Does anyone have a chronic sore throat and dry nose with congestion as part of their RA? I was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome in addition to the RA, OA,and fibro .For the last several years I have had abcesses and cysts in my throat. They are completely resistant to antibiotics. Sometimes I loose my voice. When I lie down, my nose often gets congested, but it's not like a cold. Sometimes if I roll over it clears. I've been to an ear nose and throat specialist but they can't figure it out either. Oh , I also have hearing loss. 40db bilateral sensorineural. Sometimes I have so many things wrong with me I just feel like giving up.
The RA effects my throat quite often and my nose gets congested every night it seems(didn't know that was caused by the RA though...just figured I had allergies or something)
Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time with this, Linda.
Wish I had some suggestions for you
Lindak,
I get the absesses in my nose they are very painfull. If you have not had a throat swab, one might be helpful, but since you advised you wnet to an ENT doc, I would assume one has been done. Because you stated chronic sore throat, it would be worth getting tested for EBV. If your test comes back positive it might be a clue for the doctors. I am EBV positive, have had chronic sore and dry throat for years, and no antibotic will help. Chronic EBV can lead to Cytomegalovirus, also Lupus. in some ways EBV is associated with chronic infectious mono, which i have as well, and this has lead to sero-neg RA, Fibro.
I would get with your doc and demand to get strep culture done, test for EBV. How ever if these things have already been done, you might ask for the doctor to do a culture on one of the nodules in your throat and see what grows.
Hope you get some relief soon.
Thanks Kelly and Sharon. I think I need to go back to the ear, nose and throat doc and have more testing done. I've had so much trouble getting the RA under control that I've kind of ignore the whole throat thing. My doctors pass it off as being part of Sjogren's but I'm not sure. Sharon, can you tell me more about the ebv syndrome and what that entails? It must be so hard to recognize what is RA and what is a separate health issue. I wish you luck.Linda,
Here is a link you can look at for EBV, and other concerns. I hope it helps, It has me. If you get fever blister quite often this may be just what info you need. Fever blisters, or EBV, is really herpes simplex, there are 5-6 different strains and can infect the lips, internasal canal, throat, mouth, tonsils, tongue, larnax (?spelling). You can get these test done by your regular doctor and not hav to pay for a specialist.
Good luck.