Advice Please - Dry Mouth & Other Issues

*Note: I am seeing my GP currently. It's just that I feel the process is very slow and was hoping for others with similar experiences so I have some ideas when going in for my next appointment. *

Is it possible that being in an extremely dry environment could make my saliva production low or sporadic and cause aching and occasional possible swelling of the submandibular gland (assuming that is where the issue may be stemming from?)

I keep getting extreme dry mouth which comes and goes. I feel like sometimes before I eat I get swelling under the left side of the back of my tongue. I have days where my dry mouth is so extreme that I get a raging sore throat and it feels like the tissues at the back of my throat and around the back of my tongue get swollen and puffy. Then the soreness goes away, usually after eating or chewing gum, but I can still feel irritation the following day.

If I don't take Flonase every day, I get a constant burning sore throat on the left side. It almost always goes away within 48 hours of starting Flonase. It also seems like that side is "drier" than the other as my left nostril seems to be more clear on that side and I guess more air flow through that side of throat? Just guessing.

I have had similar issues during the late winter for several years in a row after we installed a pellet stove which is extremely drying. It's also the first year I've been home all winter and in this environment all day, every day. But this year it has been heinous. I can also tell when the humidifier is out because my symptoms go insane. Last night it was empty and I could barely deal with my sore throat as it wasn't just on the left side it was like a ring of fire around the whole throat. And today, I assume because of all the horrible irritation last night, it feels "off" more than usual.

In March I felt like I had an infection in my throat/ear/mouth. It lasted about 3 weeks. I had white spots on soft palate. I had really swollen lymph tissue at the back of my tongue (tonsils regrowth/remnants). I constantly felt like my tongue was touching "lumps." My ear was stinging in the Eustachian area. I felt extremely tired. That went away, but I haven't felt 100% normal since. During that time a gland also popped up on that side kind of behind my jugular and was pretty big and did reduce in size but I can still feel it a month later.

I went to GP on Tuesday and she ran CDC, electrolytes, ANA, CRP, TSH, and Thyroid Antibodies. My bloodwork came back completely normal, but my ANA was 1:80 which I read could mean I have some sort of autoimmune issue. She checked CPR and ANA to see if it might be Sjorgen's.

I am just really getting worried and want to know if anyone has had similar experiences.

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