Chronic Voice Loss, Mucus Buildup, and Ear Blockage after Abdominal Surgery and Antibiotics — Possible Causes? Please help me...

[Milli180]

Hi everyone,

I am 22F and I’ve been struggling with several health issues for the past 3 years, and I’m hoping someone here might have insights or similar experiences.

It all started after a major abdominal surgery to remove ovarian abscesses (caused by untreated chlamydia and a copper IUD). Following the surgery, I was on heavy antibiotics. A couple of months later, I developed laryngitis, lost my voice for about a year, and even now, my voice remains very weak or absent, especially when I'm sick. Along with this, I’ve noticed a buildup of mucus in my throat, which worsens overnight. I often wake up with blocked nasal passages and have to clear my throat from thick, yellow-brown mucus. Spicy food sometimes helps clear the mucus and improves my voice temporarily.

About a year ago, my ears became blocked and have remained that way, making me extremely sensitive to sounds. Occasionally, the pressure in my ears seems to release briefly, and during those moments, my sound sensitivity improves. (Two weeks before my ear issues began, I was fitted with a bite guard for jaw clenching, and I wonder if this might be connected to my ear blockage, although I'm not sure.)

I’ve undergone numerous tests (brain MRI, sinus MRI, CT scans, ENT exams, laryngoscopy, gastroscopy, allergy tests, etc.), but none have provided any answers. I’ve also completed speech therapy and psychotherapy (over 2 years), all with no lasting improvement.

A few years ago, I had voice issues after taking antibiotics (throat pain, shortness of breath, and voice strain during presentations and singing), but this recent episode is much more severe (I also had to take a lot more antibiotics).

I currently take Medireflux for potential acid reflux and supplements to support my overall health, but nothing seems to address the core issues.

If anyone has had similar experiences or can point me toward potential causes (maybe related to antibiotics, chlamydia, or something else), or has any ideas on how to approach the problem further, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thank you all very much!

Milli

[Blackknight1989]

No I’ve not had anything similar just thought I’d offer some insight…you do not detail the “supplements to support my overall health” mentioned in your post…if your symptoms have persisted I’d suggest stopping ALL supplements to access the cause of your issues….all nutritional supplements, just like all medicines have side effects…always remember just because it says “natural” it doesn’t mean “safe” despite the absurd claims of the pseudo-criminals hacking the products….just goes to show most that we as a trusting public want to believe that the “fountain-of-youth” really exists when we know it doesn’t…my best advice is learn how to research yourself and validate all claims before ANYTHING enters your body to include any new scripts…just IMHO…best of luck and hope you find relief!

[Milli180 in reply to Blackknight1989]

Dear Blackknight1989,

for testing any deficiencies, I stopped taking them before testing, so I don't think that taking the supplements should have stopped me from detecting deficiencies.

I also don't take that much supplements. Here is a list of my recent ones: CarnitinE Q10 Plus as a supplement for Coenzyme C, Sindrocol for gut health, vit B12 (injected), since 10 days the 2LINFLAM from labolife, every now and than a capsule of Shilajit (all natural from india), zinc, selenium and my birth control pill (Velafee).

I am very careful about what goes into my body, so I completely agree with you on that one! Thats why I primarily take vitamins and (natural) gut health stuff. Only the pill is chemical but I need this because of pain issues during my period and it's helping me very much.

Thank you for your answer!

[bookish]

I'd also be interested to know what else you are taking by way of supplements. You may be making it harder for a deficiency to be identified. With major abdominal surgery you are potentially going to have reduced ability to absorb several nutrients and vitamins and I suspect that your vit B12 will be suffering. Not just that one, but it is hugely important. The fact that you are treating for possible acid reflux makes me think you may have low acid, which would tie in with gastric parietal cell damage. The parietal cells produce intrinsic factor which is essential for B12 absorption, as well as stomach acid. Without the acid your ability to break down food is compromised, you will become nutrient depleted, and iron and B12 which are already tricky to absorb become much harder. Taking B vitamins orally would obscure the markers that might get you a diagnosis without fixing the problem. The antibiotics will have afected levels of beneficial bacteria so your gut may need some help to rebuild balance. Cheers

[Konagirl60 in reply to bookish]

You make very good points.

Msybe kefir could help?

[edythe in reply to bookish]

Hi! I have fortunately not experienced so many different medical issues all together. I agree with the two responses you’ve had so far that it a) could be a good idea to stop the supplements for a while and b) have thorough blood tests to see what might really be needed - and particularly with regard to your gut after all those antibiotics.

You don’t say what doctors you have consulted and I see that you live in Germany. I wonder what kind of medical insurance you have. I too live in Germany and have had to deal particularly with pelvic pain for many years - although it has now much improved. To begin with I also had to take antibiotics and all scans etc were negative. I have found that among other things TCM including acupuncture ( by a specialist woman doctor) as well as osteopathy have been helpful. Have you thought about trying such an approach or even a ‚Heilpraktiker‘? So more of a holistic approach. What type of psychotherapy did you have?

[Milli180 in reply to edythe]

Dear edythe,

Yes also in the beginning I was completely off any supplements. And I have done a lot of blood and microbiome tests... But nothing striking.

I have indeed already tried out TCM (also with specialized teas), osteopathy and Heilpraktiker. I am very open to alternative and holistic approaches! As therapy I primarily tried a systemic approach, but also mixed with other elements. My therapist worked also a lot with 'Aufstellungen'.

If you have any other ideas or recommendations I would be glad to hear from you! Auch gerne in deutsch

Greetings!

[Milli180 in reply to bookish]

Dear bookish,

I indeed have a vit B12 deficiency, but I had this deficiency also before the two times I had to take anntibiotics. I inject myself B12 every 2 weeks, to complement. And I also took Omnibiotic and other probiotics for at least 3 years and also ongoing to restore my gut. Besides those two I don't take that much supplements. I take CarnitinE Q10 Plus, which is a supplement for Coenzyme C, Sindrocol for gut health, since 10 days the 2LINFLAM from labolife, every now and than a capsule of Shilajit (all natural from india), zinc, selenium and my birth control pill (Velafee). I also were off birth control during the 3 years so I don't think that the pill has a role to play in my issues. The first instance did also take place before I started taking birth control.

Do you have any suggestions? And thank you very much for your detailed answer!

[bookish in reply to Milli180]

klr31 makes a good point. Dairy could be an issue and may worsen the congestion and ear problems. Presumably you have been tested for coeliac? It would be wise to rule it out before trying an elimination and reintroduction diet - a coeliac test cannot rule out the possibility of being coeliac and does not test for other gluten related disorders at all so it is not enough on its own, but to get a mainstream diagnosis you have to do the mainstream testing.

Have you a reason for your 12 deficiency and how long have you been injecting? Any autoimmunity yourself or in the family and any family history with B12?

I wonder how well you are clearing oestrogen given your symptoms, exogenous hormones and need for surgery. Has anyone looked (epi)genetically or checked your detox capability? Magnesium made a huge difference for me in this area as did the B vits. in the right forms for me.

Is your vit D ok? Presumably you are not overdoing the zinc, which could push copper down, or the selenium.

Personally, I'd be looking for a good functional medicine practitioner to work with.

Cheers

[Milli180 in reply to bookish]

Dear bookish,

Yes I thought so too, that’s why I cut out dairy and gluten from my diet for over 2 years, but that didn’t have a huge effect on my health issues. And yes I have been tested - negative - for coeliac.

I don’t really know why I‘ve got a B12 deficiency. My father has hashimoto but aside from that nothing that I would know of. My aunt had cancer but that has nothing to do with B12 or autoimmunity and my mother has Herbert’s arthrosis, but same point here.

That’s a good question! How can one test one’s detox capability (or also epigenetical factors)? Unfortunately I can’t take magnesium because I almost instantly get diarrhea.

My vit D is sometimes fine and other times a little too low.

I’ve tried a good amount of functional medicine practitioners, but at some point they all had no idea how to proceed further.

Thank you very much for your ideas and I would be glad to hear from you!

[bookish in reply to Milli180]

Hi Milli, sorry for the delayed reply.

Some big questions there! I was lucky in that I got a fairly fast and obvious (if unexpected) benefit from quitting first gluten and then dairy. But going traditional gluten free wasn't enough and I got further benefits from being completely grain free. A big step and not for everyone. Conventional coeliac testing is really good at picking up people with late-stage disease but not good at all for those in the earlier stages. There is testing for genetic predisposition to coeliac and NCGS, but not cheap.

I'd have to disagree that cancer has nothing to do with B12 or autoimmunity. Risk for some cancers is increased by autoimmunity and some call some cancers late-stage autoimmunity. If your B vitamins aren't in the right places and doing the right things then your one carbon metabolism/methylation won't be working properly and your DNA more vulnerable as processes won't turn on, and importantly off, when they should. I am not familiar with Herbert's and couldn't find anything about it but having autoimmunity in the family (your father's Hashi's) increases his likelihood of low B12 and your's of autoimmunity of any sort. (For full thyroid testing you need TSH but also FT3, FT4 and antibodies).

There is a lot of rubbish talked about methylation in the context of an enzyme and gene called MTHFR. Most people have a variant (epigenetic SNP, polymorphism) somewhere on MTHFR and on its own it may not be a problem at all (bear in mind that the genetic testing is theoretical anyway), but in conjunction with other SNPs along the same pathways it is possible that health might be adversely affected. Some do well with more methyl groups and some do really badly. I did lots of reading and testing but did manage to make substantial improvements for myself. You might find these interesting pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

and us6.campaign-archive.com/?e...

I found magnesium really helpful and later found that one of my theoretical slow-functioning genetic SNPs was magnesium dependent, so I assumed that in this case it was not purely theoretical and that SNP had 'expressed' in me, as I felt much better. This one, COMT, affects the way you break down some forms of oestrogen, which I'd always had an issue with. I use magnesium oil on the skin but there are lot of kinds so you may do better with a different form or type (or you may not be low in magnesium).

I did a general genetic test and something called a hepatic detox test, both through Micki Rose at Purehealth clinic. I have a few of her books and have found her really helpful (no relation!). She has changed the way that she arranges testing for people but her site is very useful - just not all of the links are still available, but most of the tests are still there. Worth doing some reading and you can email for support shop.purehealthclinic.co.uk...

Cheers

[klr31]

Have you tried cutting out dairy from your diet? Are your vitamin and mineral levels OK? Thyroid?Karen

[Milli180]

yes i cut out dairy, gluten and mostly sugar from my diet for 2 years. And also my vitamins (except a B12 deficiency which I substitute), mineral levels as well as my thyroid are okay.