Soar throat for over 2 months

[swatts831]

About 2 to 3 months ago I started with an ear infection and sore throat. I didn't even know I was sick until I had gone to GP for a refill on some of my medications and she did a general screening, ears, throat, BP, etc.. She discovered an ear infection and what she said was an extremely red throat. She immediately started me on a course on antibiotics. After which I still had the ear infection and the sore throat. So round two of antibiotics... After that I still had some of the ear infection and still a really bad sore, extremely red, raw feeling throat. It had gotten to the point were I would be talking and my voice would all of a sudden go out, the return just as quickly, it is often very painful to swallow, and 15 - 18 out of the 24 hours a day that I am awake, my throat is very uncomfortable. I would say even a 5 to 7 on a 0 to 10 pain scale. I have seen one ENT that claimed it was all a part of my Rheumatoid Arthritis. Yeah, lets just say I thought he was the biggest quack on the face of the earth after he left me sitting in his waiting room 2 1/2 hours past my appt time all to tell me that?!! I have 16 years experience as a Medical Assistant, so don't play me for stupid, he tried to tell me that the throat had bones, yes I said bones, in it just like any other joint in the body and it can get inflamed also.  So now, even as I sit here typing this, it's painful to swallow, and I'm constantly drinking water, hoping that if I keep my throat moist enough, it won't hurt so bad to swallow. I drink anywhere from 52 - 104oz of water a day. And YES I'm being completely honest about that! I have a 52oz jug that I fill up at least once a day. I RARELY drink sodas. So any help or insight on this throat problem would be greatly appreciated! It's now getting to the point where i don't want to talk b/c it hurts :(  and the bad  thing is, it's part of my job! The best way to describe the feeling of my throat is if someone took sandpaper and rubbed the back of my throat from my nose all the way down to a little where the adam's apple would be on a male.

[swatts831]

I went to my Rheumatologist this past Friday and asked him about the throat situation. He did confirm that RA CAN affect the throat. It's an organ per se and the cartilage and cells around the pharynx can most certainly be affected by a rheumatoid flair up. So looks like I'm just going to have to deal with it :(  Warm liquids do help though, like green teas, and chi's and then of course not talking :)  I like unitizing that one as much as possible!

Thanks for everyone's input and suggestions!

[OHNS2010]

Hi swatts831,

                   It is indeed very sad to know what that GP told you. You are having chronic pharyngitis which is not subsiding with medications. Well, I want to know whether you are having any acid reflux, nasal allergy or sinusitis, as these are the common conditions to cause chronic pharyngitis. I would like to suggest you to try taking proton pump inhibitors (like Esomeprazole), do gargles with povidone iodine (mouth wash) and drink plenty of warm water. Meanwhile you can request your doctor to send a throat swab for culture and sensitivity to find out the organisms causing this problem and the antibiotics they are susceptible for. Any more questions you are welcome.

Regards
OHNS2010