WorryIsMyMiddleName
03-05-13, 22:32
Hi all. I decided to consult Dr Google again this evening. I know, I know... But I always manage to convince myself that it'll reassure me. Ha! Anyway, I've managed to convince myself that I have some form of throat cancer.
For the past couple of months, I've had the distressing sensation of something caught in one side of my throat (near base of tongue). It feels like a bristle or piece of popcorn, and it's driving me mad. Occasionally, I experience a prickling discomfort in the back of my mouth on that same side when eating, and a small cyst sometimes appears on my soft palate - not sure if this could be related or not. I have an enlarged lymph node under the jaw on that same side, but it isn't at all painful or tender. I've also started to feel as though there's a swelling in my neck which is made worse when I bend my neck or lie on my pillow - possibly the gland. I've seen a GP three times, been prescribed a course of antibiotics just in case it was an infection, been prescribed an oral rinse for inflammation and soreness, but to no avail. The symptoms have slowly been getting worse and the GP has made an urgent referral to an ENT consultant.
This throat problem has been causing me such a lot of distress, we even had to fly home from our honeymoon in the States after just a few days as I was so miserable and felt like I was choking. I'm slowly driving myself and my family insane with all this anxiety and I was wondering whether any of you might have had similar symptoms? Or know of another possible explanation?
UPDATE AUG 2014:
For anybody who might come across this post, looking for information or experiencing a similar problem: 18 months after it began, and I still have the throat issue. It comes and goes, but I still feel something caught in the right side of my throat, and I still have the swollen gland in my neck. I have been seeing the ENT for well over a year, and he has looked in my throat five times but not seen anything of concern. An ultrasound showed the gland to be an enlarged submandibular salivary gland and dilated duct, though no explanation for it so I am due to see an Oral/Maxillo-Facial consultant in the next few weeks. I have recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and whilst this explains my neurological symptoms, it doesn't explain many of my other symptoms. So I can't offer you any answers if you are also experiencing this "thing caught in throat" problem, but feel free to get in touch with me.
For the past couple of months, I've had the distressing sensation of something caught in one side of my throat (near base of tongue). It feels like a bristle or piece of popcorn, and it's driving me mad. Occasionally, I experience a prickling discomfort in the back of my mouth on that same side when eating, and a small cyst sometimes appears on my soft palate - not sure if this could be related or not. I have an enlarged lymph node under the jaw on that same side, but it isn't at all painful or tender. I've also started to feel as though there's a swelling in my neck which is made worse when I bend my neck or lie on my pillow - possibly the gland. I've seen a GP three times, been prescribed a course of antibiotics just in case it was an infection, been prescribed an oral rinse for inflammation and soreness, but to no avail. The symptoms have slowly been getting worse and the GP has made an urgent referral to an ENT consultant.
This throat problem has been causing me such a lot of distress, we even had to fly home from our honeymoon in the States after just a few days as I was so miserable and felt like I was choking. I'm slowly driving myself and my family insane with all this anxiety and I was wondering whether any of you might have had similar symptoms? Or know of another possible explanation?
UPDATE AUG 2014:
For anybody who might come across this post, looking for information or experiencing a similar problem: 18 months after it began, and I still have the throat issue. It comes and goes, but I still feel something caught in the right side of my throat, and I still have the swollen gland in my neck. I have been seeing the ENT for well over a year, and he has looked in my throat five times but not seen anything of concern. An ultrasound showed the gland to be an enlarged submandibular salivary gland and dilated duct, though no explanation for it so I am due to see an Oral/Maxillo-Facial consultant in the next few weeks. I have recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and whilst this explains my neurological symptoms, it doesn't explain many of my other symptoms. So I can't offer you any answers if you are also experiencing this "thing caught in throat" problem, but feel free to get in touch with me.