graygrammie Asked September 2020
Doc wants to medicate ME!
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We are having a LOT of smoke here from the wildfires, so I am clearing my throat continuously, it feels like. If you are in Calif or Colo or another area with wildfires and/or arson fires, don't discount THAT as a contributor.
Allergies also contribute to sinus drip which causes me to clear my throat quite a bit.
I don't think I'd immediately chalk hoarseness up to stress, although I don't doubt you are under a tremendous amount of it, caring for your husband who sucks his teeth all day. UGH. Perhaps HE is the one who needs to be medicated and not you? :)
Women have a tendency to shrug things off to 'just' being one thing or another, and not taking symptoms seriously. You say you don't want to go to an ENT and succumb to 'tests', yet you're willing to take Lexapro based on a non-scientific diagnosis? If it were me, I'd probably go to the ENT and see if there was an organic reason for your throat clearing, which is NOT excessive at a few times per day, before taking a long term anti-anxiety medication. Although a script for Xanax on an as-needed basis might be nice, huh? When this whole plague thing broke out in March, my DS gave me 10 Xanax which I've taken 1/2 a tab of when I felt extremely wired or stressed out. I can't tell you the difference it makes. I still have 4 left, too.
I pray for strength for you, my friend, as it's very difficult to take care of YOURSELF in the midst of caring for someone else.
Some things are so annoying and so treatable. But you do want to rule out anything serious if it is not allergies.
The air quality in many places has been very bad, and right now, the inside air is very dry.
Please take note, if after your shower, you feel less like clearing your throat. Take a shower daily just to get the steam.
Before seeing any doctor, I started with natural cough drops with honey and zinc.
Then, I used a humidifier overnight in my bedroom, to take the dryness out of the air. (non-medicated, distilled water). My doctor misses me, his office called twice in the months since March, to see if I needed anything. So nice!
No worries, you have already made the doctor feel better! Some feel useful if they can give a prescription for an un-diagnosed complaint. Physicians forget the protocol to try the simplest treatment first. However, I am not discounting that the doctor may have seen a need for the Rx to treat something else. It is just that, I personally refuse to take medications because of my husband's behaviors that are irritating.
As for your husband...is he on any medications that would cause something called "Tardive Dyskinesia"? Check that out, then get his teeth checked. I would very strongly suggest that my husband go brush his teeth instead of trying to suck the food bits out. It may have become a habit or a tic. Then, I would limit his food that would get stuck in teeth, like corn or pot roast. If you investigate, with a little nagging maybe you can break him of this bad habit.
Does he do it in public too?
I shower every morning and notice that after I shower I will cough a bit.
I looked at TD -- does not fit him at all. He isn't on any antipsychotics. And it has nothing to do with eating. After church one Sunday, when he had probably not eaten for four hours, he sucked twelve times in one mile. And yes, he does it in public.
Is it possible that you are allergic to something at home? Dust, mold?
Are you on any meds? Fosamax and ACE inhibitors can both cause these symptoms.
When you say "submit to testing" is there something you've experienced in an ENTs office that is unpleasant? I've had the little camera scope at least twice and it isn't painful.
Some people, when telling you about these things, make a big deal of them (they awfulize them). It's much less uncomfortable than a Pap smear.
In addition, you can't be forced to take anti-anxiety medicine unless legal action is instituted, and I don't see any grounds for it in your situation.
Personally, I think music, gardening, art and other stimulating activity outweigh the benefits of any so-called anxiety med. CDs of favorite music are my first source of coping. Next is turning on the tv, tuned to the semi or classical channels so I can listen to a variety of music that I might not have.
Reading or just thumbing through gardening magazines and Victoria (a lifestyle magazine focusing on French and English life) is another source of calm.
I think if I was taking care of someone who sucked literally all day long, my body would be reacting in ways much stronger than producing nasal drainage.
Does he need 24/7 care? Do you have to be in his presence constantly? If not, get outside, take a walk, just get away from him.
Or, get some ear muffs, the heavy duty kind worn by workers. I began using them when I vacuumed or used the blender years ago after I realized how loud those sounds are.
You mentioned clearing your throat a lot: you might want to keep track of what you've eaten, change your eating patterns and see if clearing your throat frequently is still necessary. If this happens regularly, try eliminating something, especially processed foods, to see if it makes a difference. A natural diet can change a lot of things. And processed foods are that, and some are loaded with chemicals and additives.
Do you suffer from nasal drainage? Do you need to clear your throat more in the morning? When this happens, I reach for the chicken soup, inhaling the warm broth to let the vapors penetrate my nose. Sage sprinkled into hot water will also help loosen mucus.
Try some of these potential remedies and see if they make a difference. And also see if spending more time away from your husband makes a difference.
Good luck; I hope you find a solution, and if you do, please let us know.
ETA: you don't have to listen to this doctor; try another one.
I've wondered if I just need to get back on the bandwagon and lose weight again. I've put back on too much over the last four years. I gave up WW for THM and that's when the gain started.
I don't have nasal drainage, my breathing is always easy.
Oh, I despise gardening! :) I tried over and over again to like it and finally decided it wasn't for me. I'm not allowed to read magazines or books which is why I pretty much hideout on the computer in another room in order to read the news or magazine articles.
That said, I would see the ENT first to rule out any physical reason why this is happening. If nothing is found, then please consider Lexapro. You'll need to give it 2-3 weeks to see if it'll work for you. If you don't notice any changes after that, then stop taking it, and no harm done.
I've seen ENTs before and was never put through a series of tests. The only one I had was for allergies, where they put stuff on your arms to see if you react. I doubt you'd need allergy testing.
The teeth sucking would drive me crazy too. Thank God my house I can go to the Den and shut the door if my DH did this. Maybe its not you who needs the meds maybe its your husband. Seems to me his "sucking" is a sign of anxiety. Fix him, then you are fixed.
I agree, I wouldn't want any meds either.
Give the husband the medication.
You either need one or the other, and who can say which? Not certain what kind of diagnostician this is?
What do they see when they look in your throat? I think myself I would go to the throat specialist. If you can cover it on insurance, what have you to lose?
Failure to cope doesn't cause gravel voice. What other symptoms do you have that makes them think you suffer from depression? Have you asked.
And yes, our voices change with age, and when we speak little, then speak a lot they get kind of "tight".
There is no one who can make you take medications to "cope". I agree that drugging yourself is usually NOT the answer, though for some it helps.
Coping with your husband may mean not being with your husband. But that is for future exploration.
You are dealing with a whole lot. Best of luck. You will likely see an ENT to tell you that you have allergies and post nasal; don't we all. But it will be off the plate. As to the Lexapro, you might actually give it a try. Sometimes, in times of great stress, these help and you branch out in your life a bit to try some other things. A bridge gets built and when you get off the meds you can find that the bridges are still there. However, if you don't want to take drugs, that certainly is your right.
Wishing you the very best ongoing.
Didn't your mom die recently in some pretty horrific circumstances? And you are dealing with your husband's deteriorating condition pretty much alone? And you've written that at times he is downright mean and unreasonsable?
If you are clearing your throat a lot, I would get checked out by an ENT and a GI doc. Post nasal drip and/or reflux are know causes. Get the physical stuff checked out first.
Lexapro is an anti-depressant. It is often good at lessening anxiety for some. I would go see a good geripsych doctor and find out if you have the symptoms of depression and anxiety before going that route.