MUCOUS STUCK IN THROAT.CONSTANT NEED TO CLEAR THROAT

I've had this issue with having to clear my throat for 3-4 years.  It's very annoying, digusting, and embarrassing.  I'm either clearing my throat, "hocking," or spitting, not to mention the other strange noises I make while trying to get whatever it is out of my throat...or what FEELS like is in my throat.

I always feel like I have mucus in the back of my throat.  When I swallow it I gag and feel nauseous.  Sometimes I'll make myself purge just to get it up.  I'll cough, spit, clear my throat, and do whatever I can to get rid of whatever is causing the sensation.  If I do swallow the nasty mess, a day later I'll feel nauseous and whatever it is will come up in the form of a slimy, mucus-ish material mixed with spots of what are undoubtedly blood from all my hacking and carrying on.

I've tried everything.  I've had barium drips done, ultrasounds of my throat, endoscopy procedures, things shoved through my nose into my throat, scans of my sinuses, and even biopsies of my throat taken.  NOTHING shows up!  Now, the doctors tell me, "There's nothing there, it's mental."  You mean to tell me that 3-4 years ago I decided I just wanted to start coughing and choking every day?  BS.

My throat is completely RAW from constantly clearing it, coughing, and "growling" to get rid of what ever that sensation is.  If I am successful, the relief is short-lived...for about 2 minutes.  This goes on ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT.  I can't sleep, my wife can't sleep, and it's disgusting.  I'm even having to get up from dinner to go spit and snort and everything else.  I can only imagine how tough it is for my wife to eat a meal without throwing up from listening to me.

The best part is the nicknames I've gotten, the most complimentary being "Chokey the Smurf."  Yeah, funny, right?  :/

i'd recommend staying away from dairy products for a while - as much as you can

I'm gonna try this, Alan, and also make an attempt to try not to fixate on this garbage as much. Who knows, maybe, just MAYBE there is a little bit of truth behind the fact that this could be a mental thing...

I have suffered from this nasty problem for over 22 years now and has never gone away. I have tried buch of different things from having a surgery for deviated septum (that's  what the doctor said)  at the time, I wanted to believe him but it wasn't the case.  I got the surgery done and I felt worse with the symptoms afterwards.  No wonder I am skeptical about doctors talking about surgery so fast...$$$$ ). what Alan suggested not to consume too much of dairy products and the reason is that dairy products contribute to more mucus secretion. A good diet is important, also lots of fluids (water, tea- no sugar) and especially to try to avoid unnecessary stress. I believe that it was stress what triggered it mine. At age 30 (I am 52 now) I got divorced and couple of months after  I got bronchitis (my immune system was weak because of stress) and after the bronchitis that lasted 4 months I developed the mucus build up in my throat and it became a chronic problem.  I have it  24/7   it gets worse when humidity level is high. I have a better diet now so that helps, I choose to be around nice people, that helps! and to have a different outlook in life (positive attitude and not to let much bothers me), that helps! This problem is not mental, it is Real! but we can keep it from being worse by a good mental attitude like everything else. For bad breath is good to eat celery also cinamon with honey and avoid to much condimented spicy food which I love :(   I too have annoyed my husband (re-married) with the strange sound I make to get the junk out (white clear sticky phlem).  I have to say every time "I am sorry", he understands (most of the time).   Be happy! I figure, it could be worse! Of course, we cannot give up on trying to find a better solution to this problem. Anyone?

stillhere123 wrote:

Chokey the Smurf wrote:

I'm gonna try this, Alan, and also make an attempt to try not to fixate on this garbage as much. Who knows, maybe, just MAYBE there is a little bit of truth behind the fact that this could be a mental thing...

I have suffered from this nasty problem for over 22 years now and has never gone away. I have tried buch of different things from having a surgery for deviated septum (that's  what the doctor said)  at the time, I wanted to believe him but it wasn't the case.  I got the surgery done and I felt worse with the symptoms afterwards.  No wonder I am skeptical about doctors talking about surgery so fast...$$$$ ). what Alan suggested not to consume too much of dairy products and the reason is that dairy products contribute to more mucus secretion. A good diet is important, also lots of fluids (water, tea- no sugar) and especially to try to avoid unnecessary stress. I believe that it was stress what triggered it mine. At age 30 (I am 52 now) I got divorced and couple of months after  I got bronchitis (my immune system was weak because of stress) and after the bronchitis that lasted 4 months I developed the mucus build up in my throat and it became a chronic problem.  I have it  24/7   it gets worse when humidity level is high. I have a better diet now so that helps, I choose to be around nice people, that helps! and to have a different outlook in life (positive attitude and not to let much bothers me), that helps! This problem is not mental, it is Real! but we can keep it from being worse by a good mental attitude like everything else. For bad breath is good to eat celery also cinamon with honey and avoid to much condimented spicy food which I love :(   I too have annoyed my husband (re-married) with the strange sound I make to get the junk out (white clear sticky phlem).  I have to say every time "I am sorry", he understands (most of the time).   Be happy! I figure, it could be worse! Of course, we cannot give up on trying to find a better solution to this problem. Anyone?

Just last week and into this week I was in Florida and the problem seemed to "miraculously" go away for the few days I was there...while I still have the issue, it wasn't nearly as bad.

So, I got back from Florida and sure enough, the next morning I woke up, it was back to the races.

Last week I had CT scan of my sinuses done and they said I had a deviated septum. My doctor didn't think that was the issue, so it's off to yet ANOTHER ear/nose/throat doctor again.

I'm just really tired of this BS. It's affecting my entire life. It's gotten to the point that half the time I hope I just choke to death in my sleep so I'm done with it.

From reading every one's experiences, it looks like I'll be hacking forever. My situation started 3 months ago - on New Years Day I went to the hospital with  the worst headache I ever had and rashes all over my chest and back.  Turned out to be Shingles. Two weeks later I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst ear ache I ever had. The fluid in my ear exploded, perforating my eardrum. I developed typical cold symptoms which worsened over time. Lost my voice totally and could not hear anything out of that ear. My family dr put me on 2 rounds of antibiotics. Two months later I went to an ENT out of desperation and a need to get my voice and hearing back since I talk for a living. He put a camera down my throat and saw infected and inflamed vocal cords, prescribed more stronger antibiotics, steroids and narcotic cough syrup. A month later and I still can't hear., My voice returned but now it feels like something's stuck in the back of my throat 24-7. I cough until I'm dizzy and nothing seems to clear it. I can take cough syrup to stop it, but then it feels like the throat is even more "choked up" if i don't cough as much.  And now with this round of choking, my voice gets more and more hoarse.  I don't smoke, stopped the dairy products and never had any known allergies. The odor of any kind of smoke, or a strong fragrance immediately causes me to cough uncontrollably. I even went to a chiropractor to help somehow drain my ears and sinuses, but that's gone nowhere too. Like the rest of you, I am miserable and this is affecting my work and day to day life. If anybody finds a solution, please post.

Well, I've pretty much lost confidence in all doctors, so I guess I'll just find comfort in the fact that I'm married, and hopefully my wife can accept me for the choking, coughing, snorting, hacking, spitting, snot-bucket I am.

I have the same problem that you all have listed, my mucus did not start until I was sent to have a scan done on my thyroid.  Two nodials have been found, on each side of my thyroid a biopis was performed and it was benigned.  The mucus then changed in color from white to yellow and it looks like spoil milk very thick and sticky.  I was placed on anti biotics that has thinned the mucus and changed the color back to a thick white mucus.  I have started a treatment for Hep C and after that I will continue the thyroid treatment to have the nodials removed in hopes that this will eliminate the mucus.  So it seems that the only thing in common is the cysts, nodials or tumors. Maybe everyone should have their thyroids checked.

What's with the caps???

this is e its been happenin monthsnow and its a living nitemare!!!! i would do anything just to get bac 2 normal i cant eat im living on soup and cough like mad after that and feel like im gona die with it.. waiting on a camera test but dont think anytghings gona work! IF ANYONE HAS A CURE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP.. i cant lve like this anymore

i had a similar prob i visited a ENT specialist here in Kenya & it helped a great deal..was given a nasal spray, and antihistamines + other drugs

If it comes from too much stomach acid, the stomach reducers should alleviate the symptoms. If that works, the find out the reason for exxesive stomach acid, should be easy to track down.

I am in my mid 20's and have had this for for about 6 years now. I have seasonal allergies, mostly just tree pollen, but for some reason last year (2012) I didn't have any allergies. None of the constant sneezing and what not. The only thing that changed was I started to eat a lot more organic stuff, avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup, and I stopped drinking as much dairy. I was a milk-aholic before. I do drink a daily pro-biotic (that is dairy). My theory is that it's post-nasal drip. Because Ive done a lot of research and it comes to that a lot. Also acid-reflux which I also have. I also noticed really bad stomach aches if I don't (almost) constantly eat. I think this might be from post-nasal drip draining into the stomach, and when I don't have much food, it affects me the strongest. This could also be from the fact that I have untreated cavities, and I read that bad teeth can cause bacteria that can drain into the stomach and cause problems. Not sure if this could be connected.

I too have had a lot of URIs (upper respiratory infections) and various other tonsil-like infections. Over time I've developed holes in my tonsils that build up these little white soft debris. Ive heard them called calcium-deposits, and various other things. They stink because they are almost like a pearl in your tonsils. Spit, bacteria, food, and stomach acid if you have acid-reflux basically mix in these pockets and basically just chill out in there. This can also cause bad breathe. The holes in my tonsils seems to be getting bigger, but I don't seem to get as many of those white things as before.

I have noticed that my tongue is constantly coated with an almost white saliva. I think this plays into why it's hard to hack stuff up. The tongue isnt as rough as it should be. I tried a tongue scraper, and that helped in the beginning. Don't use the stainless-steel ones. Not as good as an idea as I thought.

I do smoke cigarettes, but only since a family member died not too long ago. Before recently, I had quit for over a year, and the cough and mucus never changed much through the whole process. From when I smoked, to during the time I quit, to starting again, still the same cough and hack. I think the cigarettes if anything just make it a slight bit more difficult to hack up the mucus. I did/do smoke marijuana as well. Which I know many people might give me c**p about, but I'm only stating this to help others possibly narrow down similar habits. The Marijuana seems to give me a more productive cough.

There is also such thing as diverticulitis of the throat. That's where you can have a pocket in various spots of your esophagus, which food can get caught in an make you constantly choke and cough. Imagine your esophagus, and a side of it balloons out, creating a balloon type sac. Then when you swallow, food a debris can get caught in the sac, which will feel heavy. It would make you want to hack, but being it ballooned out, it's easier in than it is out. This could be another issue.

The problem is, we could all have different issues. People just need to be better about including important details.

 

I will sum up the above (w/ addition info):

*I have 2 cats

*I have no other pets

*Allergy tests show no allergy to cats/dogs. Mostly just pollen. Strongest being Ragweed and Tree Pollen

*Also tested negative for mold and dust.

*I smoked cigarettes and marijuana previously to having any symptoms. (3+ years both)

*I quit smoking cigarettes for almost a year and a half and had the same symptoms, but continued to smoke Marijuana.

*I have holes in my tonsils (from infections of the tonsils)

*The phlegm is usually clear, sometimes with a clear yellow tint (which is rare)

*Sometimes it has dark specs, which those could be from smoking, but not most of the time.

*I talk nasally, I know that's random but maybe it's something.

*I use only the best furnace filters (year round, even with a/c) and change them frequently.

*I have acid reflux, am looking in to seeing if the nexium helps the phlegm/drainage

*Scope of the throat years ago showed that my upper sphincter of the throat is stretched. This could cause the acid-reflux.

*Stomach acid in the throat can also cause irritation and polyps, so if you can afford a doctor (unlike myself) get it checked out asap.

 

MAJOR TIP!! - My mom had a similar issue years ago, and it ended up being her blood pressure medicine. It was a common side effect the doctor didnt mention, even after multiple visits for the cough. We all told her it was smoking, but once she switched, it stopped. Even after continuing to smoke.

The medicine I think, was called Lisinipril. Unfortunately, I don't take HBP meds, so this wasn't/isn't my issue.

I really feel like I need an oxy-type cleansing of my sinuses, and the Netti Pot thing I cannot do. My tap water is so filled with iron, and I read that bottled water, even with salt added, can give you a sinus infection. For me, that's the last thing I want. A sinus infection from trying to clean out my sinuses.

Okay, hopefully this helps you guys, or helps you help me.

 

 

Hello, I was told the same thing about being mental. They are crazy but did you ever get rid of the feeling?

my husband has the same problem, n he 2 has had it since lyk 4ever, his dad 2 has it