Comment by chrthrowaway | Hacker News Reader

Comment by chrthrowaway | Hacker News Reader

I have been to more than a dozen doctors over the past 4 years and nobody has been able to diagnose what's wrong with me.

I have the following symptoms:

- Constant phlegm in throat and upper airways (This is the most annoying).

- Fatigue

- Low-quality sleep

- Phlegm increases after eating and during exercise and causes me a runny nose

I am in my mid 20s, used to smoke, quit ~5 years ago, I have a deviated septum.

I have been through the following treatments and diagnoses:

- H.Pylori diagnosis – Negative.

- Treatment for GERD – No improvement.

- Treatment for LPR and Chronic Bronchitis – Caused me breathing problems.

- Treatment for anxiety – No improvement.

I feel hopeless of ever living normally again, I can't exercise because phlegm keeps running up my nose and throat, I can't eat outside because I have to use an obscene amount of tissues.

I've seen multiple ENTs, gastroenterologists, and respiratory system physicians. Once I looked closely at "modern" medicine, it seems to me that it's not very modern per se.

Crohns? It can in rare cases affect the nose/throat and fits with the fatigue. However I assume the gastro would have noticed it.

No allergies?

One of the gastros (my favorite) was a woman who methodically went step-by-step diagnosing, asking for tests, and giving preventative treatment (when applicable) for everything below the esophagus, she didn't suspect Crohn's at all.

Early on, crohn's was a hypothesis I had but I quickly moved on because there's very little evidence to support it in my case; and a colonoscopy isn't something I'd accept based on very little evidence.

The ENT told me "If you don't get better with the gastroenterologist, we can consider a septoplasty" but he was kinda skeptical that a deviated septum alone would cause this amount of phlegm.

Regarding allergies, the respiratory specialist rejected it. And over the course of these treatments, I self-prescribed Claritin (which didn't do anything), followed by Zyrtec (nothing either) to rule out allergies. Also, this is consistent, not seasonal, and not food-related, the latter which I have controlled for.

Have you had your house tested for allergens, stuff like black mold etc? And/or leaking gases like carbon monoxide, natural gas, etc?

Yupe, I am positive it's not caused by allergies.

Have you been tested for allergies?

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