Mucus in throat, PPIs didn’t work, need advice.
Hello
First time posting.
Been having really bad throat mucus,
and can’t get a resolution.
Apologies for the slightly long post, I want to make sure I put everything in.
My DR was still phone only so I couldn’t get any in person diagnosis.
Finally got a referral for an ENT appt,
he did a scope, said he saw “frothy mucus”, with no deviated septum, and put me on Pantaprozole and said to follow up in 2 months. At 2 months, no improvement, so I called back for a follow-up and the ENT office was closed and they never responded to my voice mails or messages. (!)
Turns out he just sent an email to my Dr suggesting an appt with a GERD specialist. My DR of almost 20 years had just left her practice and the new DR was going in, and was swamped due to taking over so it was months behind until l I was able to get an appt (phone only, still wasn’t doing in person).
Turns out the email was lost in the shuffle.
I also managed to get an allergist appt and everything came up clean, and he suggested non-allergenic rhinitis or GERD related.
So all that said and done, my GERD appt is not until January. Everyday I have what feels like a huge clog in my throat and it’s impacting my daily life. I bought a wedge pillow, gave up coffee, alcohol, gluten as well as dairy for 3 months and still no relief.
I hydrate all the time and drink chamomile tea just after dinner. It seems to get aggravated by anxiety (or other way around).
I’ve also tried a Neti pot, nasal rinses, and Flonase. The “head over boiling water with a towel over my head” seems to bring temporary relief though. I don’t have runny nose, watery eyes, coughing or sneezing, or chest congestion. I do have nasal congestion that seems to switch sides though. But the throat mucus is brutal, so I’m hoping I can get some advice on how to take it down a bit until at least my GERD appt in January. Cheers !
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.
Not sure if this helps anyone but if you are having an allergic reaction to something at that moment, a doctor can do a blood test in the office to see what you are reacting to at that moment. My husband had so much mucous it was keeping him awake. Doctor did blood test and saw immediately he was reacting to gluten and egg whites. She recommended he see an allergist for further testing, which he did, but as soon as he stopped eating breads, cookies, other baked items, the mucous and gas in his stomach, got remarkably better.
My doctor changed my PPI to Famotidine which significantly reduced mucous production and throat clearing. I take it twice daily prior to my main meals.