post nasal drip/acid reflux/ex smoker

hi all, my name is steve. i am currently in misery with this thing. first off...i have had panic disorder for 20 years now...and recently stopped sm0oking after about 24 years. i am 38...i have acid reflux and i think copd as well...but not sure yet.
anyway....just after new years...i quit smoking...and within a few weeks...i started having excessive mucus caked on my throat.which didnt come up, or did it seem to go down. ..but i could still eat and drink....mainly crap...until one day i started feeling this lump in my throat every time i swallowed....felt hard like a pill...but it was a gooey piece of phlegm. since then, a little more has come up, during an extreme fever for 2 days....but mucus is still there...constantly. i have avoided dairy to my best ability...as well as any and all citrus, cola, caffeine, alcohol, smoking..etc. i drink apple cider vinegar to loosen up SOME phlegm in my throat....which helps to some degree....but i havent had a decent meal in months now. i have to eat in small amounts...and even then...i have swallowing trouble...as i always "hawk" up my last bite until i can eat again...usually later at night. i wake up this way...and it lasts for hours....rarely ever coughing up phlegm...just mucus from my throat..maybe from post nasal drip. i have taken so much guaffenessin syrup that i own shares in it now!! i am on raNITIDINE SYRUP FOR THE ACID REFLUX....but the mugus production is there no mater what i eat..or how many times i flush out my sinuses, or how much steam i inhale. now please....i would like some feedback as to what this might be, and what i can do about it. cuz my allergy test came back clean, i'm not smoking, and i am avoiding acidic foods...i would rather now hear more people explaining that they have the same symptoms...i just wanna know what i can do about mine. thanks everyone

Probably a chronic sinus infection that was hidden until you quit smoking. And it is likely fungal. An Ear-Nose-Throat doctor may be able to help.

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-Razzle