Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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is this my first post-dx cold??

stephgas
stephgas
i woke up this morning with a strange feeling throat. i quickly identified it as post nasal drip. which is disgusting and i hate it and yuck. i asked dh if i'd been snoring particularly rambunctiously last night and he said not that he knows of. my nose is not stuffed so i don't know where the hell this drippy mucous is coming from.

but it's bothering me. and now my throat is starting to hurt because of the drip and like all the way at the back of my nose at the top of my throat (does that make sense?) i like feel where it's dripping into my throat and i want to punch someone. i am not one to have post nasal drip, this is probably the first time i have had it without already being diagnosed with other infections (like double ear and sinus infections. those used to be SO MUCH FUN). and my dh was like, sometimes that happens when i'm starting a cold.

oh, great.

i have a call into my rheumy since today is enbrel day. i don't know what this means. of course now i'm freaking myself out and i'm convinced my chest feels a little tight. i'm so angry if i'm getting sick. i don't want to be sick. i hate being sick. you have no idea how big of a baby i am when i'm sick. does anyone have any tricks for getting rid of post nasal drip because seriously if my throat keeps feeling like this i'm going to cup check my husband when he walks in the door just to make someone else hurt.
Emerald22
Emerald22
Neti pot is my go-to for sinus drainage. A few times a day with a swline solution knocks it out pretty quick. If I need meds, its sudafed for congestion & mucinex to keep it out of the chest.

See what your Dr says but I would think as long as its a cold and not an infection you should be ok to take your meds. Clear drainage ok. Green infection.

Good luck,
Emerald
altoclef
altoclef
Any chance of allergies? Especially if you don't feel particularly sick, it could be.
stephgas
stephgas
i haven't used my sinus rinse in well over a year - i used to do it every day when we lived in the old house but haven't had any sinus issues since moving to the new apartment (the old house may have had mold and also had very low quality olefin carpeting - i thought that was bothering me). once i get the motivation, i'm going to boil some water to use for my sinus rinse and see if it helps.

i can't tell about any drainage colors. i know my throat is getting red and kind of raw. i've never had allergies before (except to a caterpillar when i was 2 or 3) and i feel tired and a bit achy. but i feel like that, you know. often. sipping a cup of lemon and ginger tea with honey, waiting for my rheumy to call back and hating everything.
stephgas
stephgas
did a sinus rinse thingy. talked to my rheumy and i'm skipping my enbrel today, she said to take it once i feel better. she said if i start having productive coughs to call her back and i'll have to go in. ugh.

so my throat still hurts a lot and i slathered my upper chest/throat with vicks because i find it very soothing. i don't know why.

but my throat still hurts damn it.
Emerald22
Emerald22
I put Vicks on my feet with heavy socks when I have a cold. (My grandma used to do it when I was a kid. Probably comforts me too)That seems to helps too.
lynnedavidson3
lynnedavidson3
Tea tree oil in a vaporizer. Works like magic for me.
stephgas
stephgas
post nasal drip is less of a thing this morning, but i feel like i have a dry, slightly productive cough at the top of my lungs. this is what early asthmatic bronchitis used to feel like to me. i haven't had it in, oh goodness, maybe 5 years? since i quit smoking. i have to intern today - i have two groups - but should be able to leave by noonish my time. so i will be going in to do my groups and notes and then leaving. possibly stopping to pick up a vaporizer lol.
stephgas
stephgas
jen, she mentioned a fever too. said if i feel it in my lungs or develop a fever to call her back. i'm starting to have productive coughs, but they don't feel that deep. i'm probably going to baby myself today and sleep a lot and drink lots of fluids and see about tomorrow. only things on the agenda tomorrow is dropping a cat at the vet and brunch with my brother.
depotblue
depotblue
eat pretzels :)

hope you feel better soon Steph

Ros
stephgas
stephgas
omg i love pretzels. i'll probably eat a metric ton of pretzels today. and have some healthy fruit and veg juice.

no real change since yesterday. when i came home from interning i spent a couple of hours eating soup and effing around online, then spent over four hours sleeping in bed. had more soup for dinner and went back to bed. slept the night. still no fever. still feels like it's in my upper chest, which i think is good, and i feel best when i have a halls cough drop in my mouth. going to venture back out into the wilds shortly to pick something out at the pharmacy, probably either robitussin or mucinex.