Talk of The Villages Florida - HELP! Your opinion of my symptoms, Please!!

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- Medical and Health Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/)

- - HELP! Your opinion of my symptoms, Please!! (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/help-your-opinion-my-symptoms-please-61191/)

Drink two bottles of Yuengling each afternoon between 4:30 & 5:15. If after one week, and no relief, increase the dosage by one bottle every day.........................

Quote:

Originally Posted by shcisamax (Post 560939)

You might think this is completely off base but have you considered allergies? Not necessarily food allergies.

I agree.. taking note of your immediate environment when symptoms are at their worst may provide helpful feedback to share with your Doctors, giving everyone concerned an extra tool to work with.
Sometimes we can become hyper-sensitive or allergic to things that never bothered us before. Sometimes formulas for these things get changed, and sometimes you just become intolerant of synthetic chemicals they may contain.

Consider the simple, everyday things around your home....perfumes, room deodorizers, aerosol products, laundry products, hair sprays, flea collars, etc. Any one of these may be giving you a reaction, or making things more complicated. Even dry cleaning vapors can linger.
Is your routine in the evening pretty much the same? (example: I sit in my easy chair after dinner. There is a scented candle on the table next to me)

Worth considering, even though it may seem minor.
(from my own experience)
Keep us posted. Hope you feel better soon.

I know this may sound overly simplistic, but you have nothing to lose here. Buy some local, raw (unprocessed), wildflower honey. Take a tsp a day, in tea or just plain. Sounds like you could have allergies, which my allergist tells me can develop at any time in your life. It helped my dog, my husband, and me! Be sure it's local. Take care. Get better.

I would persue with a different hospital ie Mayo. But to me with the symptoms in the evening I would think some sort of allergy/drainage problem myself but it seems you've had that ruled out already. It was probably something that occured at the same time as the cold, not necessarily because of. Hope you do find out whats wrong.

Your symptoms sound very familiar to me and mine is from alergies. Can't clear my throat, dry cough etc. For me it starts in the early spring eases up late summer and returns now until the weather gets colder. I too went the same route, ENT etc. I get some releif from over the counter 24 hr. alergy meds such as zyrtec. Good luck.

Ask your doctor to join The Largest Online Community, Exclusive to Physicians - Sermo and ask him to post your case so that the doctor's peers can consult on the differential diagnosis.This is a social network just for doctors. Doctors from all over the USA use this tool and there have been some remarkable results

I just checked to see if there was a homeopath in The Villages and was pleased to see that there is an MD who also specializes in Homeopathy. His name is Dr. Coy and he is on 441 in The Villages. Historically, homeopathy has been better able to "cure" chronic diseases and if it were me, I would check that approach out for your symptoms. A good homeopath will look at all your symptoms and be able to find the remedy that will be able to kick start you body to heal. JMHO and what have you got to lose?

LW888

How about allergies, I had a really bad cough and would almost gag before I could stop coughing when I was younger. They thought I had asthma, among many other things it ended up being allergies to what was growing at that time. FL is full of things floating in the air. Good luck, I hope you find out what it is.

Two comments:

If indeed it is acid reflex, try a different medication before submitting to tests. I have had severe acid reflux for 35 years. I take Dexilant and am followed by a local gastroenterologist.

I have had quite a lot of experience with Mayo in Jacksonville as my husband and I have made maybe 35+ trips to Mayo in the last 3 years. For all of them we ended up staying for several days, a week or more and once for a month. The most important tip I can give you is try very hard to get an appointment on a Monday. You probably will be scheduled for additional tests and blood work. The schedulers, and each dept has their own schedulers, try hard to schedule additional appointments during the time that you plan to be there, but that is not always possible. If they hand you a schedule with maybe 2 tests the few days that you are there, then additional tests the following week, and the rest spread out over several weeks, don't despair and think that you have to make multiple trips. There is a procedure called "stand by". You go to the department where your test is scheduled and inquire about this procedure. It worked for us many times. You do have to be there and wait, but it saves additional trips back to Jacksonville. Definitely worth a try.

Yes, check out the allergies. In fact, my daughter at one time had a horrible gagging cough and that is what it turned out to be.
As for Mayo, you won't be getting an appointment quickly so call now and book. You can always cancel if you figure it out ahead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ducati1974 (Post 560826)

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. For the short version skip to the bullets below.
Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing. All other "cold" symptoms gone.
I had chest Xrays, and CAT scans and lung Dr. visits along with allergy meds, more antibiotics, inhalers and prednisone. While some things helped a little, it always came back.
Finally, I persuaded my Dr. that my cough was not from my lungs, but due to the irritants in my throat, so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist.
The ENT diagnosed me with Acid Reflux and put me on Omeprazole (Prilosec). After 3 weeks the symptoms were almost gone, but then gradually came back about 60% and did not improve further.
The ENT told me to double the dose and come back in 4 months. The doubled dose did not help.
When my scrip ran out, after 2 months, my primary refused to refill it and wanted me to come in for a possible upper GI. I was so disgusted that he overruled the ENT that I balked and instead discontinued another medication I've been on for years (Citallopram) to see if that was the cause.
Now, a month later, with no improvement I'm reluctantly ready to go back to the primary to see if he can solve what seems to be an easy problem.

Current Symptoms:
>Continuous clearing of throat due to irritant (gunk) in throat
>Occasional coughing/ choking due to irritant
>Does not have that vomit acid taste
>Almost never a problem at night or early morning/ worst in evening
>Everyday occurrence
>No noticeable specific food causes
Thanks for your help

You didn't say what medications you were taking, if any, before this all began with a "bad cold". And no one knows what your lifestyle is. Medications can have the effect of lowering your immune system and lifestyle can lower your immune system too.

With a healthy lifestyle and no medications, a cold, if you ever get one in the frirst place, shouldn't be something to see a doctor about. So I believe none of this would ever have been much of a problem if proper precautions were taken in the first place. And that means eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, getting moderate exercise (except when you're sick), avoiding stress and getting plenty of rest (especially when you're not feeling well.

No one should interpret my post as meaning you should stop taking medications. Although, it might not be a bad idea to review them and possibly stop any that are not absolutely needed. I was simply pointing out (above) that medications often have the effect of lowering your immune system. And I believe the problem above can be solved by concentrating on boosting your immune system.

I had these same symtoms ,coughing,clearing throat,felt like something stuck in my throat,difficulty swallowing, slight ear ache sometimes.slightly swollen glands sometimes, etc. Did the Upper GI, no Reflux, No Gerd, Then did a endoscopy all the way to stomach and took tissue samples of esophagus and found out a high count of white blood cells and called it possible eosinophilic esophagitis. Basically an allergy to something that passes through it and causes irritation. Prescribed Flovent which is basically Flonase steriods sprayed in your throat or stronger allergy pills. Seems to of worked. This was done through Atlanta Gastroenterology doctors.This is not a diagnoses for you just what happened to me. Good Luck

Did not realize we had so many medical providers signed up on TOTV!

There Might Be A Simple Solution

Have you considered that you might be dehydrated? A lack of fluid in the body can cause everything from confusion to dry mucous membranes. I became aware of my own issues with dehydration years ago when I went to a doctor for what I thought was another in a long line of sinus infections. He told me that not drinking enough water causes mucous membranes to dry out, resulting in drainage that is thick and irritating. Needless to say I left the office NOT with a prescription for an antibiotic but rather with instructions to drink more. I did and the stmptoms passed. I have read a lot of articles recently on what a serious problem dehydration is among older folks. We just do not drink enough. You can research this on line and you'll be quite surprised as to how a simple lack of water in our bodies affects us, sometimes with devastating consequences. We are in air-conditioned buildings for months here in Florida. If you want to know how fast water can be removed from the air (and, your body) by airconditioning, hang a wet washcloth on the towel bar in the evening and check it the next morning. Our bodies are made up of 50%-60% water and even a 1%-2% loss of fluids can affect us. As for me, when my sinuses begin to feel stuffy I reach for water. If I don't, the next problem will be thick drainage that irritates my throat. Just a thought and perhaps a simple solution.

Are you on any ace inhibitors for blood pressure? They can cause a nagging cough with gunk in throat. A nurse friend of mine heard me cough one evening and told me to have my doctor change my medicine, problem solved. Good luck!