Inflamed, Painful Throat

[turtlefairy5]

Last year when I was teaching, I kept getting these cold/flu like symptoms, feeling run down, loss of appetite, feverish, runny nose, but the worst symptom was a tremendously sore throat. It was so painful to swallow. When I looked in the mirror, I could see how inflammed and red my throat was. I went to the doctor, and when she looked she said that it looked like textbook strep throat, but the test came back negative. I learned to just suffer these episodes, eating a lot of popsicles and ice cream, until they were over. When summer came, I stopped getting sick all the time.

Now, it's back. Sore, inflammed, red, painful throat. I feel run down, have no appetite, feel feverish, have a little bit of mucus going on in the back of my throat, but the worst thing by far is this throat pain. It is almost unbearable. I'm assuming that I should just wait it out again, but, if this is going to be like last year when I had one cold/throat infection, or whatever the heck this is, after the other, well, that's just going to suck.

I've read that sore throat can sometimes accompany Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but I can't believe that they mean something this bad. I feel like I'm getting throat infection after throat infection.

Does anybody else here have chronic throat infections like this? Is this part of Dys/POTS?

Somebody tell me there's an answer!

[flop]

Luckily I don't have sore throats as often as you do but I do have a trick for treating them. My Mum told me this tip but please check with your doctor that it is ok to try with any other meds you are on. Take a soluble aspirin (full dose 300mg not a baby aspirin) and dissolve it in 50mls of tepid water. Use the solution as a gargle then swallow it. Aspirin is absorbed through the mouth (which is why heart attack patients are told to slowly chew an aspirin) and my Mum recons that it helps directly in the throat. I don't know if there is any scientific basis for this but it does seem to help with the pain. The other thing that I use is throat lozenges with local anaesthetic in them like benzacaine or the throat sprays that numb things.

Hope you're feeling a bit better soon,

Flop

[firewatcher]

Do you still have your tonsils? I harbored a strep infection in mine for years and it never showed up till they took them out. Maybe a fall pollen allergy? That would give you the drainage and raw throat. Have you been tested for allergies. I had no idea that I was so highly allergic to ragweed until a couple months ago. I always assumed that the kids brought that first virus home from school and I caught it, every year, same time, same symptoms.

[delphicdragon]

Just wanted you to be aware that I've had strep throat numerous times (and given it to the boyfriend) and it has ALWAYS tested negative. (As did his). The strep test in the doctor's office only tests for Group A strep. There are other kinds. Mine/ ours was considered to be atypical strep (Like me!). But it was strep none the less.

Doctors are supposed to culture the throat if the rapid test is negative, but some bacterial strains are notoriously hard to grow and most docs trust the rapid test. This "idiocity" mean my roomie in college had strep that went to the point of classic scarlet fever before it was diagnosed - by me. She only got antibiotics after bringing printed pics of scarlet fever to the campus doctor. And he was shocked! Shocked! that she had a disease that had all but disappeared since the advent of antibiotics.

Have you tried a course of strongish antibiotics - like Azythromycin? That tends to- at least in me- knock out any nasty buggers (knock on wood). Warning - it will destroy your stomach too, so take with lots of yogurt.

Also, and this is me going to my hardcore bio, sometimes strep bacteria (and others) form what is called a biofilm, which is basically a membrane that antibiotics can't get through. This leads to recurrent infections especially when the patient is under stress and the immune system dips. A family doc might not know about biofilms and they are notoriously hard to treat, but they are a common cause of recurrent sinus, ear, and throat infections.

Sara

[MelissaCrystal]

My tonsils love to swell up over every little foreign bug. I'm debating getting them taken out. I honestly don't know if it has anything to do with POTS but mine swell up more than anyone else I know, sooo...

[firewatcher]

My tonsils love to swell up over every little foreign bug. I'm debating getting them taken out. I honestly don't know if it has anything to do with POTS but mine swell up more than anyone else I know, sooo...

Melissa,

I had mine taken out when I was 18. It is COMPLETELY different than taking them out as a child. It suddenly becomes major surgery, not just a quick snip and some ice cream. I only had mine out once they were perpetually swollen and were blocking my windpipe when I lay down. I was down and out for two weeks, almost complete bed rest. They did not want me to do too much for fear of bleeding. Think long and hard and talk to your ANS and ENT before you consider getting them taken out.

[gertie]

You sound exactly like me. Mine started this week. The ragweed pollen has started in N Ga & with it most everyone has sinus problems. At the first sign of sore throat or headache I start taking antihistamine. The only AH I can take is Allegra w/o decongestant & it usually takes about 2-3 days for it to help. If you can tolerate a normal dose of an AH it should help. I dread winter. Good luck!

[turtlefairy5]

Thanks for all your responses! It is starting to feel better today; much better. I hope that this doesn't happen again for a long time, because the pain really is dreadful.

Allergies, tonsils, really tough bacteria...thanks for giving me somethings to consider. If this does happen again (and again, and again) I'll take the issue to my doctor rather than suffer.

Thanks again!