I have not yet seen a doctor, because my symptoms are not serious. But I am concerned that my body hasn't fully recovered from the illness yet. I didn't have the flu, I'm quite certain of that, and so I'd expect after two weeks I'd be back to normal. Here is the chronology:

First, I developed a facial rash adjacent to my nose, about 2" long. I applied Cortisone to it for a week and then it went away. Never had this kind of rash before. Not sure if this is related to my current condition, but figured I should state it.

Next, I developed a sore throat, in the usual way (slight scratchiness, which eventually progressed to a full blown sore throat). I did not have severe inflammation that would be typically experienced with strep throat. I would wake in the morning and my vocal cords would be completely covered with phlegm (my voice would be incredibly gravelly). Sneezing would show an olive green mucous, instead of the usual clear. By the afternoon, I'd feel perfectly fine. But the pattern would continue to repeat for a full week.

At the end of the first week, my mucous discharge became mostly clear. The phlegm buildup in my throat lessened, and would clear up faster during the day (usually shortly after noontime, where I'd feel mostly normal). Still, another week goes by and I'm suffering from the same problems. They have not abated. Additionally, I started to notice that the large knuckles of my forefingers have swelled a little and are slightly tender. My calves and feet are now a little swollen. Elevation alleviates the swelling. But if I sit at my computer for a few hours and stand up, I feel almost like I've got tight knee socks on my feet and calves. I did not see any rashes anywhere on my body, so I'm pretty certain I don't have Lyme disease.

I'm 47, in excellent health, I eat healthy, I do not abuse my body, and I generally get about 7 hours of sleep a night. I'm not taking any medications. I did have somewhat high blood pressure for a while, near hypertension, but have lowered it via natural means (cut down on salt, exercising more, drinking teas and pomegranate juice mixes that help lower BP). Recent check was 135/80, and lowering from my high (which was 145/90 a couple of months ago).

I'm preparing to go on a trip to Europe in less than 2 weeks and now I'm concerned I'll be going with these symptoms persisting. Any ideas of what I might have? Any other information I could relay to help diagnose the possible problem? Thanks!!