Post Nasal drip, acid relfux, anxiety?

[yarray]

I have had this problem for about a year now. I have this problem with gagging, what seems to be caused by post nasal drip. When i wake up i tend to have a dry mucus build up in the post nasal area of my throat. The thing is when i gagg, trying to free the mucus from my throat, nothing seems to loosen up, which makes me have this feeling of vomiting. These symptoms are 10 fold when i am in any social situation, or have to tend to any type of stressfull situation. I always bring water with me, just for the fact that if i dont sip on anything while im out, i start to panic (and when i mean panic, i have had panic attacks due to this, mostly anxiety attacks now) This situation makes me wonder if i have some kind of disorder affiliated with anxiety or anxiety is just being manifested because of the mucus. My anxiety only seems to go away if i vomit, and i usually do end up vomiting due to the gagging. Usually during the evining hours the mucus tends to flow constantly from the post nasal area.
When i take deep relaxing breaths i can feel stomach muscles below my rib cage tense up and release, but i am not sure if it is my stomach muscles or posibly acid relfux. It feels as if something at the bottom of my esophegous is contracting and releasing, or rising and falling, every time i take deep breaths. Only when i take deep breaths does it seem that my stomach relaxes fully, but goes back to tense almost imidiatly. When the gagging and gastro problem combind together it makes me not want to live.I am 20 years old and have given up smoking about a month ago.Underweight due to prob

[morekrap]

This has worked well for me.  I have NO proffesional medical background, these are just the things that I believe worked (as a formula) for me.  

Someone suggested to me:  Pepcid AC for throat clearing but watch the inactive ingredients if you have food sensitivity.  Compare inactive ingredients in reg, quick disolve, generic, etc.

Pepcid AC is an H2 (histamine) inhibitor It worked for me and fenegreek helped with mucus (just don't take too much; it has a laxitive effect if you take too much in one day).

There are many other things that may help.  Stay hydrated with water, not soda or juice or lemon in hot water.  Simple water is easiest on a stomach which may be suspected of contributing to this, don't you think?  Check additives in processed foods if you have a food allergy.

Wine is sometimes filtered using egg white... this is an example of a hidden food allery.  Not on the label. educate yourself

The additive Vitamin D may deplete magnesium...
You must be your own detective.  Get a book on vitamins and absolutely let your doctor know about any plans you have to supplement or take herbs etc.,

As for Anxiety.  I believe this is a sympton of stress and possible adrenal; fatigue.

Perhaps stress leads to fatigue, fatigue leads to hormone changes and nutritional issues. our bodies are more challenged in coping, the stomach and sinuses get involved.  In a healthy body mucus that is in the lungs is moved out all the time but now there is more mucus or the lungs are having trouble moving the mucus; or both.... that leads to shortnes in breath.  Perhaps by now we feel discomfort or pan because deep breaths, coughing and throat clearing have taxed the muscles around the chest abdomin, upper back and neck.  Now you have been feeling lousy for so long you can't recall what is a symptom and what may have started it all...

Did PND cause bronchitus?  did bronchitus trigger stress?  did stress trigger cough?  you see the confusion?

I have been keeping my foods simple and unprocessed.  NO additives.  which means that dried fruits are out because of sufites.  I could go on forever.  Get teste for food allergies.  Maybe your body can't deal with so many foods under this stress.  And the kicker that ties all of this together for me is that Zinc, magnesium, B vitamins.... they are often prescribed as supplements when dealing with stress.  

AND: Rest, rest, rest, nap when ever you can.  even if you don't fall asleep lay down close your eyes for an hour.  This is going to take time.  Your gift when you become well will be "patience".  So start now by being patient with yourself and acknowledge that this is going take some time.  two steps forward, one step back.  And people who don't believe you are not helping.  Ignore them and be your own hero.  if you can get out for a walk; do so.  if you can only manage a few steps do it and then rest.  you must maintain your posture strength or it could escalate the Shortness of breath.  See a chiropractor if you think you need their help with getting your spine properly aligned again.

I meant to keep this brief and keep your interest I hope you made it this far and my anecdotal text has been helpful to you.  Not even bothering to check spelling etc. good luck.

[mbergen]

Interesting - I found this site, because I am having the same symptoms.  I have always had what I called a nervous stomach.  When I'm nervous I feel nauseous - I always have.  I also have always had a bad gag reflux.  I am having a lot of stress at work right now + sinus drainage, plus I think maybe acid reflux some days - not always. I have thrown up twice - both times in the morning because of the large amount of phlegm combined with nervousness.  I have never smoked (though smoke in a room does bother me alot) The doctor is having me try a couple things to rule things out - For two weeks I'm supposed to take 600 mg mucinix 2x per day (have to take liquid Robitussin actually cause I have trouble swallowing pills, but it's the same thing), and do nasal irrigation once a day, and use flonase once a day.  I did that was feeling better, and forgot to do the nasal irrigation and Robitussin yesterday and this morning was much worse - I was also nervous about something going on at work today, and was not nervous the other days. If that doesn't work I am supposed to try heartburn medicine for two weeks. If that doesn't work she's going to test me for allergy induced asthma.  This started a few weeks ago - I thought it was because I had a friend over who has a cat, and i was working on her laptop computer, which stays in the room with the cat - I'm allergic to cats, but even when the laptop computer was returned to her I'm still having problems.  

For me I figured I am having real problems with sinuses and possibly acid reflux, but unfortunately when I'm feeling stress, that causes the nauseousness, and the gag reflex pushes me over the edge. I don't really think for me the stress is causing the phlegm, just the nausea part.  When I'm not nervous I can cough and not feel like throwing up.

Interestingly I think the nausea with nervousness is inherited - my father had it too - he said he thought he'd starve if he ever got married cause he used to feel sick when he went on dates he was so nervous. I have always had the same problem.

Interestingly I have similar symptoms last year when I was trying to get in shape to play an alumni soccer game - running in fairly cool weather caused massive amounts of phlegm and coughing - also I am a skater, and when I skate my programs sometimes in the cold skating rink when I am not yet in shape, I'll have the symptoms. After doing some research I thought perhaps I had what I had read was exercise induced asthma, so asked about that. I've never been diagnosed with asthma though and don't feel as if I can't breathe - just massive amounts of phlegm and coughing.

My doctor said I may just have a very reactive airway - don't know if I'm remembering exactly how she described it - not necessarily asthma.  Also I wondered about food allergies, because the problem is sometimes worse right after I eat.

I hope all of you find an answer to your problem (and me too).

[sallyann27]

this fits my symptoms perfectly. i suffer from GAD, just had a course of antibiotics for chest infection, anti-histamines for sinus issues . have had costochondritis and now am on lansoprazole for GERD. are these things all related? the majprity of these symptoms have appeared in last 4 months, one after the other.

my chest is very tight today but probably because i was cleaning and there was a lot of dust. is there anyway to relieve symptoms for sinus's without medication?  Thanks SA

[ambassadorNY]

I AM DETERMINED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS! :)

I am absolutely amazed at what I have just read. I've even taken notes on a piece of paper sitting next to me. So far, the most common denominators are the following: (what seems to be spoken of a lot)
- Stress/Nervousness/Anxiousness/Panic
- Acid in stomach
- Mucous
- Sinusitis/sinus problems
- gaggy feeling

Here's my deal, and I'll just make a bulleted list for easy scanning. :)

- I've battled with the constant lump feeling in throat. Panicked from it, went to doctor, they said they wanted to scope me for GERD. I said no way. Still battle with lump in throat, but strangely, it came on by a few white spots in throat a few yrs ago. Still have lump.

- I have constant queezy feeling, every day. Know what makes THAT go away? ACTIVATED CHARCOAL!!!!! I have found that the charcoal (which I've been taking for years) is absorbing SOMETHING, whether it be acid, gas, or God knows what else. Don't take the pink charcoal tabs. They're worthless. Take the ones from a health food store in the white bottle. The front cleary says ACTIVATED CHARCOAL. Also remember, if you are gassy, you may not even know it. Gassy can be caused by swallowing air. Gassiness stays in your stomach and gives you queeziness. I personally have emetophobia, which is the FEAR OF PUKING, so when I'm queezy, I panic QUICKLY and CONSTANTLY until the queezy goes away. Charcoal makes it go away every time.

- Lump in throat in no doubt sinusitis. Recently, I started getting sinus headaches. Then I noticed pressure at bridge of nose. Googled last night and found Ethmoid sinusitis. Antibiotice were suggested, and then surgery if the antibiotics didn't work. Screw surgery. I'd rather take a hot poker to the eye. ;) I'm convinced the lump in throat is post nasal drip (PND). No question in my mind. I was even told it could be 'Globus Hysteria', which is a 'mental thing' brought on by stress. It makes you feel like lump in throat. It comes with intense nervousness/stress.

Everyone here is typing as if they are very stressed and nervous while they are typing. There's an overwhelming amount of anxiety in the posts. I even started getting the perverbial 'hot flashes' when I started reading the posts because I got nervous to read the stuff. You know, when you're reading webmd and you get a quick panic attack because you read the word 'cancer'?? Sheeesh..... another bold indicator that panic/anxiety is the overwhelming common denominator.

Here's my take:

Stomach Acid: Activated Charcoal works on stomach acid. If your stomach feels queezy, try it. If it goes away, you know it was either acid or gas that made you feel that way. General rule of thumb w/charcoal is it absorbs toxins so don't take immediately after taking any antibiotics/vitamins. Wait atleast an hour after taking medications, otherwise, the charcoal will absorb the good stuff you just dumped in your stomach. I'm 100 pounds b/c of freakin anxiety and can get away with taking 2 AC's. Read the bottle. Don't worry. They're safe. Yes, it's black charcoal, and when you go to the gathroom, it may look dark in color. I could give a **** less because it works. Once I burped and tasted it. ONCE in 5 years of taking it. It still worked anyway. :)

Lump in throat: it's mucous. Anxiety causes mucous. Every hear of someone saying they were so nervous, they had a 'lump in throat' right before a speech? I swear it's the anxiety that brings up flem. You may not even FEEL nervous, but if your body is responding to stress, you'll get mucous. You need to conquer the flegm. Most people are saying Mucinex works. That would make sense because it's making mucous flow so it's not collecting and sitting in back of throat. If you're anything like me, you're afraid to take any meds because you fear side effects. Incidentally, ANOTHER SYMPTOM OF CHRONIC ANXIETY: afraid to take meds! :)  

Gaggy feeling: your nasal passages are swollen I think. I concentrated last night on this because i had it bad (the gaggy feeling). I tried to pay attention to what everything else felt like when i felt gaggy. I actually felt a tightening in my upper back sinusus. Much like the part you cant see that's inside, that connects to back of throat. It felt like it was contracting. Incidentally, every single time, I REFUSE to let myself gag. So gagging CAN be prevented I think. Just tell yourself, "NO!", breath in deep, and quickly get busy doing something! Do this every time it happens until you figure out how to tackle the sinus problem/flem.

Bottom line:

Caffiene and life situations ------> causes anxiety
Anxiety (can be hereditary) ------> causes acid in stomach (take Charcoal for the acid)
Anxiety ---------> causes flem (take something to rid/thin the flem, like Mucinex from what people on here are saying)
(Also, Milk/smoking/banana --------> causes flem)
(Flem can upset your stomach too. A friend of mine used to give her son baking soda for the upset stomach from post nasal drip. I haven't tried it in any form but it worked for her son.)
Flem -----> causes lump in throat. Lump in throat makes you feel gaggy because it collecting there. Gaggy 'feeling' makes you psychosemmaticly gag. Sometimes, you gag, you launch (I hate the p*ke word). tell yourself you will not gag. Breath deep. Get busy.

My boyfriend always says "Get to the root of the problem and you can fix anything. Go right to the source." I believe the source is anxiety disorders. Because every single symptom here seems to point to it. INCIDENTALLY, I did NOT get the gaggy feeling UNTIL I started having a sinus problem a couple months ago. Prior to the sinus prob, I thought it was just a wierd lump in throat and panicked and started going to doctors. The doctors were worthless. Except ONE who said it was stress. I swear he was right.

I've just been given LEXAPRO for panic/anxiety. I'm wondering if anyone on here has tried it. I'm a bit nervous about taking the med, but I can't take it any more than you guys can. I seriously think the anxiety is the root of the problem. Think about it. Fix the anxiety and you may fix the panic that gives you GERD/stomach acid. Fix the anxiety and reduce the flem (I think!). Fix the anxiety and you fix these panic fits your having because of the wierd symptoms you're having. Fix the wierd symptoms you are having by hitting the root of the problem, and can't you see yourself finally living a healthy life? Maybe the docs are idiots and cant figure all this out on their own FOR us, but hell, let's pull together and be sure, WE ARE NOT ALONE. Put us all in the same room talking about this very subject, and we'd probably actually laugh about it, and I SWEAR no one there would be gagging! You'd be too busy getting educated on how to fix this and laughing at the millions of people who secretly.... every day.... are gagging and nervous..... driving around in their cars wondering what the hell is wrong with them.... freaking out over this....  when all it was in the first place could have been cured by one pill. The one that rids the anxiety. Oh and the charcoal for the acid. :)

Sorry so long, but you guys really got me thinking about how to fix this once and for all! All my best to everyone and please continue posting! I'm going to subscribe to this blog! :)

[MisterParis]

Ive had this same problem for awhile now, the feeling of always having to spit up mucus and the gagging...first off, let me say this about the anxiety...I believe its definitely caused by the gagging feeling, mainly bec we're afraid of how we're going to look in public or in a crowded social situation if all of a sudden, you're gagging uncontrollably.  Its the fear of that that actually brings it on.  The main thing to remember during a panic attack if you dont already know is that u cannot die from it.  You have to get the what if's out of your head bec it just steamrolls to the point where it morphs into a panic attack...the thing you should probably do first is get your sinuses and stomach checked.  What you probably have is either post nasal drip or acid reflux or some combination of both.  I have both but until I knew that, I was always in a state of panic bec I thought something was seriously wrong with me.  Once I got the panic under control but I was still having the gagging problem, I knew it was something I should have checked out.  It helps also to change your diet and get some exercise.  Try to eliminate anything acidic from your diet and follow the doctors advice on how to treat either the post nasal drip or acid reflux.  I found that the best medicine so far for acid reflux is Aciphex.  There's no side effects, at least none that I noticed that I had when I was on Nexium so ask your doctor about that if you do have acid reflux.  Try not to depend on any anti anxiety pills unless its pretty severe and you need something to calm you down.  For me, in the beginning, Klonopin worked best but the thing to remember is I believe that just masks the real problem, which is in your head.  You CAN overcome the anxiety by just telling yourself that its not life threatening number one, doing some simple breathing excercises, like taking a deep breath, holding for 3-5 seconds and exhaling.  Its kind of like being afraid to take a huge leap fearing that the drop is too high and u may not make it.  But then you realize that the leap was only the size of a small step and you're ok.  Think about it, what really happened before, during and after the attack?  You feared something, then it happened, ur chest got tight, u prob hyperventilated, and then it subsided and you made it out on the other side.  No dying involved.  It really is as simple as that.  The point is, just for your peace of mind, do all the medical tests that you can to eliminate any doubt.  And even if u are diagnosed with acid reflux or post nasal drip, its treatable with simple medicines and some simple lifestyle changes that you probably should have done anyway so dont worry, you're fine.  Hope that helped.  

[sammysue82]

well i'm not sure if i'm exactly like the rest of you, but i do have the annoying gaggy feeling pretty much all the time it seems.i'm just not sure if its from post nasal drip like many others i've read.i've always had problems with sinuses, but when i feel gaggy it doesn't feel like snot, it just feels like something in the back of my throat to the point that i'm nausea. i very much understand some of the other posts when they say vomiting, even if i probally could avoid it, seems to be the only relief.i feel it is widly based on stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, at times.in 2005 i began smoking cigarettes, but since i am a heavy smoker, i also went through about 10 mo. of non stop stress that same year. i was always thin but had a little meat on my bones. by dec. of 2005 i was down to 105lbs(i'm 5 foot 8).  i was just to nausea and gaggy to eat or hardly drink anything. i fall into americas healthcare crisis so i never sought medical attention and eventually day by day began feeling better. i have put weight back on but i still have pretty severe panic attacks, usually brought on by feeling the slightest bit of nausea or gagginess. i really think i could use an anti anxiety pill or something. i don't know, sometimes i feel so bad, just wanna feel better.if anybody knows of another forum or sight that may help,please enlighten.