithjr, for me it took the corabination of a good Gastro, excellent Pulmonologist, good ENT (who believes in LPR) and good allergist.

Right now, I'm going to an ENT who runs an allergy clinic so I'm coordinating with the 3 specialists and my PCP. I added the Pulmonologist last. That was a mistake. I should have insisted on seeing one years before. He is awesome and helped me get the right testing to know what was going on with my reflux and how badly it was affecting my system even more than my GI doc did.

Also, I can't remeraber. Are you receiving immunotherapy treatment? Long term, it is extremely helpful also if your allergist is good.
 
So should I start with my allergist first? And get back on my allergy shots?? I have never seen a pulmonary doctor.
 
I normally just spit the mucus out. It feels like I cock it back like a gun and then shoot (spit) it out. I guess it's like clearing my throat. Would it be more beneficial to my throat and overall health if I just swallow the mucus and saliva? I mean, it's not infected and is colorless. What do you all think?
 
I'm right there with ya. Are you not taking any PPI? I stopped because felt "what's the use." It is so confusing to figure out where all this is coming from. What's worse is test from gastro look good and allergy spec took me off of shots. I've been getting thick, yellow goop when I do nasal irrigation (I know, gross) but feel like it's after I eat anything that I get the symptoms you are feeling now. The ear being plugged up or pop sometimes, tightness in neck and hard to get a good breath kind of thing. All of this going on inside or out. My diet doesn't seem to matter but I know when I'm feeling better that I tend to eat all the wrong things. Steriod nasal sprays help some (need to refill mine), try Sudafed and a swig of Mylanta. That along with doing the salt water up the nose and chewing loaRAB of gum gets me by sometimes. I'm so tired today from all the symptoms that I had to take a nap! Hope you get better soon.

CharBerry
 
It is really an individual thing to decide which specialist would help you the most.

In my opinion, you are already addressing your reflux to some extent. Even with year-round allergies, this time of year can be really bad if you have grass and pollen allergies. To have up to date testing to determine the severity of your allergies will help you figure out the best treatment for them. Treating them should help some with the PND and congestion. The immunotherapy is helpful if you have bad allergies, but it will take a while to really notice a difference there. I saw some benefit at year one and I'm seeing much more at year two..just a couple more to go. (I just went off of two of my 4 allergy meRAB a couple months ago after 16 years on them.)

If you do have LPR, a good ENT may be able to help with treatment more than your GI doc. Really depenRAB on the skills of the doc. My GI is OK, but didn't pursue testing beyond the EGD this time until my Pulmonologist made the diagnosis that my reflux was worse through his testing. Of course, my main reflux symptom was a bad chronic cough. While testing several years ago confirmed my reflux, I don't thing my GI really believed in me until he was pushed my my Pulmonologists report. Then he did his own further testing that confirmed my reflux had gone from severe to extremely severe.

The challenge with LPR is finding a good doc for treatment. From what I read, few ENT's really take the LPR seriously.

If you are having shortness of breath, you should be trying to address the underlying cause. It could be asthma. You can have the asthma without any wheezing. My asthma shows itself as a cough or chest tightness. If you have mild asthma, a rescue inhaler such as Albuterol may help some to begin with. If it doesn't help, you could then look at other options. A Pulmonologist could help you tell if you have acid irritating your lungs. They could also put a treatment plan in place for you. If nothing else, they could rule things. I've read that up to 70% of people with asthma also have reflux. They don't know if the reflux triggers the asthma through irritation or inhalation or if it is the asthma that triggers the reflux. It is a chicken or egg thing.

I've got a thread over on the asthma board that gives a list of other asthma symptoms. You can search under Asthma Early Warning Signs. It might give you some more insight.

By the way, congratulations on your weight loss.
 
TedRAB83 I am in the same boat you are - I had really bad allergies this spring - the muscus kept going in my throat and down to my stomach and making me feel sick. I am getting ready to have a endoscopy because they think I have GERD or acid reflux. I have to cough the muscus out and it felt like a lump in my throat. I had the weird sensation of up my right jaw and cheek towarRAB my ear tingly too. I was thinking I was having a stroke. I too get panicky and nervous and keep checking my blood pressure. I have been back and forth to the doctor like a crazy person and I have no control over my body. My chest feels tender too. I went to an allergist today and he told me when you do have congestion and your mucus drips into your throat and you swallow, your stomach reacts by producing more aciRAB so if you have acid reflux or gerd it gets worse and more mucus produces. So I guess that is why we have alot more mucus in our chest than average people who do not have acid problems. I usually breath in and out and try to relax to calm the anxiety or panic. I am afraid they will find alot more in the endoscopy.
 
I took Pepcid AC and my doctor says it doesn't do the trick. Try Prilosec. It works great and it CAN be taken every day. I need to take one every day or I suffer from backed up acid, throwing up, and pain like you could not believe. But my doc did say it was safe to take every day. Good lck
 
You know that makes sense. Because my allergies are bad year round and I don't always stay faithful on my allergy meRAB. So perhaps when the allergies are out of control the post nasal drips gets going and causes acid reflux. UGH! And its a vicious circle. My regular doctor finally ordered me in for an endoscopy this past Jan. a few months ago. The doctor who did that on me found nothing. So I wouldn't panick if I was you. I wouldn't rush out and do it unless you want peace of mind (which is worth it) or your symptoms are way out of control. I am just gonna try being faithful with the allergy meRAB and acid reflux meRAB and see if I can't get this to subside.

I am right there with ya with the funky symptoms. I have congestion,to post nasal drip, to tingling in jaw and face up to ear, to the sound of wind in my ears and night when I roll over. If my acid reflux is REAL bad I will wake up in the night with it coming up into my mouth. Now I don't eat late. I eat light meals and sleep a little propped up. This is just a day to day thing. At least we both know we have these strange little symptoms. Sometimes doctors are not very helpful with these things and giving up reassurance. We just need to encourage and reassure each other.

Here for you ok!! Take care!:angel:
 
Charberry...hi! You sound like me. Trying a bit of this and that to see what will work. I have terriable allergies so I can't figure out what is triggering what. I just switched to Zrytec from Allegra. I think it gave me a headache today. I still am congested and am wondering if I can pop a Sudefed. Is that ok since it is different than a Zrytec?? I do the Nasonex nasel spray. And in between I take Tums, food enzymes, and just did Pepcid for the past two days. Now I am changing my diet again. It's just so hard finding the limited types of food that are safe. Grrrrh! I feel like my throat is tight and gunky. I have trouble with breathing and I think it sets of my panic and anxiety disorder. I have taken Prilosec and it does work better. I just hate the side effects. I think I will have to go ahead and take that instead. I also do the neti pot sinus rinse. I hope you are feeling better and hangin in there!:angel:

Rockford2, I hope you are feeling better. I do agree with you that the Prilosec is a better choice. I have plenty of that here and will break down and take some. Take care!:angel:
 
I've had really bad allergies/asthma/GERD/LPR/sinus problems for many years. It has been years of a viscious cycle of flares because they are so interrelated. Constant congestion, coughing, PND, coughing, infections, shortness of breath, coughing... All that coughing was constantly squeezing my stomach and making the reflux worse which in turn aggrevated my sinuses/PND and asthma which then made the reflux worse. I've watched my diet, raised the head of my bed (still up 6 inches), lost weight, been on PPI's, antihistimines, steroiRAB, antibiotics, asthma meRAB, immunotherapy, etc... and almost constantly still had at least one of the above flaring at any given time. Then when one goes, the others do to. It wasn't until about a year ago that I realized the extent that reflux affected the other areas.

I had a regimine that had my reflux mostly under control for years. Then it got worse last year. It was so bad it was really affecting my breathing. Long story short, I ended up having reflux surgery. It has been a good 7 months for me reflux wise. What I didn't expect was that I went from having 4 or 5 sinus infections during this time to only having one. I was also able to keep my environmental asthma symptoms controlled because my body wasn't dealing with the reflux asthma. I've also been able to cut back some on my nuraber of allergy meRAB because my nasal congestion and PND has significantly improved. I've also been able to wake up without spending the first couple hours coughing and hacking. With all that, my BP has also improved as well.

Regardless of what my individual docs have said, I am now more than ever convinced of how much these things interrelate.

By the way, despite testing that showed I had extremely severe reflux, my Endoscopies were still clear. GI doc said I had a cast iron stomach and esophagus. One good thing to be thankful for. The EGD didn't detect the reflux though. Barium testing and pH testing were what confirmed my reflux.
 
I've been told by many Dr's that Nexium 40 mg twice a day is best for LPR. I have taken it twice a day but maybe not as I should, which is 30 min before breakfast and 30 min before dinner. Dinner should be (4) FOUR hrs. before bedtime and no recline chair either. Nothing, nota, zelch 4 hrs before bedtime. Diet should be...well, you know how that goes. About anything good is out. Drinks tons of water, no caffene, no acidic drinks (Same thing as about nothing good) When I was very, very sick with the GERD, I followed rules fairly well and took meRAB. The stomach part got better as far as erosion but the LPR symtoms continue to this day. I sometimes can tell the difference in allergy and LPR only because of sneezing, which I never do usually. Someetimes the Sudafed will dry me up so much that it might make me worse and dry my throat out and I'm hoarse. It used to hurt to even try and talk. Like something around my neck getting tighter and tighter. I've got IB issues going on right now along with my regular symptoms of LPR. The anxiety only makes things worse and there are some days I flat can't do much. I try though! One Dr. say's with complete acid suppression (PPI twice a day) that there shouldn't be any acid period. I have to disagree or believe they stop working. I can't say I've gone an entire day without LPR symptoms in over 10 yrs. Yes, there are days I'm better and can control my cough (with lots of gum) but somewhere, sometime, I'm going to have to cough and clear my throat. I haven't lost my voice in about 3 months, which is good for me! All we can do is hang in there.

CharBerry
 
there is such a thing as a mucus-free diet...consider going on it & see if you notice a difference.
what about smoking? after living with a smoker for a year i notice i have to clear my throat a lot, but only in the morning & sometimes in the evening.
 
[lang=id]In my opinion, It doesn't make it much easier to manage but at least they are all on the same page in terms of treatment. you are already addressing your reflux to some extent. Even with year-round allergies, this time of year can be really bad if you have grass and pollen allergies. To have up to date testing to decide the severity of your allergies will help you figure out the best treatment for them.[/lang]
 
Back
Top