flem in throat

[tkstewart]

i am a 35 yr old female with asthma. i take advair (250/50).
my problem is that I have a constant feel of flem in my throat, and need to clear it or cough all the time. I have been taking mucinex, it's not helping. I also take zyrtec for allergies. I don't feel a post nasal drip going on. what could this be?

[millicanbeth]

A related discussion, Constant wet feeling in my chest was started.

[alysa1]

A related discussion, vomitingandflem was started.

[Rutt]

Well I can relate to the constant throat clearing. I am a 21 year old male who goes to college here in Washington state. Since age 17 I have been constantly clearing my throat. So much so that it bleeds with rawness. I saw a doctor for this and they just thought it was allergies. Well I was diagnosed with CMW mononucleosis four months ago, and on top of that was wheezing really bad. My mucus production was out of control and things were really bad. I went to an immunologist and he told me I had asthma. I have been on Azmacort, Nasonex, and Zyrtec and it has done wonders for me. The Azmacort is an amazing drug, and if you are clearing your throat like I think you are try Azmacort. It cuts the mucus production right off, and you will be able to hack up minimal amounts of mucus. I am training to become a state trooper and I am glad I have this under control now. I went 4 years without knowing what it was.  Allergies really aggrivate asthma symptoms, so if you have allergies get on an antihistimine. Bottom line: I share you throat clearing misery, and still struggle with a little of it today. Get on Azmacort girl, and get on with you life! Life is too short to be sitting here hacking up mucus all day! Do not use Mucinex and mucosal thinning agents -- those are not for us asthma/allergy people. Also, be careful with Advair. My father has really bad asthma and took Advair only to lose his voice for 5 years. He could not talk at all -- Be careful! He quit Advair and it took 1 year for his voice to come back! Anyways let me know how you are doing now!!

-Rutt

[silverstar0406]

Wow, I've been reading a lot of these responses to this and similar questions, and I can't believe how many people have the same symptoms!

I'm an 18 year old female and I don't smoke or drink. I've been diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, (though the only symptoms I've ever had are shortness of breath and some slight wheezing when I try to run excessively) and am also taking Advair (100/50), Singulair (allergies), and Flonase. I also take a multivitamin everyday. For the past two years, I've had a feeling of mucus in the back of my throat and I'm constantly clearing it. It has gotten to the point that my parents can always find me in a store because of the excessive throat clearing I'm always doing. I've tried everything and nothing's worked for it. I look forward to more responses to this, and I'm glad I'm not alone!

[starrysky]

Hi.I know how you are feeling I think.I too felt like I was drowning.Cougthing so much I was choking on bloody phlem.Given antibiotics,then more antibiotics,didnt do anything at all.In the end I was in tears so sick of the feeling in my cheast,sick of the cougth,of choking and vomiting,and of the tiredness.I also noticed my arms were allways weak,even reaching for something up high made my arms ache.Walking made me tired,at night I woke up gasping for air.Asthma pumps have worked for me.It took a couple of days to see any benefit.first one puff on the reliever then 2 on the preventor,twice a day,12 hours apart.Im not 100% cured but the cougth,wheeze,ect have nearly disapperared,and I only notice the mucus in the morning now,and not so bad.Its only been about 4 days of my experiment but its all that has worked.The best day I had was yesyerday.I felt like I could breathe!I could actually feel the oxygen going back into my veins.I felt amazing.Iv also noticed I dont have a dry mouth?wierd coincidence? And that real food tastes like food.Are you fom NZ?Just curious.Please let me know how you get on

[starrysky]

Hi.I know how you are feeling I think.I too felt like I was drowning.Cougthing so much I was choking on bloody phlem.It felt like a lump of it was stuck in my cheast.I felt like giving up,it got me down so much,whatever it was.Given antibiotics,then more antibiotics,didnt do anything at all.In the end I was in tears so sick of the feeling in my cheast,sick of the cougth,of choking and vomiting,and of the tiredness.I also noticed my arms were allways weak,even reaching for something up high made my arms ache.Walking made me tired,at night I woke up gasping for air.This has gone on 6 years now.Each episode lasting over 12 weeks.Untill this week.Asthma pumps have worked for me.It took a couple of days to see any benefit.first one puff on the reliever then 2 on the preventor,twice a day,12 hours apart.Im not 100% cured but the cougth,wheeze,ect have nearly disapperared,and I only notice the mucus in the morning now,and not so bad.Its only been about 3 days of my experiment but its all that has worked.The best day I had was  yesterday.I felt like I could breathe!The drowning feeling GONE I could actually feel the oxygen going back into my veins.I felt amazing.I also noticed I dont have a dry mouth And that real food tastes like food.?Today wasnt so good but then again I changed to 2 puffs on the ventolin rather than one,dont think I will do that again,pains up my neck and shoulders all day.Also try sleeping with 2 pillows if you dont allready.That has also really helped me. Are you fom NZ? Just curious.Please let me know how you get on

[starrysky]

Mooley-Hi poolnoni,sorry I got the names mixed up.I was meant to put mooley(too late at night for me)(I entered it twice somehow too?).But thankyou anyway poolnoni.(hope I got that right!)

[poolnoni]

iam from nc. where are you from.. i hope you get better but if your cough doesn't go away continue to see different doctors. too many people dismiss coughs.  good luck.

[poolnoni]

i totally know where you are coming from. perhaps you need to get a chest xray and lung ct scan. coughing up phlegm is not always contributed to sinus problems. as far as doctors are concern, you have to become an aware patient-tell them you are not satisfied with their answers and don't be afraid to speak up. they don't know how serious this problem is to you unless you tell them point blank. there are a lot of tests they do but also a lot they don't do.  have any them done a sputum culture to check for infection.  i think most doctors dismiss coughing up phlegm as sinus related or acute bronchitis. if this is the case then with antibiotics, this should go away within a couple weeks. i can tell you this i am not a doctor but i am an aware and informed patient. i care - please let me know how you are doing.

[molley819]

I have had a chronic cough for two years. It got sick......had a cough and it hasn't gone away. I have been to several doctors....had many test. Pulmonary doctor, ENT, Gastrointerologist and they are all puzzled. I've tried many allergy medications for postnasal drip, including inhalers and also a couple of rounds of prednisone. I cough up phlegm all the time. I've read similar posts........the gurgling sound in my throat.......feeling like I'm going to drown on the phlegm when I'm lying down. I've been on Tussionex for a very long time. It seemed to help at night for a long time which made it easier to get some sleep. It doesn't seem to work as well anymore which kind of scares me.......leading me to take Xanax periodically because I get panic attacks. I know the reason for this is mostly because nobody can tell me what the cause for the cough is....and also because I know a lot of other people have this cough and do not have any answers, either. It seeems like an epidemic of some kind. I'm surprised I haven't seen something about this on 20/20 or 60 Minutes. This persistent coughing makes me very weary. I feel like I am not the same person I used to be. I tell myself that things could be much worse. I could have a brain tumor or cancer or some other devasting disease. However, it still does not make it easier to deal with day after day after day. I was reading posts in another forum and that forum was closed to similar posts.....why is that? I found it at least some comfort to know that I am not alone in this. If you have any suggestions, please help me.

[myproblem]

It is very important to drink large amounts of water in order to thin mucous. Mucinex won't work properly if you don't drink enough water. Are you taking regular Zyrtec, or Zyrtec-D? Zyrtec-D has timed release Sudafed in it, and again, won't work well if you don't keep well hydrated. At least 2 quarts of non-carbonated, clear liquid a day will do wonders for you.

[National Jewish]

If your asthma is otherwise well-controlled, it would be surprising if the phlegm in your throat is caused by asthma.  The most common cause is post-nasal drip from chronic rhinitis and this often responds to treatment with an inhaled nasal steroid.  Another treatment that may help your symptoms, and helps a nasal steroid work better is a nasal wash treatment.