Having major throat problems.

[Seraphexa]

Hi guys, I really need your help right now.

So, a little backstory, I've had swallowing problems for the past few years due to sinus problems, post nasal drip, a swollen lymph node, and undiagnosed acid reflux (which my mum has), and I've been doing well at coping with all of these health anxiety triggers - I am due to see an ENT in less than 2 weeks.

However, I am having the most panicky night ever right now, I have had no sleep at all and now its the afternoon of the following day, I can only imagine my exhaustion is making this all feel worse. Anyway...

So I get this breathing thing sometimes, I believe its triggered by acid reflux, it feels like an asthma attack but goes away when I burp (inhaler doesn't help) and a lot of mucus builds up in my throat, and sometimes I get a hard feeling in the centre, I assumed it was some sort of anxiety/mucus/lymph node related problem. I kind of assume it still is.

Sometimes if I get this and my breathing goes funny (like panic attack mode), I get the flashlight out and have a good look in my throat to observe the mucus situation - its just like a relief really, it takes my mind off of my breathing, and is just kind of like "oh hey, that's a nice wide open throat there". However, something terrible happened earlier.

I saw my epiglottis! A big orange lump right down behind my tongue - I almost fainted, immediately when to google and looked at diagrams (and cancer symptoms, obviously) and all of this Horlicks came up about epiglottitis fatal death swelling blah blah blah and then lord jesus I have NOT STOPPED PANICKING my chest is tight but kind of relieved since I've been writing this but my throat still feels weird (was kind of rattling/wheezing, I've always assumed it was mucus?) but to think MY EPIGLOTTIS MAY BE CAUSING THIS SPONTANEOUS LUMP BREATHING PROBLEM I cannot chill and I really need sleep, please help, I am a frequent throat checker and I have never seen this before, I feel like I'm going to die, this lump in my throat is driving me mental, I wish I hadn't have seen that orange veiny lump, I need to calm down :(

[Katiex]

I feel like I could have wrote this post myself!

Everything you have just said are my exact symptoms. I woke up choking one night and felt like something was stuck in my throat and actually put my fingers down my throat and felt what I now know is my epiglottis. I am convinced its out of place! Not only because I could feel it but also because I pulled on it quite hard thinking I had swallowed something.

The breathing issue I have too. Sometimes it feels like a burp is stuck and pushing on my windpipe. I burp and it seems to settle it a bit.

But the mucous issue I also have with the post nasal drip. I feel like I'm overcome by mucus and constantly clearing my throat. The reflux causes so much spasm in my throat that it goes tight and then I also have the mucus trying to get down my throat.