Constant cough, post nasal drip, and swollen sinuses and throat

[jimdc58]

I have, over the last approximately 15-20 years suffered from swelling of the back of the tongue and the throat, and of the sinus cavities, perpetual unproductive cough, continual sinus drainage down the back of the throat and sometimes to the front of the nose, and overall fatigue and depression as a result. It has gotten so bad that I have had to give up the running and sports in which I used to participate. It is a hindrance to my overall quality of life. I have had several courses of immunotherapy over my life, beginning as a child, and currently. I last suffered asthma when I was 12. I have since taken several spirometry tests and a methacholine challenge test which all proved negative. I have had a bronchoscopy taken which showed nothing, but also had a nasal endoscopy resulting in decision to perform septoplasty. This relieved the stuffy noses I was having, but drainage and cough have worsened. (NOTE: I question whether this is a cause of my increased coughing problems.) Other tests taken have been upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy (negative), thyroid function tests (showed normal), nasal endoscopy (showed no changes since septoplasty), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (showed normal), and laryngoscopy of vocal cords (showed normal; however it found thickened and boggy nasal turbinates), blood gas test (showed normal). Have found LARGE doses of prednisone help greatly (methylprednisolone, less so), but also cause side effects. Am currently taking Astelin and Rynatan as a steady regimen and Flonase semi-regularly. I am at my wit's end....any other ideas?

[*Angel*]

Hi all,

I don't know if this will help you guys out at all, but I may as well give it a go. About a year and a half ago I got extremly sick with flu, found it difficult to breath, had a constant post-nasal drip and even felt like I could have lung cancer or something seriously wrong with my lungs. After having x-rays of my lungs and sinuses taken the doc finally concluded that it was my sinuses. Looking back on the evening I got sick, I remembered I had a bad post-nasal drip that even made me feel nauseus and I couldn't sleep the whole night. This constant drip fell into my lungs which resulted in a build up of phlem and thus a violent cough. After getting somewhat better I decided to visit a homeopath that was recomended by my family who had also had sinus problems. From various tests she concluded that it was due to me having allergies towards smoke, caffeine and other foods as well as cat and dog hair (I had had cats and dogs my whole life and never had an allergy so I was a bit skeptical). Anyways, I took her advice and avoided eating chocolate and caffeine containing products. After a week I felt incredible. I wasn't battling to breath after taking a few steps and all off a sudden had loads of energy again. My nose also cleared up. I then went back to the doc and asked him to do the allergies tests on me (blood and urine) to which they concluded that I wasnt allergic to anything. A few months later I moved to the UK, away from my smoking father and pets. Now everytime I go near my boyfriends cats or someone who is smoking my eyes itch, my nose clogs up and I sneeze like crazy. I have also recently found out that my brother has the same problem after eating choclate or drinking coke, which leads us again to believe it is the caffeine. I have never had a problem with vodka although he seems to get violently sick when ever he drinks it. After visitig the doc he concluded my brother was allergic to vodka. I hope that this information helps someone.

[man-man]

crystalgray and everyone else,

I also have the odor coming from my nose when I breath and when I talk.  My situation is alot worse...an odor  is present with every breath.  I was diagnosed with post-nasal drip late last year.  But I beleve I suffered from it alot longer.  I experienced a heavy flow of mucus going down my throat and the coated metalic tasting tongue. After some investigation I believe...the cause was mold that developed after a leak from the bathroom ceiling in my apt.  The leaky problem went serveral months before it was fixed and I was exposed to whatever dripped out of the ceiling at the time.   My symptoms are not as bad now but I "suffer" from the odor that comes from my nose.  When I'm at work...the co-workers in the area that I sit can smell the ordor when I breathe and talk.  To add on to it...when I walk past someone...I notice the hands covering faces to prevent smelling of my nasal odor.  Just like you...I can't smell anything but what I ate during the day...at that moment or my morning breath.  I don't even smell anything in the morning when I wake up or coming back into a room after I leave it.  But I do know it takes alot for me to get up and come into work most days because of it.  I'm very embarrased because of it.  Close friends I asked say that can't smell anything but I see the reactions from the people that I am around.  I'm afriad to go to the barber shop for a haircut, sit on the train when I go to work, stand around a crowd of people, or date...just to name a few.  This is changing my life. I'm seeing my second ENT who still can give me a straight answer as to whether or not the odor will go away.  Did the CT Scan...taking the medication...doing the nasal-irrigation...praying that it still may work to some degree.  From all the research I've done...I can't find anything that will support that the ordor will go away!  ...but I willl still believe that something may work.  If anyone knows alittle somethng that help them...please let me.

[mythroatproblem]

I've been suffering from something ever since I went to the Ukraine in March 2004.  Prior to going on my trip, I had underwent a series of vaccinations.  Upon arriving, I was there for only two days before the symptoms arose.  I had eaten raw mussels, raw pig fat (sala) and a few other local foods.  It was after a night of drinking a lot of Vodka.  When I woke up, I had this pain in the back of my throat, and over a few days it seemed to physically move down further in my throat, and when I swallowed, it would feel a little painful, like it was raw, but the pain also travelled down into my lower esophagus, like a nerve was causing it.

To this day, I still have the same feelings when I swallow.  It feels a little spikey, or that there is ulcerations around my epiglottis.  If I push in on my neck right below my thyroid, it also feels spikey, and induces coughing, something that never happened before.  Also, if I stretch or flex the muscles in my throat, it is painful, and more painful while I turn my head down and side-to-side while doing this.

It's basically a chronic feeling that I've learned to live with, and at times is unnoticeable, but something I think about every day.

I went to my family doctor, they took a series of blood tests, said everything was fine, sent me to an ENT, who put a video line in my nose and down my throat, checked out everything in my throat to my voice box and said everything was ok.  He suggested I get a Barium swallow, which I didn't do, instead I went to a gastrointestinal specialist who performed an upper endoscopy.  They said everything looked fine, and took a couple of biopsies, one from my esophagus and one from my stomach.  The lab said there was some rare forms of helibacter pylori bacteria, and gave me a regimen of Helidac for two weeks.

Going through that routine didn't change anything, and I'm still back to point zero.  I'm planning to go back to the specialist and ask them for another upper endoscopy.

It seems to feel better every morning, after waking up, but gradually returns to itself throughout the day.

It is so frustrating talking to medical professionals, who seem to focus on general rational, not believing it could be anything else.  I think they are trained to not to look for rare things, because 99% of the time it's common.

There is something definitely wrong in my throat and esophagus, and I don't believe it was coincidence that it coincided with my trip to the Ukraine, there is definitely an association.  I never had this feeling prior to going there.

I'm also not ruling out the possibility of kissing and saliva exchange with a girl, the night before when I drank a lot of Vodka, I just don't remember.  Is it possible I drank something that permanently damaged my throat?

I hope someone can help guide me, and tell me what my next steps should be? Who should I visit?  What tests should they perform, both blood and swab, etc.?

After dealing with this for 1.5 years, I'd like to get rid of it if possible, or atleast have an accurate diagnosis, so I'm not constantly trying to self-diagnose.

[julesw]

I too, have had close to the same problem for years, about as long as I can remember.  I've been to an allergist, ENT, even gastroenterologist, still having the same problems.  I clear my throat so much, it gets on MY nerves, it has to get on everyone else's.  It's worse after I eat, but there are times when I get up and haven't eaten anything and still go through this throat clearing routine for 1-2 hours at a time.  Only place I haven't been to is a lung specialist, but from listening to others, doesn't sound like it would make a difference.  If I don't clear my throat, I have difficulty talking, my voice becomes hoarse.  Sometimes I have phlegm in the back of my throat, sometimes not.  Although I sometimes cough because of it, most of it is throat clearing.  I too feel there must be someone out there that knows what the problem could be if it affects so many people.

[crystalgray]

Over the past year I experienced a sinus infection that eventually linger and lead to various visits to the doctors office and turned into Rhinitis. I noticed that when I spoke to people they would cover their mouths and I realized that I also had a smell that was present along with it. I was told by various physicians that I had atrophic rhinitis and I was treated for that. I have had every nasal steriod, I've done nasal washes everyday since then, I have been on Amoxicillin through Zyrtec and nothing has changed, the smell is still present.
Last week I went to see another ENT (maybe number 10 in a year) and he could find nothing wrong with my nose yet he could smell the smell yet only when I spoke. I've been searching the net and I see that postnasal drip can cause bad breath and that this could be the smell people around me are smelling yet I am unsure. I brush regularly and I have always maintained good dental hygiene and I am perplexed as to why my physicians didn't consider that. I am still being treated for Atrophic rhinitis and I an unsure what my next step should be. Usually I can't smell it yet when I leave a room after being there a while when I return I smell it. Also when I wake in the morning the room is filled with this horrible smell. People usually smell it all day whenever they come in contact with me which lead me to believe it was my nose. Any help was be great.

[National Jewish]

This is obviously a very frustrating and complicated problem.  It probably involves both the upper and lower airways.  I would consider working with your doctor to methodically try to determine the cause of the various problems.  Then you and your doctor can try to establish a long-term plan to deal with them.  One consideration is a short visit to National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado.  Every day we see people with what you are describing.  At National Jewish there is a multi-disciplined approach to the diagnosis and management of these problems.  Often it takes such a coordinated approach to diagnose and treat such a complicated problem.