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Constant mucus / phlegm in throat. Hawking up thick green balls and specks (pics)

Posted , 5 users are following.

nickdamon
nickdamon

Okay, so I'm not sure if it's related but I'm going to start way back in like late Jan/Feburary where I suffered from a bad ear infection. I didn't know it was an ear infection at the time and neither did the urgentcare I went to. She just gave me a z-pack and I generally felt a lot better. 

    I was completely unaware and didn't feel that I was apparently still draining so heavily from my ear/s that my left lung became unable to fully expand making it feel like I cracked a rib or something. I went to another urgentcare that morning and was given a z-pack, which instantly made things better and the doctor told me I had an ear infection and explained the draining and my lungs and stuff. She mentioned if the draining didn't stop i'd have to have my ears drained or something. 

   Throughout this whole thing I've had no fever. No sore throat. No coughing. No headaches. No runny nose. but there HAS been this constant build up of phlegm or some kind of mucus in my throat. Every swallow is horrible and on my mind and I can't remember the last time I didn't have to think about NOT wanting to swallow my spit. I should also mention I did experience very low energy and I was very lethargic. Not like myself at all. 

    So then I went to my primary doctor... twice. I was given the two biggest, baddest antibiotics of all and some flonase. No avail. I am fed up at this point and decide to see an ENT. So i go to the ENT last wednesday. He listens to me breathe, looks around my face holes, and then quickly prescribes me sudafed 30mg, bactrim ds 800-160, flonase, and tells me to pick up a saline spray. I also got a steroid shot and immediately after I could, for the first time, swallow perfectly. It was effortless. It was amazing. It was temporary. 

    But...religiously since then, every morning I take my pills and do the saline, flonase, then saline again. Then I do the same thing at night. Sometimes saline in the middle of the day. This is where it gets kinda gross...

    Immediately after I do my saline spray, I get all this build up in my throat thats light green/yellow with darker green and white specs that I gag/cough up and usually once or twice a session theres a massive glob of some very dark green ball with little specks of green/white around it. 

    After I cough all that up for about 5 mins, I have to blow my nose at least twice where a tooonnnnn of clear mucus comes out. Just clear. Haven't noticed spots really. 

When I do the flonase, I have the exact same reaction except without needing to blow my nose. It all wants to come out of my mouth instead. It's horrible honestly.

And right now, I really cannot tell if it's getting better or staying the same. On the bright side, this sudafed has me feeling like my old self again (lol)

    Here are some pics of the crazy darker and bigger globs I hawk up. I guess I could also say that once I cough these particular large thingies up my little hawking spree is over for the most part and I go back to the same drainage as before I did my nose sprays..  

http://i67.tinypic.com/im013t.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2li9bop.jpg

    I just want to know what's wrong with me. I've been told so many things. That it's possible ear drainage still, it could be something stuck in my throat and my body is creating excess mucus, i have a sinus infection, an upper respiratory infection, that its my adenoids, its from acid reflex (never had heartburn before), etc.

I just dont understand if it's all possibly related or what.

I've never had sinus/allery issues before either.

The ENT said if I didn't feel a little better in a week to go back and he'd have to look inside me and stuff which ill do, but I'm just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar because I'm really panicking at this point. Sorry if this is in the wrong group or something. 

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • caryl73160
    caryl73160 nickdamon

    Posted

    Hi Nick,  I just had to respond as I can so relate to the continual clear mucus.  Have you had an endoscopy to the throat?  When I did, I was told, like you, I have silent reflux which I thought was so strange as I have never had heartburn or indigestion.  Upon doing a bit of homework it appears this can certainly cause a lot of mucus in one's throat, even to the point of travelling up to one's eustachian tubes. The only solution I was given was not to eat or drink for at least 3 hours before lying down.  I have to confess it has helped considerably, however.............I am also getting those small slug like dark brown/black globules you describe and have photographed.  They look revolting as you say. No answer has been forthcoming, so I truly don't know what to do either.  I will be most interested to hear what the ENT says when you next see him.   I'm just about over specialists now!!  They are hugely expensive and certainly don't have all the answers.   
    • nickdamon
      nickdamon caryl73160

      Posted

      Hey caryl, thanks for the reply. Hard to say I'm glad I'm not alone when I wouldn't wish this on anyone else!  On my first ENT visit I was given the prescriptions on top of a steroid shot (cortizone, i think he said) : 1 Bactrim DS 800-160 twice daily, 2 sudofeds 30 mg twice daily, flonase (two squirts in each nostril twice daily- more if necessary) and finish it all off with a deep saline nasal spray (i use the brand Ocean). After the cortizone shot, I could notice NO drip before i even got to the pharmacy to drop of my scripts. It was a miracle. Unfortunately, temporary. During that week on my meds, I noticed all the green algea looking mucus would come out of my right nostril after my saline Ocean nose spray. The amount of speckles in my mucus and stuff did decrease but the drip was still as noticeable as ever. 

      Upon returning to the ENT the next friday, I explained to him all of this and that the cortizone shot was the only thing that stopped my drip. 

      He decided to give me all the same prescriptions again, only adding Prednisone (a steroid pill) (4 tabs first 4 days, 3 tabs next 4 days, 2 tabs next for days, 1 tab next 4 days) and telling me to now take 2 sudafed 4x daily. I also got another steroid shot. 

      So far, I have had NO drip thanks to the steroid pills. Hopefully it is not temporary and this may actually dry everything up. If I have finished this round of steroids and the drip returns I believe he said he would have to do some scans to see where the drip is exactly coming from and why and what procedure from there we can do as prolonged antibiotic and steroid use is not something you should do for too long. 

      If anything takes a turn for the better or the worse I will let you know. Don't give up, someone out there knows the answer and has seen this before! 

    • caryl73160
      caryl73160 nickdamon

      Posted

      Well Nick I'm glad you are getting some relief, that's great.  Also it's good to hear you are aware of  prolonged antibiotic and steroid use - it's pretty hard on the body, so don't over do it!   

      I think I will just keep working on the more natural remedies as my system is so intolerant to drugs. 

      Would still be interested to hear of your progress.

    • kimberly78151
      kimberly78151 nickdamon

      Posted

      Plz tel me that u have found a solution to ir problem because ive been having e exact same thing for almost a year now. Ur pics r identical to mine!!!!!!
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