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Thread: Tight Throat / Difficulty Swallowing - Help!

  1. #1

    Tight Throat / Difficulty Swallowing - Help!

    Hi everyone, I won't give you my life story (I'll save that for the Introduction forum), but I do need to provide a brief synopsis.

    I've not been formally diagnosed with anxiety, but then I've never been to a mental health specialist. I obsess over the most minor things for hours at a time, the smallest bump has me assuming the worst, and no matter how logical I attempt to get it doesn't seem to help.

    My biggest issue revolves around my throat and it constantly feeling tight. The more I think about it the worse it feels, but that may simply be the side effect of anxiety amplifying the effect, and being extremely conscious of every movement. It has been going on for a very long time, and I’ve tried to get to the bottom of it with doctors to mostly no avail.

    What I primarily feel is usually a lump in the throat sensation, which I know can diagnose as Globulus. I also chronically feel a tightness in my neck and throat, both up under my jawline on both sides, but lately I’ve been really cognizant of feeling like there is a lump on the right side of the throat. Every time I swallow, or turn my head I can feel a pressure there. There is no pain, but sometimes I can even feel it against my voice when talking.

    Sometimes when I drink water it makes a gurgling sound, and I have to usually swallow food twice. The food will go down past where I can breathe or easily retrieve, but I can feel it there until I swallow again.

    However, I also have GERDS from being clinically obese (working on it) which I know can cause some of this as well. Because of that I went through a scare 5 years ago for Barret’s Esophagus finally following up on it recently. I had an endoscopy and all they found was some irritation, which was a massive relief.

    Until it wasn’t. The underlying issue was still there, despite being on PPI. I didn’t wake up with my mouth drowning in acid anymore or any other heartburn, but this sensation would come and go. Sometimes it is much worse than others, but I’m not sure if it is because I’m focusing on it more or not. When I do feel panic setting in it is difficult to focus on anything else, and waiting for a doctor’s appointment feels like an eternity. If this is anxiety it feels incredibly real.

    I went back to my doctor again determined to get to the bottom of this, so he had an ultrasound done to rule out thyroids I assume, though all of my blood work is normal. They came back and said my thyroids looked normal. The doubts and fear keep nagging, so then I went to an ENT. He did a scope up my nose and down my throat after I described some of this to him, he saw nothing but some light irritation. He felt my throat and said he felt nothing abnormal, though he did note that I have a muscular neck with additional fat, so it could be hard. He did make the offer for me to come back and they could do an ultrasound or CT, but you could tell he thought it was not necessary.

    This is where I’m at now, considering going back again and having more expensive tests done. I have limited funds, and even more limited time off through my full time job. In fact I’m out of hours, but I don’t know what else to do.

    Should I go back for more expensive tests when likely there is nothing wrong?

    Wouldn’t they have seen something on the scope, or the endoscopy, or on the ultrasound, even if they were looking at thyroids?

    Would the anxiety cause symptoms that feel so incredibly physical? Even when I’m not obsessing over them, they are still there.

    I’m desperate for some kind of guidance, and my wife is fed up with my constant need for assurance, and rightfully so. I don’t know if anxiety medicine would help, and I wouldn’t know the first thing about seeking a mental health professional.

    Please help me with the above questions. Thank you so much for your time and your understanding.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
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    Re: Tight Throat / Difficulty Swallowing - Help!

    Hi! Sorry you’re having those symptoms, I have throat issues myself and know what it’s like! Regarding your questions, I think it’s safe for you to wait for a few weeks and see how it goes given that you’ve had quite a few tests already. if your symptoms get worse do seek another opinion just in case but try to give yourself some time. GERD can definitely cause the irritation in your throat and if there was something obvious it most likely would have been picked up. Anxiety can cause incredibly physical symptoms that can have you doubt your own body - I had about 3 weeks where I had really bad swallowing and choking issues and they magically went away after I had an ultrasound done and forgot about it.
    I don’t know about medications either, I think they might help but the main thing is to address the obsessive mindset. Not sure about how things work in the states but surely there are support networks in your area, maybe in a group where you can share everything if you’re up for that? Also maybe CBT could help, there’s a website called getselfhelp.co.uk which has a really good free course and different if you’re up for that!

    Hope this helps, good luck with getting over those symptoms!

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