2 years of throat clearing, thick mucus and post nasal drip sensation (allergy/reflux/nerve?)

I have same problems as the first poster-- I have tried all the same stuff-- inhalation therapy with steroid (Bidesonide) 2x's a day and it's only like a band-aid. When it get really bad I take prednisone ( 60mg them 40mg them 20mg over three days and it knocks it out for about a week or so.

I am toying with the maintenance dose of prednisone (10mg) a day-- most people have no serious side effects at a low dose.

I've tried natural cures- oregano, honey and apple cider vinegar, and nothing seems to help.

Hello derekjp and everyone else who is suffering from this horrible (??? Not sure what we should call it, maybe "THE EVIL PHLEGM", 

JUST LIKE OTHERS I researched my symptoms that I've had almost a year now and it brought ME HERE TO THIS DISCUSSION. I am 41 years old, married, and have 2 sons who are 16 and 12 and this has totally changed our lives and RUINED ME. I used to be very active with friends and family, always doing and going places with my husband and boys, now I do good to get out of the bed 2 days a week. I am also an accountant and went through this the entire tax season last year missing work, etc. so I am contemplating having to quit work because I feel so physically and emotionally down. I used to exercise 6 days a week 2-3 hours day but then I started having swelling issues in my legs so I had to have vein surgery on both legs. which put a stop to my working out, I then started gaining weight, I've gained 60 pounds in the past 4-5 years which has also affected my back and I believe this too. I then found out I had an underactive thyroid so I had to start taking medication for that and my hair was SEVERELY coming out.

So like I said for almost a year now I have been doing the same things u guys have: 1) LOTS OF MUCUS OR PHLEGM AT THE BACK OF MY THROAT (sometimes yellowish green but mostly clear), it will turn yellowish green if I don't hack it up or if I over exert myself so it almost seems like an infection then in which my primary physician will put me on a 10 day antibiotic for and it helps some, or atleast the mucus goes from yellow to clear), 2) I constantly am making that HACKING SOUND which is so gross and I know I must get on my family's nerves but I can't help it, if I DON'T GET IT OUT THERE'S SO MUCH MUCUS SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I AM GOING TO DROWN, 3) WHEEZING at times or if I don't hack it all up or I over exert myself, 4)SEVERE HEARTBURN AND INDIGESTION especially if I eat sweets, 5) SLUGGISH AND TIRED (I've only had 2 hours sleep in the past 48 hours due to all the COUGHING, 6) DRY OR IRRITATATION OF MY THROAT WHEN THE MUCUS DRAINS which causes me to cough sometimes until I almost pass out, 7) I think I might be having PANIC ATTACKS when I get to where I can't get the fluid up or the wheezing to go away because basically I JUST CAN'T BREATHE, 8) Not really a RUNNY NOSE, IT JUST DRAINS INTO THE BACK OF MY THROAT, 9) NO LIFE, I basically just lay around all day hoping not to provoke this more, I live off of SOUP because warm liquid helps so I AM VERY DEPRESSED that I can't find a solution to this so I can live again and be a good mom and wife.

I just recently went to see an ENT DOCTOR, he did the scope and seen that one side of my nose is more open than the other but my mucus is normal and told me our bodies have to produce that much mucus a day (I bet I spit up 1- 2 gallons of it a day), he also said that my throat WAS VERY SWOLLEN, INFLAMED AND ALMOST ACID EAT UP WHICH TOLD HIM THAT I SUFFER FROM SEVERE ACID REFLUX. He told me that I need to go see a GI DOCTOR to check my stomach and acidity and that really is WHAT HE THINKS IS GOING ON WITH ME (that the stomach acid is coming back up my esophagus and back into my throat which is what's causing the post nasal drip and the cough too). He also referred me to a LUNG DOCTOR to just make sure my lungs are working appropriately, and he wants me to go see an ALLERGY DOCTOR too. So ofcourse those doctors cant get me in right away so I have to endure this another 2 months. Our house is only about 13 years old but we had a roof leak years ago so we are also having a COMPANY COME OUT TO OUR HOUSE NEXT WEEK TO JUST MAKE SURE THERE IS NO BLACK MOLD OR ANY OTHER BACTERIA IN OUR HOUSE (because all of the symptoms I'm having are what someone has when there is black mold in their home). So I will UPDATE everyone on that next week!!! The only thing that helps me when I get to where I can't breathe or can't get the sticky MUCUS up is to use an INHALER and within 1 minute it all comes up and I'm clear for another 30 minutes to an hour-ugh! I was taking Benadryl to dry me up but I read u are not supposed to take it long term so I've been taking XYZAL and it helps more than Zyrtec or Claritan for me. I also have a breathing treatment machine that if I get completely clogged with the mucus I do a breathing treatment and I am better for a little while. I read that caffeine or basically carbonated drinks make the MUCUS ACT UP WORSE so I've been just drinking ice water and it helps to get the mucus up and unclogged from my throat so I can breathe. This week I started changing my eating habits and am eating low carb to see if that helps as well as trying to stay away from highly acidic foods. I think that a lot of this for me is where I PACKED ON SOME POUNDS, so I feel like if I could just lose some weight I would breathe and feel better, but it's super hard to exercise when u have gotten no sleep and when u do exercise u just cough and wheeze. I'm just going to STAY POSITIVE THOUGH because I can't and don't want to live like this the rest of my life, my kids deserve to have their mom back! I will update u all about the MOLD TESTING AND WHAT THE STOMACH AND LUNG DOCTOR tell me and I'm just gonna PRAY that they find a SOLUTION THAT WILL HELP US ALL...I'm so glad I found this discussion forum though because I felt like I was LOOSING MY MIND...YOU ALL WILL BE IN MY PRAYERS!

Love & Peace, 

JAMIE

I have had this problem for a couple months now,feeling like the same mucus is stuck in my throat for days,and not being able to swallow it. I just find helpful eating and drinking and as i do some other activity i just kind of forget about it. You (and many other people including me) have a kind of psychological problem because the body reacts to swallowing and huffing to clear the throat and as it does not work you just keep doing it again giving that feeling that you will never get rid of it. Anyway this year and a part of 2016 i smoked often but never had any problem like that. So i think smoking was my cause. I do swimming course and it is kind of helping. It was just way better than nasal sprays and other medicine which never worked for me as i expected. You really have to try it. A neti pot session after swimming is awesome.You can actually make a neti pot yourself! I really hope you feel better and just fight because hey thats ur life you have to go through this and you will of course. Cheers!

Jamie

Just a few things that seem to help me: It may be a combination of gut and sinus. Dairy causes a lot of mucous problems. If you can afford it have a food sensitivity test.  I find it easier to go dairy free than gluten free. Dairy free foods can taste just as good as food made  with dairy (except ice cream). Gluten free doesn't always taste as good. Raising the top of your bed 4-6 inches (using books or old telephone books) and sleep on your left side can help a lot if your mucous is coming from acid reflux (there is a silent refux so you may not even have symptoms and still have it). I try to stay all natural since pharmaceuticals have so many side effects.  I take natural medications for anxiety from being sick (they are wonderful and no side effects or dependency), probiotics  and I just started taking a natural medication to thin out the mucous. I'm not sure if it's being dairy free or if it's the medication but my symptoms have improved a lot. I drink room temperature water first thing I do in the am. Hemp (expensive and hard to find) and alkaline water seems to make me feel better when my throat gets dry. 

I too, feel like I could have written your post... Over the years I have had a variety of allergy issues but in the last cpl years I have developed a post nasal drip that makes me clear my throat constantly. I can feel a mucusy mass at the back of my nose/top of my throat that no amount of sucking will pull down... Occaisionally a neti pot will clear it ... but its back again soon. Lately its the throat clearing that has me unable to fall asleep  .. but once i do, its bliss until about an hour after I wake up.

My allergist is a charlatan, offering promises of new meds if I will only come in, only to have him rearrange the order i take same meds. When confronted he suggested I go to an ENT.  This dr said I "may" have a polyp in a sinus ( some evidence on the outside he could see may point to one being there) but I would need a CT scan to be sure (cant afford it) and if so, surgery "may" help.... not going through all that on a "may"

The allergist did say that sudafed doesnt do anything and had me go off it .. .but after reading so many have found it to help, i am going back on it.

I am also going to ask for some amitriptyline ( was given this years ago but didnt like the way I felt, hoping it cures this, I no longer care about feeling woozy - maybe it wont be as bad this time)

looking forward to reading all these posts to glean for possible things for me to try.