Phlegm in my throat and post nasal drip after Covid

Posted by danny2022 @danny2022, Dec 18, 2022

Ever since I had covid in January of 2022 I recovered from the virus but I was left with a constant phlegm in the back of my throat and post nasal drip that will not go away. The feeling of having mucus in the back of my throat actually gets worse when I try to get rid of it by coughing. I have been given steroid inhalers, albuterol, allergy medication, but none of these work. The mucus gets worse especially after I eat. I've never felt like this before and it all started after covid. Can anybody relate to what I am going through?

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@mimioto

You’ve stated it EXACTLY as I have been living it since August 22. Bloodwork indicating heart failure and lupus. Specialists, cardiac treatments (wrong and made it worse) eliminated heart failure but determined asthma leading to pulmonary treatments (Symbicort effective but not cured) ending up in bacterial bronchitis. ENT findings inconclusive ( see a speech therapist?). A round of pantoprazole didn’t do a thing. Decided to skip gastroenterology figuring it would be just another dead end. 9 months and I’m better but still not right. Exercise is good like you said but when the nose mucous runs it’s like hallelujah ! Better than the dryness with a glob. Mucous relief pills, gum chewing lots of water. But still… snd it’s not even listed as a long covid problem with the CDC. 🙏🏼

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I had the same issues with phlegm in my nose and throat. It felt like the phlegm in the throat was ‘stuck’.I would try to cough it up but that didn’t always work. I ended up taking Mucenex and two different nose medicines and that helped tremendously. I drink tons of water as well.
Do you have sleep apnea? I do and I finally went back to using it and my congestion is so much better.
Wishing you luck to resolve this!

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Update! I took Prilosec two days ago and despite having an awful reaction to the medication (really bad headaches, vertigo, dizziness, brain fog), the next morning when I woke up, the thick mucus was 80% reduced.

The next day, I switched to Pepcid, since I have it on hand, but am considering Nexium or something else.
I found out after asking a few family members that they take Nexium too. Interesting how hard it is to get this kind of very useful information about health of family members 😅.

Will continue to report back. Over the last year, I've had a few stints of relief in the past, so not getting my hopes up, but also feeling encouraged.

Some details of things I immediately noticed after starting the PPIs—

- mucus 80% reduced. Maybe coughed up mucus 2-3 times yesterday total and it was very small/I was able to do it very easily. (Vs what it has been... Constant, thick balls of mucus that I'm basically choking on 🙄)
- energy was up. I definitely notice that my body feels different somehow.

Stay tuned.

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@klee44

I had the same issues with phlegm in my nose and throat. It felt like the phlegm in the throat was ‘stuck’.I would try to cough it up but that didn’t always work. I ended up taking Mucenex and two different nose medicines and that helped tremendously. I drink tons of water as well.
Do you have sleep apnea? I do and I finally went back to using it and my congestion is so much better.
Wishing you luck to resolve this!

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Thank you. No, sleep apnea has never been on my list! I too use Mucinex and a couple of sprays I found on here, Cromolyn and Rhinase. I do think I’ll get the Rhinase with xylitol that someone here recommended. Never stop trying!

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I've had extreme phlegm and loss of sleep is terrible. A friend told me about Flonase Sensimist nasal spray. I researched it on line, talked to my Pharmacist to be sure there would be no problem with other meds I take. It stopped tickle in throat and coughing and allows me to sleep at night.
Before bed time, I use the Neti-pot, wait a bit, then use one spray in each nostril. It has been a tremendous relief. It is used only once per day. I also take Claritin once a day but still had the cough till I added the Flonase Sensimist spray. Directions say it may take a week to work but it worked the first night I used it. Directions also say to use two sprays each nostril for first week but that made my throat too dry so I only use one spray each nostril. Be sure to read directions and breathe in gently when you spray the mist.

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I had covid in April of 2021 and was given steriods and steriod nasal spray but I still have postnasal drip. I seemed to be more prone to infections. So I took it upon myself to start doing nasal irrigations every day. This has helped in that I haven't had an infection in months but I still have post nasal drip. Was hoping this would also help me regain my smell and taste but after 2 years no such luck.

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Did you ever find anything to help. I have been dealing with this since july 2022 after covid¡! Driving me crazy!! I've been to an ENT and pulmonary dr. Besides all of the inhalers and steroids, nothing has worked!! I stopped taking everything because everything was temporary relief.

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@kathmahon01

Did you ever find anything to help. I have been dealing with this since july 2022 after covid¡! Driving me crazy!! I've been to an ENT and pulmonary dr. Besides all of the inhalers and steroids, nothing has worked!! I stopped taking everything because everything was temporary relief.

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I’m sorry, but it’s now 9 months and I’ve been through the same. My answer is ‘No’, and I have tried it all.

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@kathmahon01

Did you ever find anything to help. I have been dealing with this since july 2022 after covid¡! Driving me crazy!! I've been to an ENT and pulmonary dr. Besides all of the inhalers and steroids, nothing has worked!! I stopped taking everything because everything was temporary relief.

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It was diagnosed for me by ENT as chronic neurogenic cough with throat clear. Steroid injections and mild antidepressant helped temporarily. Stopped the antidepressant after six months and still have the problem. It is so annoying.

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I have the same problem. Nothing works and the loss of sleep is affecting my life. I have been seen by a respiratory consultant and had a bronchoscopy. Found nothing. Having an endoscopy next week. Not feeling very hopeful. I was thinking of buying Iqoro. Have you heard of it?

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I had Covid in January 2023 during which time I had thick mucus spilling into my esophagus and lubricating my digestive track to the extent that every movement was a surprise. I tested negative after 19 days but the mucus continued in a thin watery form and I visit my bathroom ten to twenty time a day most often wipe away nothing but mucus. Lately when I arise in the morning and go to the bathroom I have a normal movement but by the time I get to my kitchen I make a dash for the other bathroom and so it continues, sometimes on the morning and sometimes all day. most of the product looks like rotted foliage saturated with mucus. I sometime find myself force breathing as I need to respire every 30 seconds. When I was 16 I had viral pneumonia and was a volunteer fireman for three years of high school and have worked with a number of chemicals, even so, this is unusual.

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