I am not sure if my problem is allergy related or tonsil related. Is it possible for tonsils to be infected or holding bacteria but appear normal on the outside? My whole problem started when I had strep twice within a month about 8 months ago. The antibiotics cured the strep the first time, but it came right back again a couple weeks later. The antibiotics cured it again, but the following symptoms still remain; I have a sore throat, sore glands under my throat, gaggy feeling, ear pain and constant phlegm in the throat. My sense of taste also seems off. I also start to loose my voice if I talk very much. I also have lymph nodes under my armpits swell and get sore every few weeks, then they go away after a few days. I have been on a total of 5 different antibiotics with no luck. I was on one antibiotic for 3 weeks straight to see if it would help, it didn’t. The ENT doctor says my tonsils/throat/ears look normal despite my symptoms. I have repeatedly tested negative for strep/mono. Blood workup tests showed only that I appear to be fighting something, otherwise they weren't much help. I don't have a fever, but do feel general malaise on and off, some days are better than others. I also was X rayed and tested for Reflux, it was negative. An X ray of my nasal/throat/neck area showed no tumors or other problems. I have no sinus/nasal problems; I breathe fine, having no stuffiness, runny nose, cough or anything. I am not allergic to anything that I know of, but wonder if my symptoms could possibly be allergy related?
The ENT also looked at my throat with a fiber optic scope and did not see anything wrong. He saw nothing wrong in my ears either. I don’t have a lot of pain swallowing, although my throat can be more sore after eating, or drinking warm liquids. I also have had strep at least once a year for the past 5 years, although a dose of antibiotics had always cleared it right up in the past. I am a 37 year old male, never smoked, don’t chew tobacco, only drink occasionally and don’t work or live in a chemical/smoky environment. Thank You.

Wow your a puzzlement. Try going to a naturopathic Dr. They have tinctures and such that might help.It sounds like your glands put up a good fight and they are full of white blood cells, this can last for a long time.a tincture of goldenseal,aspergillis and echinacea might help,but a naturopath would know what is best

I have had similar problems over the years. My tonsils are the size of small golf balls. Constantly infected... although they could not identify the strain of bacteria, they treated me with antibiotics. The antibiotics at times seem to aggravate the symptoms causing white particles to settle on my tonsils (I can cough them up and scrape them off my tonsils).

The OTR's I've been to were not much help. I accidentally discovered that yogurt has a very healing effct on my throat. It has to be the kind with the fruit on the bottom and active cultures. I read that it's something to do with the acidophilus. Within a few days, it usually gets a lot better.

I noticed that my glands shrunk once I started drinking aloe vera juice daily. It's not the best tasting stuff but you can mix it with fruit juice. I also gargle with peroxide, which helps as well.

But obviously there is something wrong. You mentioned you had x-rays was it a MRI and/or CT?

I've had upper resp. problems most of my life and 2 years ago had a tumor removed from a bronchial tube. It was undetecable on x-ray.. had to do an endoscopy to find it. You may want to look into getting an endoscopic view of your upper resp. system.

Best Wishes!

[This message has been edited by RayRob (edited 01-03-2002).]

hey buddy i belive i might be going thouh the same ordeal . it all started like last year it was real bad at one point where i couldent even go out in public . but heres what my symptoms are it seems like my throat will thicken and i get a gaging feeling every time i try to swallow and when it gets bad like that i start to almost throw up . it seems like when i almost throw up for 10 seconds it seems like it helped it but then it just starts slowley coming back. and this is a major problem i have had to quit my job any every thing i had to move back in with my parents i need some help please help email me at scrpnjetta@aol.com and let me know if theese are the same symptoms . thaNKS