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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 @fredkan
Have either of you gotten any satisfaction with a diagnosis? I know from experience how frustrating that is. I went almost a year and a half with multiple doctors but no diagnosis. Afterward, I decided that if ever again I have a mystery ailment I will head directly to a major medical center. I live about 55 miles north of Boston so there are multiple major medical centers available to me, the drive there ranges from 1 hour to 2 hours depending on traffic.
By the time I got a diagnosis, even though it was not good, I was just relieved to know what the problem was.
It turned out that I had non-alcoholic cirrhosis and had a liver transplant in 2016. That portion of my life is fine now, no problems at all.
JK
Hello @jhan59 and welcome to Connect. It sounds like you and your medical team have worked diligently to find the cause of your symptoms. It is great to know the cause of the problem so that you can work on the solution.
How are you doing with the changes your doctor suggested? Are you adjusting OK to the new eating plan?
I’m a 50 year old male and reading your post is just like describing my self I’ve had these same symptoms for over 12 years I’ve had every test that you mentioned still waking up every morning choking on mucus when I explain to doctors what’s going on they look at me like I’m crazy but I know it’s happening if you find a doctor that has answers please share if i find answers I will post it I really thought it was only happening to me your post is the first one I’ve read that described my symptoms to the T hope we both get answers
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1 ReactionHope you both find answers. I, too, have excessive mucus in the mornings which started around the time I developed other symptoms leading to a diagnosis of gastroparesis and sometimes it causes several minutes of retching. I wonder if my CPAP and ineffective mask have something to do with this as I am a mouth breather. (Supply chain issues are delaying receipt of new mask.) I only tolerate liquids, purees and soft foods. Please share whatever you can find out.
I hope you get answers and I can identify with some of the things your saying. I have mucus and post Nadal srip and a cough. My post nasal drip was even seen during a endoscope. I constantly take mucinex but it's awful. My husband bought me the navage system I used it twice a day and ots incredible the flem that comes out I also have nasal congestion which I use Flonase for and a cough all this started shortly after gallbladder surgery. I can't explain it. I have a sinus dr. I have seen him twice and scheduled to see him again next week. He has not helped on bit. I also have dry mouth so he referred me to rheumatology which I have been waiting months to get in. Still waiting
I thought my allergies were worse so I got retested last week. According to them the only allergy was to mold it just doesn't make sense. My husband and I both disagree. I used to have allergies to dust, pollen and birch. I have taken allergy drops for years for dust allergies. Not According to this allergist. Then why this morning did I wake up with watery itchy eyes? I am clueless who to turn to next.
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1 Reaction@julianned , did you ever find a diagnosis or cause for your symptoms? I have experienced similar symptoms since May 2020, and my progression with the doctors and the scans was almost identical. It was like reading my journal. This has been so frustrating for me! It has gradually improved since then, and it seems like it is almost what I would call "normal" today, but I am very curious as to whether you reached a resolution.
Maybe get tested for SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) candida and mold.
I suggest a SIBO test for bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. It causes many symptoms and it is uncomfortable- gas, bloating, indigestion, pain, GERD, fatigue to name a few. This is what I was diagnosed with. Antibiotics are not good, they deal with symptoms and you need to find the cause of your symptoms. SIBO is only one cause but it’s common.
You also mentioned an allergy to mold. That is a red flag. I was exposed to mold in our home and didn’t know it. Symptoms were similar to SIBO in my case. But it can effect the body many ways. If your doctor does not know how to test you to find out which molds your body is reacting too, find one that does. You also need to test your home to find where the mold exists and have it eradicated. Otherwise you will continually be exposed and not get better if your body is reacting to mold.
There is an expert in Mold I consulted with since I didn’t know anything about it, recommended by my doctor. He was priceless in information and next steps to take. But the first step is confirming you have mold in your system.
Best to you, it’s not easy finding help.
Happy to answer any questions if you have any.