Clogged throat

[KellyG999]

I have the same problem. I also have an interesting thought. Do you have acid reflux? Do you clear your throat constantly? (I do)

You might ask your doc if it's OK to try a Proton Pump Inhibitor like Prevacid or Prilosec. I take Protonix which is prescription only. Reflux can cause this feeling of and actual mucus in the throat. I always have it, but taking my anti-acid producer does help.

Just a thought!! Good luck.

KellyG

[jessiblah]

I am on pantoprazole 40mg once a day for GERD and it doesn't make a difference in the mucous in the back of the throat.

[Tivia]

I am on pantoprazole 40mg once a day for GERD and it doesn't make a difference in the mucous in the back of the throat.

lol me too, I take 40mg 2x day ppi and while I dont have the pain and stuff from reflux I still have a clogged throat most of the time.

[Spring]

I used generic Mucinex (guaifenesin) for several years and it really helped that gunk. You must drink plenty of water for it to work.
However, earlier this year I decided to take a break from it. Now the dryer I get (winter coming on and heaters in buildings) the gunk is back. Causes couphing. Drinking more water helps.

I believe it is the normal moisture that flows down there all day long normally is thin but with us and our dryness, that is NOT thin like it should be. So it hangs all gunky. I would guess whatever you are doing in your mouth, if it dries the mouth, and the mouth is what makes some of the moisture that passes down, that mouth stuff you are using is making it WORSE by preventing or changing the quality of your mouth moisture. I hope you are not taking that in your mouth for your dry throat, because it is doing the opposite.

[jessiblah]

Spring,
I can not use mucinex. In an earlier reply to a reply on this post i talked about an adverse reaction i had to it. I am using benedryl once a day to help my allergies as well as help put me to sleep. I do not use any mouth products other than steroid paste(RX) for mouth sores. My mouth does not get severely dry like most people with sjogren's but I do have issues with dryness and in turn it causes mouth sores. I totally agree with the mucous being super thick. I have been able to cough this crap up once or twice and couldn't believe how thick it was. I have tried biotene toothpaste to help out with the dry mouth but it has a horrible after taste and i end up brushing with another toothpaste afterwards. I wish i didn't have a reaction to mucinex as I believe that would help solve my problems. I just wish there was some other product out there that could help.

[Jackles22]

I don't have any advice just glad to know I'm not the only one that has this.  It is terrible, I carry a spit cup everywhere and gag constantly.  Not looking forward to holiday gatherings centered around eating.

I also have tried everything, hot drinks, mucinex, Prevacid, tons of water, no dairy.  Sometimes the hot and sour soups from Chinese restaurants will help unlodge it, must be the spicy combined with the hot soup.

If anyone has other suggestions keep them coming, this drives me insane!

[Styx]

I hesitate to mention this and advise caution, but here ya go:

I asked earlier if it could be a virus or allergies just to rule that out. I also suffer from this affliction, and I have it quite severely, more severely than the Op described. Irish and Navydad have mentioned similar symptoms.

For me, it is so bad that I cannot get more than 1-2 hours sleep a night, and that is if I am lucky. For those that contend with similar symptoms, I simply do not know how you do it. It is absolutely debilitating, and life is not worth living with it, IMO.

I tried the various (elimination) diets, including GF and CF; none of them worked. I do not have any allergies based on testing. I have GERD, but it does not appear to be related (particularly given the below). I encourage everyone to rule these out before taking the next step...

I have, however, successfully eliminated this symptom, and I am planning on posting a topic about it. Unlike most of the typical sicca manifestations of my disease, this manifestation has responded very well to immunosuppression, specifically azathioprine. I've had the unfortunate opportunity to "rechallenge" myself after a flare since I had some issues with toxicity and azathioprine in the past, which I believe I've successfully circumvented.

I'm not recommending that people jump on azathioprine if they have this symptom, but that is my anecdote. As I said, I'll post a topic about it later. I'm waiting a month just to be sure it doesn't recur

Styx

Update: I just noticed that my last post was addressing Skylar and not the Op. Sorry about that; I meant to ask the Op. This has not been my day apparently :|

[Styx]

I'm having some mild poster's remorse about the above post, but I'm keeping it there Only consider what I wrote if you are being debilitated by your mucous problems.

In your case, it doesn't sound like that, so I like the smaller hammers that others have mentioned. Also, have you tried nasal washes?

Styx

[stillinshockwithsjogrens]

It's important to know if it's the dreaded Post Nasal Drip, which can be caused by allergies.  Sounds like it's seasonal, so it could be.  If that's the case, a steroid spray (I use Nasonex along with Azelastine, which is like an inhalent Benadryl with FAR less drying effects) and after some time it got rid of the Post Nasal Drip.  Works even better in conjunction with a Nasal Wash.  Use everything diligently, even twice a day.

[Friedbrain]

I don't know if it's the same thing or not but.....for a long time, every year as the season changed in late Fall/early winter, I would get a small cold that would slide into my lungs and I would get such an awful case of "bronchitis" and would completely lose my voice.  It would get worse before it got better; and then I would spend days and days and days coughing up all the junk that had been clogging my lungs and muffling my voicebox.  One time, I took a chance and decided to test my hypothesis that it was caused by excess inflammation (in response to a simple cold), and increased the steroids (cortef) that I took on a regular basis anyway, at the very beginning of feeling that tickling sensation.  Sure enough, I was able to block the progression. 

That's just me, though.  I'm sure it depends on the cause.  Good luck!