Thyroid pain when swallowing. Worried it's cancer.

[Krypt0night]

This has happened to me once before, but it seems to be worse this time and sticking around longer. For the last week or so, I've had pain in ONLY the right side of my neck when swallowing. I believe that it is my thyroid that is the issue. Along with this, I've been dealing with a lot of phlegm in my throat, which I was told before was post nasal drip. That particular thing has been off and on for months now and still hasn't gone away.

Along with the pain when swallowing, I also do feel like my voice is hoarser, there is some swelling in my neck, etc. I have no idea what it could be if not cancer. I've been trying to look into it, but once I realized it's likely my thyroid, it's the only answer I've been able to find.

[catsandnaps]

Hi Krypt0night, I am gonna try to tackle your post because you sound like me a couple months ago. I had a pain on one side of my throat, and I thought it was my thyroid, too. I was even convinced I thought I could see it swelling in my neck -- which it wasn't.
The pain in my neck and throat is usually just tensed muscles from my anxiety. I can't usually even notice I am tensed up until my muscles are sore. I get the tense-ness in my chest, too.
If you can, check with someone who knows you well and ask if they notice your voice changing or if they can see any swelling.
I don't want to give medical advice, but everything you're talking about can also be anxiety. Spend some time doing something to get your mind moving -- watching a movie or something that gets your mind off your body, then see if the symptoms decrease. If they decrease, it's probably anxiety.
Let me know how you feel! Sending you lots of good thoughts!!

[Krypt0night]

I will say that when I'm distracted, I don't notice it as much. It's when I'm focusing on it that it really hurts and I notice it. With that said, I raised my voice today in a kind of scream, and my throat itself was in a ton of pain. It wasn't the thyroid area, but actually my throat. It felt like it was completely dry and being scratched from the inside. My voice is also a bit more hoarse than usual when I talk, though my girlfriend said she doesn't hear it.

So I think that it's definitely worse with anxiety, but due to how my throat felt today (and not my neck) when I raised my voice, I think there also is something wrong.

[countrygirl]

I have severe damage to my spine at neck and my neck muscles are alwasy in spasm. I can have all or some of the following symptoms from this - feeling of being strangled/ hoarse voice/ choking if speaking for too long or raising my voice/ pain in side of neck or under ears or at base of throat. I even can find it painful to move my tongue as well.

These are all caused by my neck muscles, I have been thoroughly investigated over the yeras for all of these symptoms with no cause other than rigid neck muscles.

[fallingstar]

It's probably just tensed muscles like others said. I've had it the last few days in addition to globus and that lump in your throat feeling.

I also have a LITERAL lump in my throat - a really big thyroid cyst - you can feel it too - I had biopsies done two times before and while it had gotten larger, it didn't affect my hormones or voice or weight etc. Mine can make it slightly hard to breath if I turn my head all the way to the left as far as it can go, but that's about it - and the doctors said that I may notice it like that but as long as my normal breathing's fine and it's not getting more massive then I'm ok to just leave it in there. By the way if anything like a cyst was ever on your thyroid, most often they are benign/non cancerous. I worried about mine for months on end and then the biopsy as well and everything was okay in the end as it was. I believe I had this done in late fall/early winter but I forget. If you had a cyst in your thyroid - it's common. But I highly doubt you even have that - you mentioned phlegm etc. I've noticed when I'm super anxious I get phlegm or post nasal drip, lump in the throat and tight throat feeling - what you're feeling I have felt a million times before and so have others. I know just how hard it is to convince yourself you're okay, but I think you're okay and just try to. If it puts your mind at ease see your doctor - no harm in going if it makes you feel more relaxed I say.

[Fishmanpa]

Well, at least you're not worried about the freckles any more.... Just pointing out that symptom jumping is classic HA.

Positive thoughts

[Munchlet]

Hi

About 5 weeks ago I came down with a virus which consisted of a dry scratchy throat a cough and general unwell feeling. After a few days the virus seemed to go but I was left with this awful hacking cough, loads of post nasal drip and the feeling that everytime I breathed deeply I had a pain on one side of my throat by my thyroid.

Fast forward and 3 dr's visits later I've had asthma pumps, nasal sprays and I still have a bit of a cough and post nasal drip but it is going and it's nowhere near as bad.

To be honest I have put it down to the post nasal drip as I always felt that it seemed to affect one side of my throat more than the other and the pain was on the side mainly affected.

Do you think it's the post nasal drip aggravating your throat? as I've read that it can inflame and irritate the airways and that's what I've been putting mine down too and just wondered if it could be the same in your case.