Mucus Problems

[emvin84]

Hello! I have had difficulty swallowing for about 7 months now, along with thick, stringy, gelatinous clear mucus in my throat and thick green-brown mucus in my sinuses and throat. My nose is very dry and has dry congestion that is hard to remove by blowing. Since I have also had issues with burping, three doctors, including an ENT, insist that I have acid reflux, but as I have tried taking an H2 blocker AND a PPI and since all they did was exacerbate the burping symptom along with making me have horrible gas pains, lose my appetite, indigestion, and weight loss, I am utterly convinced this is not the problem. I do have anxiety problems which began to surface as these symptoms developed, including panic attacks. I'm beginning to think the burping is just swallowing too much air due to the swallowing difficulty, since I do not have heartburn or indigestion or anything else to indicate a stomach problem, although sometimes the burping will occur for about 20 minutes and my stomach will be sore when it finally stops. I also have some lightheadedness that worries me. My ears are affected by this as well; if I lean my head to one side too long then I will get a water-logged feeling in the ear that was facing down, my ears are often very sore in the morning (usually only one ear, I sleep on my side and the ear that was facing down will hurt when I wake up and for about 10-30 minutes afterward), and sudden ringing in my ears occurs as well. Also, my ears will pop repeatedly sometimes when I'm walking, and my nose will make similar popping noises occasionally as well, whether I'm sitting down or walking. I have asthma and I do smoke, although I have cut back since these problems have started. I am currently taking Nasonex (on and off for about 2 months) and it has helped a little, but the swallowing difficultly persists. Will a nasal saline wash clear this up or does it seem like something more serious is at work here?

[friggy]

There is no reason to doubt your doctors, but obviously you need a different solution.  First, the green-brown mucus usually indicates a sinus infection, although only a CT scan would say for sure.  At any rate, a Sinus Flush would clear that out:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/2322

The Flip-Turn Sinus Flush is mildly risky, because you have to bend over to do it, preferably in a shower, but you can also do it outside on soft ground.

You should see some results after 4 or 5 days of twice-a-day flushing.  If not, stop, and even if it does work, stop after 2 weeks.

Next, scroll down to the comment section, to silkysoft on april 17, 2009.  She had a problem like yours, and the reflux drugs were drying her throat, causing the thick mucus.  Her doctor successfully prescribed Gaviscon Liquid, which was less drying.

Another cause of stringy thick mucus is new-fangled mouthwashes or toothpaste. You can figure that out.

Kjelltp may be very well be correct, but if so, look for a holistic doctor with a medical degree, or you could find yourself dealing with Unicorn Therapy.  The models for these kind of doctors are Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, who you can google.
Insulin imbalances can cause mucus problems.

Lastly, in terms of systematic phlegm, Chinese medicine is very effective.  You should be able to find a good D.O.M. in the Metroplex.

That's all I got.  Good luck.

[kjelltp]

Excessive mucus could be dietary issue.   You may indeed have GI problems, and my personal advice would be seeing a holistic practitioner who focus on diet and nutrition.   TO start off, examine what you eat, find out what your allergies are (if any) and eliminate the common troublemakers (dairy, gluten / grains, sugars).

Acid blockers doesn't fix acid reflux, it only masks the problem temporarely.   You need to correct the bacterial balance (eat probiotics and prebiotics).