Clogged throat

[jessiblah]

What is with this darn throat thing with so much moisture and mucous in the back of the throat but my mouth is so dry. I am destroying my tongue with taking benedryl at night and drying out my mouth. But in turn it helps this throat mucous for a short while. I am having the worst time in the afternoon and late evening with mucous in my throat. I don't know what to do for this as nearly every antihistamine dries me out and believe me i have tried every antihistamine. I am fed up this happens the same time every year when it gets cold out. Any suggestions?

[Joe S.]

Have you tried a wearing a polar fleece or knit mumps scarf?

[jessiblah]

No I can't have anything touching my face like that when i sleep, it will cause me to be up all night. Plus I toss and turn all night I'll end up choking myself or something. I hate tea with honey as this has also been suggested on another forum by numerous people. I have tried to like it but it makes me want to throw up. There has to be something out there that can help this problem and not dry me out so badly.

[lolo1979]

Jessi,
have you tried mucinex yet?  It THINS secretions, rather than drying you out.  It helps my mucous problems like this. You can also try finding a different hot drink that you like. I find that plain old hot water helps clear my throat from this junk too - even if just temporarily. 

[Styx]

Is the mucous coming from your sinuses (if you can tell)? Does it keep you from sleeping?

[jessiblah]

I have tried mucinex many many years ago. I had a weird reaction to it. I felt like a couldn't breathe. It was like there was swelling in my chest but not my actual throat. So my dr told me to stop it right away and to not try it again. I was on it a week before that started so i really don't think it was an allergic reaction at all. It worked great though but I remember my nose was really irritated while i was on it.
Styx, the mucous feels like it is right at the top of my throat. Not sure how i tell if it is from my sinuses I always assumed it was. Yes it does keep me from sleeping but only if i lay on my back. Which I am a side sleeper so it isn't too bothersome at night anyway. The problem is when i wake up in the morning until about evening.

[Skylar]

I found a change in my diet took care of that horrible feeling. I follow Dr. John McDougall's diet - if you google his name you'll find his website contains complete information on his diet as well as a forum with support, recipes etc.

I'm not sure exactly what it was in my diet - but dairy products are often implicated.

[jessiblah]

I have already tried to stop dairy but unfortunately when I get stuff stuck in my esophagus because of the darn sjogrens I have to have something thick to wash it down so I use milk most of the time. I do not drink milk every day it may be every 3 days or once a week. I usually don't eat or drink dairy at all so that can't be causing the issue.

[Skylar]

I know that dairy is very hard to give up. I myself was addicted to Greek yogurt.

Instead of milk, see if you can switch to one of the non-dairy milks such as almond milk or soy.

[jessiblah]

Been there done that, those both taste absolutely horrible and made me want to throw up.

[Skylar]

Well throwing up is not good either LOL.

[Styx]

Skylar, is it possible this is a virus, allergies, etc? How long has this been going on with the mucous in the back of the throat?

Styx

[jessiblah]

This has been going on for about 5 years now but only happens in the fall and winter.

[Skylar]

Skylar, is it possible this is a virus, allergies, etc? How long has this been going on with the mucous in the back of the throat?

Styx

Styx, I don't know what is causing jessiblah's problem, but I had it on and off for most of my life - and it is really, really, really annoying. In my case it might have been allergies or it might have been something else. I do have a lot of allergies but have tested negative for dairy. Frankly I'm just glad it's gone, and I no longer have that choking feeling of some blobby stuff at the back of my throat - and I no longer choke when drinking water, no more coughing fits etc.

[Violet4]

I would recommend going gluten-free and no dairy.  I have had similar issues and that has really helped me!  For months, I had this awful wet heavy choking cough for hours every morning.  I still have drainage down the back of my throat all the time, but I don't cough and choke anymore.  If I slip and have some dairy products, I really pay for it with mucous issues!  We run the humidifier a lot too and that helps.  I know what you mean too, I have all this drainage in one place in my throat while the rest is crazy dry.