Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Life in the Post-Nasal Drip Lane

All the darn time I have to deal with a condition called post-nasal drip.  It has a host of nasty side effects.  one of them is that sensation of choking and triggering my gag reflex all the time.  Needless to say that dry heaving convulsion is never a good feeling.  Imagine having to do that three times within a 20 minute span.  Also it does produce a lot of mucus, which in itself is gross.  Mucus that builds up behind the throat will produce a offensive odor as well.  Yes this is gross, but its things people live with.  This is on top of my allergies annoy the hell outta me.

In the past I consulted my doctor and my dentist about what's going on.  The dentist informed me if I'm brushing, scrubbing the tongue, and using mouthwash, then its possible post nasal drip.  The doctor gave me some meds that worked to an extent.

This condition can be regulated with medicines. Congestion meds do work well to thin out the mucus and clear out the nasal passages.  For instance, Mucinex D can help a whole lot. It's needed cause on top of gaging, choking and offending people can get pretty discouraging.

On top of this biological drama I decided to do an experiment.  One of them was watching my coffee intake.  Why you ask, because I used to drink venti lattes and frappes from Starbucks daily.  never mind the cost. I was a full on committed drinker.  Furthermore,  I drank coffee at home. A large cup of it to start off my day, and it was good.

When I was fired from SCAD I decided that I didn't need to go to Starbucks.  I noticed that my post-nasal dripping was calming down.  I was like where did the congestion go?  Mind you, Starbucks is not causing the PND.  I just have an aversion to the coffee-based drinks.  This weekend I decided to stop drinking regular coffee at home.  I wanted to see if I could do it, which I could.  Next I wanted to observe any upsets I would have after trying coffee today.

Without the coffee, it seemed that the the PND was not flaring and trying to make me hate life.
After my cup of coffee I started coughing, hacking, gaging and having excess mucus. All of the symptoms of post-nasal drip came back to me with a vengeance.  Let me tell you, I could not get to the Mucinex fast enough. It was horrible.  Sadly this means coffee is off the list of hot drinks.  Hello tea, please don't beat the crap outta my kidneys.  

2 comments:

Lance said...

tea's much better...i drink it every day. feel better soon

Unknown said...

Thanks Lance. Will be drinking tea in the future to keep myself from suffering.