@julianned thanks for asking. My spine surgery was because I had spinal cord compression from an old injury. I had the problems with mucous and repeated chest infections because of inhaled allergies that created the excess mucous and made a breeding ground for germs. Doing my allergy treatments helps to prevent this which is customized allergy shots, antihistamines (if needed), saline nasal rinses, and prescription Singulair (montelukast sodium generic). I also use generic Mucinex (Guaifenesin) and drink lots of water to thin the mucous making it easier to expel, and I bought some disposable doctor procedure masks that filter out 99 % of particles 0.1 microns in size and I wear them to prevent exposure to dust. (3 M Procedure Masks # 1820) I have 3 cats that I am allergic too, and I think they were causing a lot of the phlegm, but they don't make me sneeze, and I was already doing allergy shots for the cats, and missed the connection. It made a significant difference to move my HEPA filter in my bedroom, so it was blowing clean air on my face while I slept, and to wear one of the paper masks at night when we are most vulnerable. The phlegm isn't moving or being cleared when we sleep and can build up and be a problem in the morning. I have to maintain the HEPA filter because an overly dirty filter will start spreading the dirt. I did have a problem with excess phlegm after my surgery because anesthesia slows down everything including a patient's ability to clear the phlegm which is why patients need to walk and use breathing exercise devices after surgery. Physical therapy also helped because one side of my chest is too tight due to thoracic outlet syndrome, and that affects my breathing when that side doesn't expand as much as it should. I also have all my bedding and mattress encased in protection for dust mites and change the bed often. I need to be on top of house cleaning, and I avoid laundry and cleaning products with fragrance that will cause asthma problems. I do also have food allergies, and they can cause breathing problems with phlegm for me. Eating a diet to reduce inflammation improves health in general and helped me to reduce asthma symptoms. Make sure you are not dehydrated. I would think that would make mucous thicker. It sounds to me like you might be having muscle spasms in your rib cage muscles because you are working so hard to expel the phlegm. Muscle spasms can twist ribs and are quite painful. I've had that happen myself and my physical therapist can fix it. You can measure your oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter on your finger that you can buy for around $30. According to my physical therapist, oxygen levels should be over 90%, and long term low levels can cause organ damage slowly over time. My levels have always been above 90% even when I'm having breathing problems. I think your efforts at clearing phlegm could be raising your blood pressure, and the body has a protective measure for this, fainting. Of course there can be other reasons and a doctor needs to diagnose it, but it sounds logical. You can measure blood pressure yourself too with a cuff.

I would suggest that you look at your environment at home and what you may be exposed to that you could be allergic too. Mast cells are blood cells that release histamines which cause an allergic reaction which is why there are antihistamines. It happens in your lungs and causes swelling. When you get an insect bite that itches, it is a histamine reaction. I did go to a pulmonologist at Mayo thinking I could have a lung infection like MAC, but that wasn't true. It was my allergies and asthma that were not controlled enough. My experience is that my allergies tend to get worse and when there is a lot of exposure in spite of allergy shots, and sometimes the only relief is to use the HEPA filter and masks to avoid the problem. My physical breathing problems also added to the issue. I can feel phlegm build up in my lungs and it is like an ache and that would always start on my left side where my chest is too tight. I also get tired. using my rescue inhaler helps, but if it has progressed to a staph infection, that is only resolved by the Mupiroicin ointment (Bactroban) which might take several days of treatment when none of my allergy treatments are helping. Gradually each day gets better and the antibiotics cause phlegm that needs clearing, but I do get to where my lungs are clear and I wake up with hardly anything to clear at all. It took me a few days of being away from home before any allergies from the cats cleared up enough, so I didn't recognize the problem at first. with the changes, I can coexist with my cats. This is why doctors advise not to have pets in the room where you sleep since we are most vulnerable then. the allergy testing I had is where they individually test things like specific pollen or mold species and find the maximum dose they can inject under the skin that does not cause a reaction within 5 minutes. that is treating dose for the allergy shots and each vile is customized specifically and not a mix of common things that other doctors may be using. This doctor is in the Environmental Medicine specialty. You can find providers at this link. https://www.aaemonline.org/find.php

I would urge you to keep digging until you solve this problem, because if it is this bad now in your twenties, it can only get worse as time goes on, and infections and allergies can cause permanent changes to the lungs affecting breathing. You can probably prevent this with some good detective work and changes now. Don't give up because your doctors haven't figured this out yet and you might need some other opinions. You are the best source to find problems. Keep a diary of what changes you make and if it helps or not, as well as the allergy reports, weather and humidity levels each day, and the foods you eat when you are having problems. If you do have an infection now, that must be cleared before you will be able to tell what is affecting your allergies. It could be an antibiotic resistant strain of something or the antibiotics you have been given are not targeting your infection. You may want to see one of the MAC specialists at Mayo and have them culture the sputum. In the MAC discussion, you can find information on devices that help clear phlegm, and doctors can do procedures to wash out the lungs if there is a bad infection. I don't have that experience, but others in the MAC & Bronchiectasis discussion are quite helpful about those issues and know the doctors who are experts. I saw a Mac specialist in Rochester recommended by my neurosurgeon. I think staff infections can start in the nose and sinuses and spread to the lungs. I've been able to break that cycle with my changes in allergy prevention.

This discussion is about chronic lung infections and inflammation. There are specialists in this too in Rochester, and not just at the other campuses that have a specialized clinic in the second link.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/mac-bronchiectasis/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/mycobacterial-and-bronchiectasis-clinic/overview/ovc-20398963

@julianned- You must feel so frustrated. I'm wondering if you have asked your doctor to run another sputum test. Since there hasn't been any change it might be a good idea. Staph is very difficult to get rid of. It also might be worth your while to see an allergist if you haven't already. It's important I think to continue searching for a reason for this. There are a lot of new bugs around because of the temperature changes that we have see. All it takes for a change is a couple of degrees and some rare things happen. Molds and bacterium and spores have exploded. Please let us know what you find.