Cannot clear throat (one one side only)... please help!

hi everyone,

i am REALLY hoping someone can help me with this...  for almost 3 YEARS i have had this "thing" going on ONLY with the right side of my throat...

* i keep trying to clear it but it feels tight & constricted on one side

* it feels clogged/stuck (when there is barely any mucous) i have a dry cough that will not clear it but sounds hollow & deep coming from the bad side only.

* when i breathe it sounds all whiny/wheezy like i am breathing through a tiny straw or something

* when i swallow sometimes it feels like i choke on saliva/food...

* my chest hurts on the same side

i have had a ton of tests including: x-rays, pulmonary CT scan, spirometer, allergy tests, etc.. etc.. etc... basically they just look at me & say we can't find anything! all pulmonary, allergy & asthma tests are negative.

this feels terrible!  i cant stand thinking this is with me for life. i am constantly clearing my throat (to no avail) and coughing (which does nothing). it varies in intensity but is there all the time.  this TOTALLY SUCKS & it hurts!  the left side of my throat feels TOTALLY FINE. its just the right side!

has anyone else had anything like this?
or have a clue what the hell it could be, or how to fix it?

thanks so very much :)

[coughing like crazy]

Sounds awful.  I don't have the one side only thing happening.  Cough for about 3 years.  first 2 years were unproductive like yours - constant tickle, uncontrollable cough (sometimes makes me a little incontinent which is embarrasing to me).  The last year have been coughing up more mucus.  

Same as you - chest xray fine, no asthma, no allergies, apparently no acid reflux (Zantac 75 doing nothing).  Just cough cough cough like old Mr. Huckaloogie I used to laugh at when I was a kid (not funny anymore!)

I am so sorry docs can find nothing.  On other forums I see reference to using oil of oregano, berry juice (forget what kind - will have to go look it up), food allergies (one person had corn alergy (allergy)) and candida infections.  So, I am going to look into all of these things if nothing else works for my problem.

I also found a journal article where several people who had an "uncurable" cough had their tonsils out & then cough got better.  But then have also read postings where somebody had their tonsils out (painful!) and still had cough afterwards.

Could blame it on getting old, but see lots of postings of people in their 20s and 30s!

Good luck to you.

[guest4000]

I had a similar problem just recently. It started with a virus that I caught late December. I had a constant, dry cough that kept me up all night. I had x-rays of my chest and countless doctor visits. After weeks of not getting any sleep and already having gone to several doctors I finally went to an ENT doctor.

After the scope his first diagnosis was acid reflux and he prescribed the purple pill. But after 2 weeks and no results I went back. He did another scope to make sure there was nothing visible causing the problem. He then showed me a recent article he discovered about a study that was done using a drug called amitriptylene to treat a chronic cough resulting from postviral nerve damage. His feeling was that maybe the virus I had earlier had inflamed the nerves that control coughing, making the smallest amount of saliva that normally goes down your throat actually cause you to feel the need to clear your throat or even cough. And because you're constantly doing that it can't heal and so it never goes away. The amitriptylene would reduce the inflammation and the feeling of having to cough/clear my throat long enough to allow me to get over the hump of healing. He explained there is no test to see if this is the problem so it was a guess if this would work.
The drug has been around a long time and was once used as an antidepressant which made me hesitate taking it. However, it is now also used for other purposes and the dosage was so small (10mg) I tried it. I am glad I did. Within a day I finally had my first relief in nearly 2 months. And I felt completely better in just a couple days, although I kept taking it for the full 30 days and I am finally back to normal... medically speaking that is.
The article was from December 2006 in a publication called "The Laryngoscope". The name of the article is called "Effectiveness of Amitriptylene versus cough suppressants in the treatment of chronic cough resulting from postviral vagal neuropathy".
I know this won't work for everyone but I have seen on the web how many are suffering without sleep or with constant irritation. Hopefully this can help some of you who are suffering with this same thing for so long.

[Ramu996]

Hello,

I have the similiar symptoms since past 1 year, feels like something stuck on my throat on the right side, small pain on right side of my chest, pain on my righ shoulder, when I swallow something, feels like I am swallowing chalk, totally, right side of my body is not well. Left side is alright. What you were diagnosed for? and what is the situation now? did it go away?
I know it has been two years since you posted this, but it would be great, a single line of your reply,

Regards,
Ram