Can anyone relate?

[Hannahscared]

For the past week now I have had the CONSTANT urge to clear my throat, no matter how many times I clear it, it won't go away.
I haven't had a cold or anything, so it can't be a cold,
I have now developed the biggest lump in my throat ever, I can hardly breathe or swallow it's so big!!

So.. has anyone else ever experienced these?

[TooMuchToLiveFor]

Hi, Hannah,
Here is something I thought might help (taken from the anxiety "Symptoms" link on the top left of this page):

Throat tightening/Choking/Swallowing problems

What you feel:

Often one of the first symptoms of anxiety. People complain of feeling as though they will choke or being strangled. In reality its not nearly so dramatic - the muscles in the throat contract and salivary glands produce thick mucus leading to a feeling of restriction around the throat, it can produce a feeling that you are having difficulty swallowing or breathing. In fact you are not having difficulty, it just feels as though you are. You also get a dry mouth and it can feel like you cannot drink but you can.
You feel as though there is something stuck in your throat or sometimes feel there is a lump in your throat. Other times you may feel that you can barely swallow or that there is a tightness in the throat, or that you have to really force yourself to swallow. Sometimes this feeling can lead you to think that you may suffocate or get something stuck in your throat.
What causes this:

When in danger, stress biology produces a tightening in the throat muscles which produces the choking or 'something stuck in the throat' feeling. When in a nervous or stressful situation, many people will experience this feeling. It is often referred to as 'a lump on your throat'.
There is minimal danger of choking or suffocating under normal conditions, however, some people are very sensitive to things in their throat and therefore caution should always be observed when eating. Chewing food thoroughly andslowly will prevent inadvertently swallowing something that may provoke someone to gag. This symptom can come and go, and may seem to intensify if one becomes focused on it.

[WhyWhyWhy]

Hi :)

Great post above! I used to work nights 11 years ago, one night shift I spent the WHOLE shift obsessively swallowing literally convinced I had a lump in my neck. This went on for sometime, until I found something else to focus on which was a little lump in my eyelid, then went onto be a mole on my arm, once was a bone in my foot, not so long ago an aneurism

You're ok, you've got anxiety, not a 'lump' I really hope this doesn't sound belittling because I want to give you some peace, what you're describing sounds to me typical of anxiety xxx