Constant Phlegm In Throat For Past 3 Months, Help!!!!! (Page 2)

I have been going through much of the same... for 3 years now... had the allergy tests, tube down the throat torture (insist you are medicated, regardless of what the doc says you are able to tolorate... my experience with this alone was rape like and has only made the mental battle worse)... naturalist... specialists... puffers, pills, sprays... lots of opinions, but nothing definative. Have felt very alone in all of this. This thread is very comforting. I have been suspicious of wheat the whole time... know that sugar, dairy, citrus flared, but always got discouraged because it seemed like just eating anything... or even having a glass of water would flare... very discouraging. Now that i see i am not alone, i am going to give berggy and chris597 suggestions to the test... will report back with results...

one note... some advice i got from this hardcore german doc... who had a real hate on for all things dairy and antibiotic told me to "snort" salt water. Nothing fancy. Take a regular 500ml bottle of spring water (still), and dilute as much salt... any salt (i feel better about sea salt) in it. Cup your hand, pour into it, stick your nose in the puddle and snort with both nostrils. I was skeptical at first, but i gave'r and it really gave me relief... for the drip that is... it was like having a bath on the inside... did not cure the drip, but felt nice to neutralize it for a time. Doc said to do as much as you wanted.. I strongly recommend.

The phlegm is a allergic reaction to polutants in the air.air conditioning,smoking,dust,and just about anything you inhale that has polutants in it is the cause.there is no cure but if you can find a ear,nose,and throat doctor that has a clue there is a medication that you take for a few months that will decrease the phlegm.good luck finding one.im sure you all have explained your symptoms as i have to doctors without results.

I too have suffered from excessive mucous since 1993. It has progressively got better but diet does play a role when it worsens. In my case it all started with a primary hsv2 infection. I am not sure if it's exclusively hsv2 or if a secondary unknown virus came with the package but that's my suspicion. Over the years I have gone to doctors, read books and to date the most effective means in controlling it has been a combination of diet, exercise, and acupuncture. Read the book "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford, see a chinese doctor (or a few - multiple opinions help), and learn about the chinese medicine condition called 'damp'.

I have read all the posts and see I am not alone. I also had the allergy tests - negative, sprays, scans. Nothing.. they tell me post nasal drip but it is alll the time! My husband can't take the constant phlegm clearing and neither can I. I have read in other places that it can be an overgrowth of yeast and to try some supplements like a probiotic, garlic pills and stay away from sugar since yeast feeds on it. It also states that if you try natural things at home for a few months with no luck then to see your doctor since there is a blood test to see if you have too much Candida. That is my plan!

I have contracted a cold 2weeks ago and made it alot worse by gettin another one on top of it. Then came the usual cold symptom of a runny nose. As time has gone by, rater than getting better it has gotten worse. The mucus from my nose is tick and yellow. It doesnt go away, nomatter how much i blow my nose. And now, from about 3days ago i noticed that some of it trickles down the back of my throat into my mouth. Or atleast thats what it looks like. Im guessing that's phlegm.
Its constant now. Its a hassle to get out and i feel as if its always there, even when its not. VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. I also have asthma.. im not sure if that has anything to do with it. This is making me miserale!!
Can anyone help me??

As a few people have said, it's great to know I'm not alone with this.

I've been a singer for about 15 years and in the last 3 years my voice has all but gone. I went to an ENT, got the Camera shoved down the throat, went to Voice PAthologists, which really helped with exercises designed to get the vocal folds doing what they're supposed to be.

Problem is, when you constantly clear your throat, it irritates the vocal folds. then trying to talk or sing, just strains them, then the wprst thing happens. You try to compensate, using all the wrong muscles, and if like me you're an un-trained singer, you start to do some serious damage

I've been seeing a singer teacher for about 5 months now and it's great. I still have the Phlegm and am in the process of illimating food groups to see which it is (Was on 40mg Nexium for 3 months and it done nothing)

It's possibly the most frustrating thing in the world though.. Knowing that you can sing, but a few days of phlegm and it's gone!

Keep the faith - and start working through the possibilities. Reflux, Wheat, Potatoes, allergies. Find it, cure it, move on!

I have had nasal drip into back of throat for many years now. The ENT confirmed that because of acid resting on my thoat pipe while sleeping this caused a scab that irritates throat and prevents muchus from going down to stomach effectively. I cough and splutter every morning and the phlegm does not go down or out. Im seeing a surgeon tomorrow for advice. Have seen doctors & ENT specialists with no luck. I have seen that a samoosa or Tab will trigger it.

I have very much the same problem with the nasal dripping at the back of throat, irritating the throat , a little short breathe and on top of that my throat is always sore and dry. I reaalise the flow gets worse after meals. ButI sleep well, not disturbed by the plegm and waking up in the morn I feel good. I have had this problem for over 10 yrs. last few yrs my doctor gave me Seretide and aft using for a few mths I will fully recover. I always encounter this problem at least once a year , after a cough or infection and once it starts it may lasts for 3-6 mths.

I read this and have started only this week to do as she says!

Is it working? Too early to tell but it's certainly feeling better after 2 days and this morning I woke up with a pink tongue instead fo a white one!?!?!

Apparently I can't post a link to a very useful article on ehealth!! So I'll have to explain it in a way that doesn't breach copyright or provide any kind of forward promotion of another individual's work!

I came across an article in a magazine discussing Candida, which explains a lot of my symptoms and I thought it may be of assistance to others here.

It's a strict diet avoiding gluten, Sugars and dairy, which includes taking supplements throughout the day for a number of months.

It makes sense - something's causing the phlegm. Go to an ENT and I think the only word in their vocab is "Reflux"!! Am I right?

If there is an imbalence of bad bacteria in your body it causes a lot of things to happen including our immune systems to go out of balence. The creation of phlegm increases when our body is trying to fight something off. So unless we all have an eternal cold or flu then our body's are trying to fight off this bad bacteria which feeds on these foods that we have an 'intolerance' to.

So if we can try to get the balence right, our immune system should start getting into it's normal rythm.

Anyway as I can't post the link, do a search on "Candida". Click on the link for Nourished Magazine, an article by Bee Wilder.

I think you'll all find it very useful.

I went to a doctor at Kaiser when I was sick with coughing, phlegm, and other symptoms. Here is what he said about feel like you have phlegm when you really don't.

If you yell at a concert or party or singing, you will notice that people clear there throats. They really have nothing in their throats but since we all swallow, sometimes we can bring something up and that something is saliva. This same thing happens when we have post nasal drip or coughing due to illness.

The yelling, singing, coughing, post nasal drip, etc. done to our vocal cords inflame them. This happens due to over use or "abuse" which makes them touch each other, giving us the feeling that something is on them. Inflammation. It is our brains natural reaction to either cough or "clear our throats" when the vocal cords are inflammed.

When you have an actual illness, yes, there is a reason for feeling like something is in your throat, because something is. After your illness has subsided, we still feel the urge to clear our throats or cough because all of that coughing has inflamed the vocal cords.

Basically you can see how inflammation is the cause of the prolonged feeling that you "need" to cough or clear your throat once the illness has subsided.

You can take all of the medications in the world to numb your throat, but this only tricks your throat for a while, and then all of a sudden you are back where you started until it FINALLY goes away. This is also the revolving cause of some cases of chronic coughing.

Ok so now to the good stuff, the resolution!

ANSWER: IBU 800 or 800mg of IBUPROFEN
REASON: ibuprofen gets rid of the "swelling" also commonly know as inflammation! TADA

The doctor also told me that I can take up to 2000MG(two thousand) of IBUPROFEN in a 24 hour period but NO MORE THAN THAT.

I am not a doctor, nor claim that my situation can resolve another persons medical condition. This did, and continues to help me when I have the issue as described above. With ANY advice, always make sure to get a second opinion from your doctor or nurse hotline.

I hope this helps!!

Your doctor is an idiot. Run away!

Gosh! Looks like there are heaps of us in this club! I have had an unusual amount of phlegm in the last 3 years and have been "hucking-up" of a morning in an attempt to rid my throat of the phlegm to no avail. I have now developed nodules on my vocal chords and have been diagnosed with chronic laringitis. My voice has become permanently husky and has hindered my singing abililty - a great passion of mine! My ENT surgeon and speach pathologist have both advised me NOT to "huck-up" phlegm as this is extreemly damaging to vocal chords. In fact, it is the act of coughing that is extreemly damaging to the vocal chords and this alone can lead to the development of nodules (vocal chords constantly smash together instead of working in a gentle motion with one another)! Both specialists have advised to have a drink of water and just swallow the phlegm! Easy said than done when I feel like I need a shovel not water to shift it, but you get the picture! Reading all of these stories now leads me to question what the ramifications are of swallowing bucket loads of phlegm? My warning to others who may be unaware is that hucking-up has led to nodules on my vocal chords! Pls be mindful of this when trying to clear your throat. As all of us phlegm'ers know, this can be pretty rough exercise. If I could have my time again, I would have focused on ridding myself of the phlegm earlier...which I am still not sure I know how to tackle! There are listed here, so many different approaches...lots of trial and errors before I may find the cure to phlegm reduction??? Here's hoping for the definitive answer for all!

Hi, I turned 14 just this past month in June. Back in 5th grade was when this started happening for me. I think it was all caused because I drank way to much milk. I normally don't eat much bread, just personally because I don't really like it. I used to eat some white bread when I was a kid often, like a sandwich a day, never really affected me. I love milk.. I loved milk.. I used to drink many many many cups a day. And pretty soon it led to stomach problems when I drink it, which it still sometimes does. I took some digestive pills which helped the pain go away. Those expired last year so I stopped taking them. I stopped drinking milk for a long time and the phlegm seemed to go away. When I went to see a nose/throat/ear doctor that my normal doctor recommended, they nose/throat/ear doctor stuck a tube like camera or something up my nose and into my throat, and told me it was due to acid reflux which i had never had before. It was because in the morning I started waking up with sour phlegm in my throat and always clearing my throat which really annoyed my mom. He told me to stay away from foods that have acid or sour stuff in them, from what I remember, chocolate, orange juice, lemonade... I can't really remember which, but I have the paper somewhere. And then he gave me some medicine. What I am really worried about is that I never finished the medicine even though he kept asking me, are you taking it everyday?? etc etc. He also told me to keep my bed slanted, like put some books under the upper legs of the bed so my body is slanted so the acid cant come up as easily when I sleep. I used to be a straight A, and some B's student, but then once I started getting this I have been more tired in the day. Even though sometimes it is caused from lack of sleep. I looked into this page today because my phlegm has been coming back and I have been drinking some milk again lately and I normally don't drink orange juice cause I just hate it. But my mother gave me some two days ago to take with my vitamins. I also had a fever yesterday I don't know why, I probably need to get some more fresh air. And had nausea and diarrhea, I probably just have the flu or ate something bad and I took some cold and flu medicine last night woke up and I feel a lot better except for fatigue and....... phlegm. Phlegm might also be caused from always swallowing the mucous from your nose. I haven't really done that before, except when I can't spit when im in class at school.. Which really made me feel like throwing up. I also suspect that I might have swollen adenoids, I DO have swollen tonsils but one seems to have deflated and I used to always have a stuffy nose. I have a smaller top jaw, so I got and expander and I got it about a month ago and started turning it already and I suspected the stomach pains from milk could have been due to excess calcium which could form kidney stones.


Uhh I forgot what else I wanted to add but if I remember I will post more.

So tips are stay away from dairy products, that includes CHOCOLATE, any fatty foods. I always drink low-fat milk but it doesn't seem to help so It doesn't seem to matter what type of milk you drink just don't drink it. I recommend tons of fiber and protein. I really hate meat most of the time so I never eat it.
Sadly, you can't eat tomatoes, oranges, pineapple, any type of food with acid in it.. You can often tell, like what another person said here is when they drink lemonade, you can feel more phlegm right away! Also I do NOT recommend green/jasmine tea. Just NO tea at all, it has acid in it and sure it is good for you but you really don't want to drink much, my mom drinks a lot because she is used to it as because she is Chinese. And caution it makes your teeth yellow. Don't drink COFFEE!!!!!!!

One last thing I remember is the being overweight, obese or even just a bit fat or any abdominal changes could cause this.

K thank you for reading my post

I just remembered, okay I have a nasally voice because I might have swollen adenoids my whole life.. Thats why my upper jaw is smaller than my lower.

One more thing is that I practically am losing my voice from all the clearing of my throat, so please avoid that yourself.

I have been having congestion in my throat for the last 7-9 years. It really annoys me. Some days are better than others. I have inflammation in my nose due to allergies. So I have been told. Doctors never give an answer. They all follow 1 bible. My children have the same problem. So does my mother and my siblings. Our Chinese doctor said that mucus is caused from spleen deficiency. I had heaps of water melon last night and I went to bed with lots of mucus. could not fall asleep.
I had thrush for two hears. IBS for 2 years. There is a pattern in all of this. My nose becomes very blocked at night time. I use a nasal spray. I also use rinocourt. Had allergy injections for 3 years. What a waste of time and my money. He told me I was allergic to dust mite, cat mite, latex, cyprus, gas, and some flowering plants. Who knows. As I am sitting here, I am constantly clearing my throat and it fills a little irritated and mucus has a funny smell or taste at times. it is clear when I can bring it up which is very rare. I have really had enough.

BIG BIG THANKS TO WORLDIDOL; My symptoms are similar to alot of the other posts; terrible headaches all day long, sometimes,heartburn or indegestion, constantly clearing phlem from my throat, deep sore throat (post nasal drip?)I was drinking a lot of chocolate milkshakes to help with sore throat,(really compounding the problems) stiff neck of late, sometimes dizzy, foggy brain and trouble consentrating,(sorry about the spelling)no energy even with low testosterone gel therapy, this started or became more noticeable April/May 08; a long list of doctors multiple visits: Dentist and Endodontist, GP family doctor (blood work up ect. he thought it was sinus infection at first, Zpack(antibiatics) 2 times, Ultrasound on carotid arteries, MRI on head, Xrays on neck and back, CT scan on chest with iodine IV Contrast to enhance image (the iodine made me feel better for a few days), Ear,Nose and Throat Dr. with CT scan of sinuses, (all test showed everything was fine GP thought I was in great shape)I saw the Post by Worldidol this week and started looking into CANDIDA ALBICANS and tried the spit test in clear water first thing in am. there were strings everywhere. I started taking Probiotics, DHEA (careful with this one) and just now started taking the cinnamon pills and adding it to my coffee. I woke up this morning at 5:15 and it is the best I've felt in 4-5 years, clear head, decent energy, neck is still a little stiff but overall a great morning!!! I will be avoiding Milk, Chocolate ice cream, sugar, bread, pasta, as much a possible; maybe a milkshake on rare occasion. The other recommendation along with the cinnamon was cloves, but I have not done that one yet.(I hope its avail. in pill form, Yuck) I hope this helps someone, I was ready to jump off a bridge, but didn't have the energy. lol
Good Luck, and God Bless

I have the phlegm in my throat so bad i could scream..I think it has something to do with dairy and sweets in my case...I am going to go without for a while and see.

Hey Guys and Gals, I had all of your symptoms, try the easy candida test, your suppose to spit in a glass of clear water first thing in the morning, and if the spittle starts sinking and looks like strings, you have it. When I first read about it I tried it at noon, stings everywhere! I've been taking the cinnamon capsules and the clove capsules, the expensive probiotics and have been feeling alot better, its been 6 weeks now and I still have some days with a slight headache, but I am able to do my work and no brain fog. I'm convinced that I have had the Candida Albicans in my blood stream. If you saw my earlier post, I spent a lot of money and time with the doctors, with no help. I'm not trying to sell anything and I went to a local Natural Health person for the Probiotics. I use a cinnamon powder grinder for my coffee (black now) and tea and it takes the place of sugar very well.
Zene (Gene)

hi there everyone,

Like you all i suffer from constant phlem in throat. Started 3 years ago now when i moved in a new house. Doctor thought it was lpr, been on loads of different medican for acid, nothing worked. seen the ent doctor now 5 times, had camera up nose an down throat each time, nothing there, only a sight redness of throat. been on nasselex, antihistamines,seen a stomach spec who put me on medication to empty stomach quicker. nothing as worked. everything i eat or drink straight away i have phlem there, have to snort to clear throat, always a clear phlem. Had a blood test done which showed im allergic to house dust! but no help from gp or ent spec. it is so anoying, cant go out for a meal as its embarrassing clearing throat all the time. i eat lots of soups and chocolate as can eat them a little better, but want to change as its not good wot im eating. anyone please help me thanks nezzie x

had a diagnosis as sinuitis, antibiotics for 1 week, no joy, nose constantly runs ( not blocked ), throat feels full of phlegm all the time, tiklely cough constant, stops sleep, cough up thick white phlegm, getting very tired of this now help !!!!!
sandra

I haven't had problems with IBS, my problem is phlegm and enlarged lymph nodes. Everyday I seem to have phlegm in my throat that I cough up and it usually is greenish in color, I realize that a swollen lymph node and green mucus screams infection but I have literally had this phlegm problem for months, maybe even a couple of years. My lymph nodes don't enlarge as often, but they do sometimes regularly when my nose runs or sore throat etc, which to some people probably happens a couple times a year, it seems more frequent than that. This may be unrelated but I feel fatigued as well throughout the day. I have noticed this much more recently. I find it also hard for my to concentrate (especially when studying, reading textbook, etc) and it takes me a while to fall asleep. That part may certainly be unrelated (as I honestly think I may be developing adult ADD) but thought I would include it just in case I am not the only one....