Hi there, I have had an extremely sore and uncomfortable throat for about 2 months, the sides are so hard they feel like rocks, I am coughing up clear mucus, mucus with black specs and last week I coughed up a chunk the colour of a blood orange. I recently quit smoking and had been a very heavy smoker for 6 years. My ears are also very itchy, I have been getting frequent sinus headaches and have been having problems with my sinuses. I was diagnosed with strep twice without swabs and once swabbed I was told it was not strep and referred to an ENT...which takes 6 months to be scheduled for an appointment.