1. < Lung Health

Excessive mucus without cough

Posted by hishamhussain @hishamhussain, Dec 8, 2016

Dear kind community group
I am Hisham Hussain. 40 years
I have been suffering with excessive mucus coming from lungs with out coughing 3 months ago.
I find difficulty to expel continually accumulating phlegm coming from my lungs to throat
my case get worsen day by day and i feel recently short-breathing.
what make my case get worse is that i have not cough to help in expelling mucus out so it go to accumulate into lungs and airways.
I took montelukast and xyzal medicines for 2 weeks but i did not feel any better

have you found anything that helps ?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Lung Health Support Group.

Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Jan 10, 2021
In reply to @jo4716 "gag on the mucus in throat restricts breathing" + (show)
@jo4716

gag on the mucus in throat restricts breathing

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@jo4716- Good morning and welcome to Mayo Connect. When mucus accumulates in your lower throat it can make you gag. The first thing that I do is increase my water intake. What lung issues do you have? Have you seen any physicians for this?

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Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Jan 15, 2021
In reply to @jo4716 "gag on the mucus in throat restricts breathing" + (show)
@jo4716

gag on the mucus in throat restricts breathing

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@jo4716- I'm wondering if you can let me know how you are feeling and if any of our posts have been helpful?

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zoelife | @zoelife | Feb 9, 2021
In reply to @katemn "@hishamhussain, I am very concerned that you NOT give up until you feel you have received..." + (show)
@katemn

@hishamhussain, I am very concerned that you NOT give up until you feel you have received a diagnosis YOU are comfortable with! I always say that you are given but one body in this lifetime .. and if you do not take good care of it .. IT CANNOT take good care of you!

What does this mean? YOU must be your OWN best advocate! Nobody cares about your body as much as you do. That you MUST continue to research .. GET COPIES of any/all records of EACH/EVERY doctor you see for YOURSELF to keep in your possession-only allow a new doctor to take copies .. continue to seek out doctors until YOU feel you have been given a definitive diagnosis. TOO MANY of us have been misdiagnosed prior to finally receiving our correct diagnosis. Remember: "If it is to be .. it is up to YOU!" Keep plugging along .. keep asking questions .. keep researching .. until you find your answers.

I have said that I read an article years ago about a woman who went to SEVENTEEN doctors before she received a correct diagnosis! I kept this in mind as I raised my children .. never giving up if I felt I was not getting the correct answers!

WHEN you feel you have received the accurate diagnosis .. do what you are told .. follow the instructions .. THEN just live your life as happily and serenely as you possibly can. Our diseases are NOT "Who" we are .. they are merely a "Piece" of who we are! Sending you a hug in this difficult time! Katherine

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What great advice. For being an avid researcher, this helps assure me all the time I’ve spent researching my own symptoms and CT chest images has not been in vain - especially since I have not felt the first Pulmonologist I saw so far (at a hospital in my city) has taken me seriously enough to really listen instead of coming to her own quick conclusions from the first visit.

When you discern from your first visit that the doctor you’re seeing is not on the same page and see consistencies to prove this at follow up visits, it is a good indication to continue to do one’s own research and get a second opinion. The journey continues.... 😊

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Anonymous217382 | @anonymous217382 | Feb 15, 2021
In reply to @hishamhussain "THANKS of all of you kind people for your concern Thank you @jms7 Thank you @colleenyoung..." + (show)
@hishamhussain

THANKS of all of you kind people for your concern
Thank you @jms7
Thank you @colleenyoung
I want to say that I started to suffer with having excess of mucus 3 months ago and it last for 2 months WITHOUT anther any symptom. after that I began to find difficulty in breath and i feel that my lung could not do its function because of i feel mucus get accumulating in airways.
I do not have anther symptoms like fever or cold . just continually excess of mucus in which i find difficulty in throw it out and recently problem in breathing.
I did swab throat and it found diplococci and candida and also did x -ray for chest
I sent those tests to the doctor and give me medicine;azithromycine 500 mg antibiotic for 3 days and montelukast and levocetirizine.
I take these medicines for 2 weeks but I could not get better.

I want to add if it is safe to use Expectorant medicine like mucosolvan to help in expelling phlegm But i am afraid if this can give bad impact because i do not have coughing to push mucus out SO may using expectorant medicine would not be right choice in my case.

thanks for your kindness gentle people

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Dear Hisham,

I too suffer from thick mucous which causes trouble breathing. Here is a rundown of the situation: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/throat-radiation-after-effects-aspiration-suffocating-mucous/

Have you tried a nebulizer? A 7% Saline solution in a nebulizer really helps break it up. My problems started with radiation though, and antibiotics do help me...which is a problem now. This is because whenever I quit taking them, the mucous becomes so thick that it becomes life-threatening.

Recently, and after much researching, I discovered an increasing condition called, "nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease," or NTM. Please research this, as this is the next step for me. Although after having a bronchoscopy there were many bacteria the lab tested for, this bacteria was not one of them. If this is what is causing my problem, it would explain much. According to the site for NTM, this condition is increasing by 8% per YEAR!

Hoping you get better!

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harefield | @harefield | Sep 6, 2022

Good afternoon, I know this thread was originally posted back in 2016, but I have just come across it now while searching for some clues as to what might be causing a similar issue. My uncle has been suffering for almost 2 years with excessive mucus coming up the esophagus into his mouth, without coughing, he has to constantly spit it out (into a tissue) as too much is produced to swallow it. The consultants seem to be at a loss to be able to diagnose what might be causing it. The investigations have been through and included Bronchoscopies, endoscopes, chest X-rays, CT scans, and MRI. Barium swallow procedure, however, no issues have been found, peak flows are excellent and heart and lungs too. A referral to an oral specialist too, but nothing abnormal detected there either. The medications have included treatment for post nasal drip, proton pump inhibitors, Sabutamol and Beclometasone inhalers, Phenergan and other Antihistimes, and Glycopyrronium. Some improvement has been seen, but the amount of mucus being produced is still excessive. I was wondering having read your post, if your consultants were able to resolve your problem?

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1 reply
Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Sep 6, 2022
In reply to @harefield "Good afternoon, I know this thread was originally posted back in 2016, but I have just..." + (show)
@harefield

Good afternoon, I know this thread was originally posted back in 2016, but I have just come across it now while searching for some clues as to what might be causing a similar issue. My uncle has been suffering for almost 2 years with excessive mucus coming up the esophagus into his mouth, without coughing, he has to constantly spit it out (into a tissue) as too much is produced to swallow it. The consultants seem to be at a loss to be able to diagnose what might be causing it. The investigations have been through and included Bronchoscopies, endoscopes, chest X-rays, CT scans, and MRI. Barium swallow procedure, however, no issues have been found, peak flows are excellent and heart and lungs too. A referral to an oral specialist too, but nothing abnormal detected there either. The medications have included treatment for post nasal drip, proton pump inhibitors, Sabutamol and Beclometasone inhalers, Phenergan and other Antihistimes, and Glycopyrronium. Some improvement has been seen, but the amount of mucus being produced is still excessive. I was wondering having read your post, if your consultants were able to resolve your problem?

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Has the sputum been cultured for an underlying lung infection? There are some which can cause a lot of coughing & mucus without other symptoms until they are very deeply entrenched.
Sue

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1 reply
harefield | @harefield | Sep 7, 2022
In reply to @sueinmn "Has the sputum been cultured for an underlying lung infection? There are some which can cause..." + (show)
@sueinmn

Has the sputum been cultured for an underlying lung infection? There are some which can cause a lot of coughing & mucus without other symptoms until they are very deeply entrenched.
Sue

Jump to this post

Dear Sue,

Thank you for your reply, I would need to double-check, but I'm sure that he had a sample screened, with nothing abnormal discovered. The strange thing about it is that the mucus comes into his mouth without coughing at all..

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