Globus Hystericus

[dph]

Hi everyone,
Has anyone whom has suffered from this annoying feeling of a lump in your throat, which increases as soon as you feel a little anxious, had any success by using herbal remedies like Ignatia etc. I'd appreciate some ideas.

Thanks, Darcy.

[Kate Naomi]

Hi Darcy,

I have it too, it comes and goes and I really hate the feeling. I have not tried any herbal remedies but I have heard that xanax helps. Personally I have not tried it as I am trying to keep away from as many meds as possible!!

Let me know if the herbal stuff helps.

Thanks

Kate

[jackie]

darcy i have had this many times and i assure you that there is only one cure for this harmless but annoying symptom of anxiety. and that is ignoring it. simple as that. if only simple meant it was easy!

claire weekes in her book mentions this symptom often and she believes that the only way to get rid of it is to not care or fear it, so hard i know but i promise you it works

hope this helps

jackie

[Daisybun]

Hi darcy, I agree with jackie, i had it last year for about 4 months. When i was busy and distracted i didn't notice it at all. As soon as i relaxed it went away!

Take care
Daisybun

'This too will pass'

[mia0621]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Hi everyone,
Has anyone whom has suffered from this annoying feeling of a lump in your throat, which increases as soon as you feel a little anxious, had any success by using herbal remedies like Ignatia etc. I'd appreciate some ideas.

Thanks, Darcy.

<div align="right">Originally posted by dph - 06 August 2006 : 11:46:11</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote"> Yes Darcy, I have had globus hystericus. It is a very uncomfortable feeling. I finally got over my fear of it. As soon as you relax or concentrate on something else it goes away. It is strictly tension.

Mia

[mia0621]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Hi Darcy,

I have it too, it comes and goes and I really hate the feeling. I have not tried any herbal remedies but I have heard that xanax helps. Personally I have not tried it as I am trying to keep away from as many meds as possible!!

Let me know if the herbal stuff helps.

Thanks

Kate

<div align="right">Originally posted by Kate Naomi - 06 August 2006 : 13:30:38</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote"> I don't really like taking drugs either. I have been feeling just awful, but I have still been putting off the meds. I am afraid of getting hooked.

Mia

[Monkey Peaches]

i have been suffering from this for 6 years now. my mind takes a simple and natural reflex like swallowing and turns it into a seemingly lifethreatening laboring burden of a death trap. at one point i was on a strictly liquid diet for 4 months. i could not swallow food, even if i chewed it until my jaw hurt. if i saw something so delicious i would go insane! sometimes i would chew good food just to taste it, then spit it into the trash can, depriving my poor stomach and body of any real nutrition. my mind basically tells my throat to STOP working anytime i swallow, ESPECIALLY when i am eating. i had a bad experience with choking in school, but this started when i 'thought' i had a piece of chicken caught in the back of my throat. one night i just came home from work and had chicken, and called 9-1-1 because i felt like 'one false move and my airways are blocked'.. about a week later i thought i shrugged that off until i was eating a sandwich. i went to swallow and noticed that i couldnt 'pull the trigger'.. the food was on the back of my tongue ready to go down, but my throat just said forget it, PLUS i was holding my breath (anytime this happens, my breath is automatically held and i cannot breathe!) so the only thing i could think of was to cough hard so i could breathe again, and the chewed up sandwich flew all over the floor. ever since that day, my mind has ATTACHED the feeling of severe panic and anxiety everytime i try to eat. i can drink only in continuous gulps. if i try to sip something, it reacts the same way, therefore i cannot eat soup or drink anything hot. i have to manually get my throat in rhythm which in turn allows me to gulp. but as far as a one shot swallow, i cant do it. often times out of nowhere i even have trouble swallowing my own saliva. the thought that i am about to swallow or eat scares me to death. i have not eaten at a restaurant in YEARS. i tried it once but it didnt work. the natural feeling when the waitress/waiter is coming is 'mmm here it comes' but i felt more like a person on death row with the electric chair coming to them..

i have been to a dozen doctors, have tried many meds, i search online for breathing techniques and all that. i know i have anxiety disorder and have had it for a long time. i can live with the anxiety, but i HAVE TO do something about the swallowing so it can go back to normal. i have prayed to God for help. the doctors i have seen treat this like common anxiety. they just cant understand that all i want to do is swallow like i am supposed to! ive been through hypnosis, ive had endoscopy, Qeeg, and those tests where you drink that chalky stuff to test if your throat muscles are functioning properly. physically, i am fine. but emotionally i cannot take this anymore!

audio tapes, video tapes, breathing techniques, therapists that dont understand, telling me to cut down on caffeine and useless information when all i need is to RE-TRAIN my throat but i have no idea how. i have unconsciously 'learned' to lean over and put my hand over my mouth every single time i swallow. i cannot live like this! been like this for 6 years and it is pure hell. sometimes i even consider killing myself thats how hopeless it seems. i can NEVER eat alone because i always need someone around in case i choke. it is the worst feeling in the world to not have any control whatsoever over one of your common daily VITAL bodily functions.

i would get down on my knees and kiss the feet of anybody that would be able to successfully make this swallowing problem of mine disappear. i have done endless research on anxiety symptoms and all that, but i have yet to find a single article anywhere that goes in depth and emphasizes MY problem to a point of actually doing some good.. i am now 27 years old and my early 20s simply got flushed down the drain because of this. i will never get them back. i have been popping pills after pills trying everything there is. have had so many Rx written by different doctors, even anti-schizo meds! Xanax helps me alittle bit. it brought me out of that 4 month 'death diet' where i lost 80lbs but it only masks the problem temporarily and it will always be there unless i can find a way to get rid of it permanently! if somebody knows anything concrete and not repetetive (trust me, 6 years is a long time to suffer from something and i have read just about every website that is on the web about it and NOTHING helped. not to mention all the doctors who tell me the same thing) PLEASE help me!

my current Dr. told me i need neurotherapy which i cannot afford right now. i have NO social life. dont go on dates. going out to eat is NEVER on my agenda (i used to love to eat) because i dont feel like attempting to choke myself to death, especially in public.

my current state is horrible. i ONLY eat one meal a day and that is within 30 minutes of waking up, while my mind is still sleep-tranced. aside from that, it is hopeless. the fear and anxiety of this is destroying everything about me and i am desperate.

[shelly438]

Hi Hunny

I know how your are feeling!

My anxiety started about eight - ten weeks ago, I get this everyday! Sometimes I swear somethiung is stuck in my throat, Its feels tight or that food is caught! It so annoying! However I can still eat with no problem no chocking gagging etc!

I also have acid reflux which is making me keep googling and now ive managed to convince myself I have a hital hernia..........blah blah blah and so the story goes on. I have never vomited and the lump sensation was NOT helped by the PPI med that I was taking for the acid reflux so Im trying to comfort myself that this is just another symtom of anxiety also get the following-

Stiff Neck
Heavy ness in chest - (like food is stuck)
Back pain (up the top)
Shaking legs
Shaking feeling inside
Acid Bups and constant Burping
Brain CONsTANTLY telling me something is wrong and DR is missing it
Cold head sensation which travels down my arm
Tingly Face
Clenching teeth
Mild headaches
Pain under each breast (like mild stabbing pain)


And so the list goes on and on and on. I have spoken to my DR and im taking Citroplam 20mg, Been almost two weeks and I have still not seen any improvement. Ive managed to stay at work (i dont know how) But by no means do my symtoms rest when im there. x x Lets beat this together! x x

[alexis]

Hi there are so many of us suffer from this, and as said distraction is the answer, it does get better, trust me, but its not easy,I was obsessed with drinking water just to prove to myself I could still swallow,have a good read about other sufferers with this, take care,xxx

[Monkey Peaches]

if it was that easy, it wouldnt still be a big problem six years later. i cant afford neurotherapy right now but does anybody know of a site that teaches you how to relax your throat muscles???

and shelly438, i have acid reflux also but i take Nexium and it helps alot. ever try those?

[Watermelon854]

I have asthma but I find that I get a feeling of throat tightness on my lower portion of my throat. I haven't been able to eat very well and it worries me because this should not relate to my asthma but it certainly makes it harder to breath. I try not to think about it but its there in the first place and distracting. This certainly worries me.

Any ideas?

[rtp123]

I am a physician who has developed this pain in the *(&^% . I have found that chewing gum seems to keep Globus under control.. has anyone else found gum chewing to be helpful?

[Yvonne]

Lol you're a physician and you're not using a magic medication for the globus!!! Only joking. Yep I think chewing gum helps, or ignoring it, or a good cry.

[Robert M]

I have had globus hystericus symptoms off and on for a number of years, although it has definitely worsened over the last year or so.
It tends to come on at times of stress such as performances/interviews etc.; my main symptom is a throat 'spasm' or gagging feeling which often causes me to be physically sick. I believe it is down to anxiety feelings; unfortunately I too often use alchohol to calm the symptoms down, but I also realise that the alchohol could be fuelling the problem.
My doctor diagnosed globus hystericus and, together with propranolol tablets, she also prescribes diazepam for occasional use when the symptoms are really bad - I find that this helps. I also heard a pharmacist recommend piriton tablets to calm the symptoms as piriton apparently has a mild sedative effect.
I don't know if any of this helps, but I sympathise with anyone who is suffering from this horrible condition.