Upper abdominal pain, constant throat mucus W/O Cough
I am a female in my late 20s and have had persistent mucus in my throat with no cough, upper abdominal pain, shortness of breath, and lethargy. These symptoms have gone on since January.
I spend about 20 minutes every morning hacking up thick mucous. Sometimes the mucus is so thick that it gets stuck in my throat and I have to pull it out with my hand. Other times, I am too exhausted from trying to expel mucus that I give up, and suffer with the choking feeling. In March/April my sputum was tested and grew staph, so my pcp put me on bactrum. At that time I was also experiencing dizziness, swollen lymph nodes, and a fainting episode, in addition to the continuing symptoms listed above. However, my pcp and pulmonologist believe that the staph was a red herring that would not cause the continuing symptoms. I have had my sputum tested since then and it came back as contaminated with saliva.
I am extremely exhausted and I can sleep 17 hours straight (getting up half awake to urinate) and then i wake up still tired. I am nervous about driving because I feel sleepy when I drive. I feel winded if I talk to much. (I am a normal weight and otherwise healthy.)
The upper abdominal pain is pretty much constant, and seems to worsen after eating. That feels like pain behind the ribs. Then I also have a dull aching of the part of my abdomen above my belly button. I have had the heartburn feeling in the past and excessive burping especially at night. My PCP put me on omeprazol which has not helped, followed by pantoprazole, which also has not helped. I have seen an ENT as well, who saw no problems with my sinuses and no evidence of postnasal drip. I have had an endoscopy, (came back normal) esophogeal manotromy (normal), and barium swallow test (normal). I have had a CT scan of abdominal organs, ultrasound of my lymphnodes, mri of my brain because i am having spotty vision (and because of the fainting episode).
I saw an allergist who said this would not be a food allergy and she did do various blood tests and urine collections. She noted some seasonal allergies (but my problems began in January) and ruled out allergy to dust mites or cockroach gasses as the cause. She suggested nasacourt and an antihistimine. Both were ineffective, and she ultimately concluded she couldn't help me.
My pulmonologists noticed mild obstruction I was put on advair because the thought was that the obstruction was likely due to asthma. That did not work. I was later put on flovent and montelukast, and I have been on those for about three weeks although I feel no difference. My pulmonologists think that this is likely a GI issue, so they scheduled a ph study, but I do not have the results yet. They also doubled my dosage of pantoprazole.
I saw a GI specialist affiliated with my PCP's office and without examining me, he told me that my symptoms were trivial and that I should get over it and stop focusing on myself. Luckily my pulmonologists were shocked by his reaction and referred me to a different specialist which I have in August.
I have cut out all sodas and fast foods in the past year and I do not have any dogs or cats in my environment. I have maintained a very clean home environment and also using the allergy reducing bedding. I do not have any food allergies that have been determined. Celiacs disease was ruled out. I even did a three day juice cleanse (dairy free, gluten free, soy free, all natural and organic) but that did not help. I have been drinking a lot of water to keep me hydrated, and I have eliminated coffee acidic foods from my diet in the past several months. I have never been a smoker or done recreational drugs, and i no longer consumer alcaohol but prior to all of this would have 2 drinks a week.
My PCP has scheduled an abdominal ultrasound to check out my gallblader, although it appeared normal in the previous CT scan. I have that on Wednesday.
The mucus is exhausting and really uncomfortable. My upper torso still feels like it is on fire, and have ceased all of my usual daily activities. I don't know what to do. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Julianne
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@julianned Hi Julieanne, and welcome to Connect.
Unfortunately, I have no advice for you but I did want you to know that your post has been read, I am sure by many, and people do care, but your experience is apparently unfamiliar to all who have read it. My first thought was to make sure you were staying hydrated but it seems as if you already have that covered.
I wish I had some advice for you but your problem sounds like a mystery. I think many of us have suffered from ailments that have gone undiagnosed for lengthy periods of time, and know how frustrating that can be. I hope you do manage to get a diagnosis with your appointment in August, or even sooner after the abdominal ultrasound.
Let us know how things work out for you. Frankly, I myself am curious about what this could possibly be from.
JK
Thank you for your response, JK.
I really appreciate it. It is a comfort to know people are even hearing my experience, and I am hanging in hope for a solution.
There has to be some answer out there linking (1) mucus production (2) upper abdominal pain (3) chronic fatigue and (4) shortness of breath. If you think of anything let me know!
Thank you for your time and ears (or eyes!!!)
Julianne
@julianned Julianne, you are welcome, I just wish I could be more helpful. I think it's important to know that when we reach out, our pleas do not go into a great abyss somewhere. Keep searching and you will eventually find some answers.
Hugs, JK
Could it be the larnypharogeal (misspelled) reflux? I don’t cough much but have mucous in my throat. I have GERD.
I was thinking that at first but I do not have GERD. I recently had a 24 hour ph study and it came back completely normal.
Is it possible to have heartburn without being diagnosed with GERD? Along with my sputum, I've been spitting up little solid things, which I suspected were tonsil stones, but they are not visible in my mouth and feel like a pebble in my throat. Does any of this resonate with anyone?
Pliz jk the same applies to me.wake up with a lot of pain.but try ulcer medicine
Hey @julianned did you find out what was wrong with you??? I feel the same with the only difference being i rear dogs and i was thinking it was dog related but now I'm not sure having read your experience
You sound like me ,
I’m praying 🙏 for you … my issues are slightly different but just as serious for 8 years now . Many diagnoses, many tests and many GI Dr’s . Still I’m a medical mystery to them . Not what you want to hear from any Dr. So I suffer every day and night. You are so young , mine started at 52 years old. It’s a horrible way to live .
Keep searching , try a functional medicine Dr? That’s what people tell me . I haven’t yet but I’ve tried everything holistic you can do ! Keep us updated. God Speed .Rosemary
Currently having very similar symptoms, I’m 30 yrs old.
Chest/ abdomen spasms, searing pain in upper abdomen, bloating, occasional shortness of breath and feeling of being congested without any nose symptoms.
Here is my timeline:
January 2022 mild chest/ upper abdomen spasms start (1 per month)
Spasms increase in frequency to 1 per day accompanied by frequent heartburn.
(July 2022) I am admitted to ER for chest pain. EKG and Blood test and urine test come back ok, I Am recommended to a gastroenterologist.
July 2022- endoscopy shows gastritis and esophigitis, no ulcer or hernia (taking pantoprazole and carafate) biopsy taken to check for bacteria
July 2022 - ultrasound of all abdominal organs shows fatty liver, doctor recommended weight loss and diet change.
Hoping they have found the root of my issues, best of luck to you, do you have any updates since your post?