Chronic Phlegm Collecting in my throat, I constantly have to swallow

@jbangos5
Generic Amaz

@jbangos5
Sorry but are you asking about the 1200mg guaifinesin or the Gaviscon Advance? If it’s the latter, it comes from the UK, takes a couple weeks to arrive, is a but pricy, but totally worth it.

This is all interesting. My coughing started when I was being treated for a staph infection at the site where a pain pump was inserted in the back of my knee when I had ankle replacement April 19th, 2025. The ankle dr started me on doxycycline. I was in his office 3 weeks later and he was concerned that the spot where pain pump had been inserted was not looking any better. He called a script to my pharmacy for twice the dosage I. Had taken previously. As soon as I got home I took the frost dose. The outside of the capsulate seemed ‘tacky’. I put the capsule in my mouth and took a sip of water. The capsule stuck to the side of my throat. I kept gulping water and the capsule would not go down. Then I started. I coughed up the outside of the capsule. The doxycycline powder went down my bronchial Gus and into my lungs. Burned all the way down. It hurt so bad, I thought it must be a heart attack. My son and daughter in law took me to the hospital. On the way to the hospital one of my other sons called the son driving me. He reached over and said, ‘well her pulse is real weak and rapid’, I said I’m also having pain on both sides. Classic symptoms of heart. That’s what the Dr treated me for initially. Heart was fine. Dr said doxycycline is the most caustic drug there is. He said you will probably need someone to get that out of your lungs. And you will probably have pneumonia. Had pneumonia. Treated for pneumonia 3 times my provider said, I think your pneumonia is back, I’m writing you another script for antibiotic. I said ‘no’. I need to see someone who can get to the bottom of this. I was referred to a pulmonologist. Several tests were done. I was admitted to the hospital twice in June of last year for the infection behind my knee. . After the first hospital visit at my follow up with Inf Disease Dr , the inf dr looked at the site on my knee and said I’m sending you back to the hospital . Kept 1 week. Had strong antibiotics and sent home with home I.v. For 2 weeks. The infection was not gone. I called my ankle surgeon and told him what as going on. He asked if I could be there morning at 9:00. I was there. He removed a lot of infected tissue and wash the site with antibiotic. At both hospital visits I was given breathing treatments for my cough. But never any treatment for home. The pulmonologist did a bronchial scope and said he had more questions than answers. I was the Pulmonologist’s APN after the scope. I purposely left my drink cup in the car because I wanted her to see how gross the stuff coughed up was. She put me on 14 days of prednisone and 14 days of augment in. I followed up with the pulmonologist on Tuesday. He told me the cough is chronic. I don’t like that. The coughing is bad enough, then you have that nasty sputum. I can feel it gurgling as it is coming up. He is referring me to ENT. Also 1 more week of antibiotic and steroid. Also a new type of inhaler. Don’t remember the name, but it’s pricey. Cost $150, insurance doesn’t cover it. What a a saga! I’m really worn out with all this. I’m a very active 74 year old and I’m quite active. If ENT doesn’t help I’m going to ask to be referred to Mayo.

Please excuse typos on above post. I should have waited until morning to type this.

@sbrown293
Are you kidding no reason to apologize. Grammar and spelling are not an issue on MCC it is trying to help you with our experiences.

I want you to know that I have had a similar experience with the phlegm. What my primary care provider (PC) at Mayo said is I have a over sensitive Vagus nerve in my throat. It senses there is an issue and makes more phlegm. Most of the time he says can't pinpoint the cause of the increased sensitivity but millions have it.

I would definitely asked to be referred to Mayo. Have been going to Mayo Jacksonville since 2006.
Good luck!

What I did was to keep a journal of what I was doing and eating prior to the phlegm build up. That helps me reduce it by altering that behavior, eating, or drinking.

@sbrown293
Did your pulmonologist rule out (Bronchiectasis) which is a chronic lung disease. Can develop if you have issues with aspiration and pneumonia. I have it and it produces a lot of thick mucus.

But is this similar to asthma?

@craqdi
I would say no. This is from the wed . Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung disease where the airways (bronchi) become permanently widened, damaged, and scarred. This structural damage traps mucus, creating a breeding ground for bacteria that leads to recurring respiratory infections, inflammation, and worsening airway damage.

@tricia7 I’m reporting back about Dr. Rawls RESTORE 180 program as promised. I’ve been doing it for 6 months now and have seen some improvement. It’s helped some of the Lyme related symptoms and the congestion has improved. Nothing has completely resolved but I’m better than I was and nothing else has helped as much as this has.

I"m the original poster, and here is a follow up. I saw an ENT who scoped my throat through my nose. He did see some mucus on each side of my throat, but said it was not too bad. He suggested a barium swallow X-ray test and I did that a week later. The radiologist commented that everything looked all right. No GERD or Hernia. But when the results came in, well, see below.

Function: There is a normal pharyngeal phase of swallow. There is normal esophageal peristalsis. No elicited gastroesophageal reflux.

Morphology: Air-contrast images of the esophagus demonstrate punctate areas of contrast agent surrounded by lucent halos throughout the mid and lower esophagus. Longitudinal folds are thickened. The findings are compatible with esophagitis. Single
contrast views show no esophageal strictures, extrinsic mass effects, or diverticula. Limited images of the stomach demonstrate normal appearance.

So they suspect Esophagitis and said I should have an inspection of the esophagus which requires a general and a scope. Doc also prescribed Omeprazole, a PPI, for a month. I really don't want to do a scope under general for just mucus in my throat as I have no symptoms of GERD. And the barium test said "No elicited gastroesophageal reflux", which I read as no reflux. So I am confused.

So I said we should wait as I was not too keen on general and a scope and I would like to use the month of PPI as a diagnostic test. Does this sound reasonable?