bg222
22-05-21, 12:13
Hello all, I've been on and off this site for years but have been doing pretty well mental health-wise in the last few months. This issue is a new one for me.
A quick background - I'm in my 30s, currently about 6 months pregnant. I seem to have some seasonal allergy symptoms but not the classic red eyes, itchy eyes and throat, etc. Usually it's just some congestion in the morning and stuffy/runny nose which leads into post nasal drip and a lot of swallowing/clearing my throat. I'm aware that pregnancy also can exacerbate these conditions (pregnancy rhinitis) and I've definitely had some level of this with my previous pregnancies and this one.
So with that background, a week or so ago, I ate something - I think it was a dry shredded wheat cereal - and a little piece of it felt like it got stuck in my throat. Not like down in my throat after swallowing, but like UP in my throat where it felt like it was between my throat and my nose. It didn't hurt but was a really irritating and bothersome constant annoying feeling that I couldn't get rid of. Tried blowing my nose a bunch, swallowing a lot and trying to kind of add some suction when swallowing, used a Neti pot, tried eating other foods and drinking hot tea. Nothing worked. I went to bed that night with it bothering me and by the next day it seemed to be resolved. A couple days passed where I ate mostly normally although I definitely had some anxiety about it happening again. It didn't really recur although the post nasal drip feeling was still there on and off. Then yesterday I ate some popcorn and almost immediately the feeling was back. I have tried looking in my throat with a flashlight and one of those dental mirrors and I can't really see anything up behind my throat.
Yesterday I did discover some tonsil stones that I was able to scrape out/off of my tonsils (disgusting, if you've had these you know what I mean). This didn't really change the throat feeling, although it does feel a little similar to in the past when I've had a tonsil stone and can feel it. So I was hopeful the tonsil stone issue was maybe the cause. I'm wondering a little bit if there may be more tonsil stones I can't see easily and remove myself that could be causing this feeling and I'm just not really correctly pinpointing where the feeling is happening.
Anyways, after getting up this morning the feeling is still kind of there in my throat but maybe a little less acute. It definitely feels like it could be mucus just draining down from my nose kind of creating a constant feeling of needing to swallow and clear it but not being able to. But I'm kind of confused why certain foods like pretzels, popcorn, crumb-y type things like muffins are the triggers I've discovered for this feeling. I would normally try some different kinds of meds to deal with the post nasal drip but given the pregnancy I'm pretty limited in what I could take.
I honestly don't think this is "just" anxiety because it seems related to certain foods I eat. I've also had plenty of psychosomatic stuff in the past and it always feels different to me like I can identify the psychological trigger more easily. BUT I also know from having had these situations that anxiety is a b**** and can cause shocking levels of physical symptoms that I previously would not have believed were not "real" physical problems. I came across the "globus" name in trying to figure out what was going on with my throat which led me here to say - could this be anxiety? Or just post nasal drip? Has anyone had this sensation and been able to figure out how to get rid of it? It kind of drives me mad when it's there, like a tickle in my throat that won't go away. Most of the globus stories I've seen sound more like a lump DOWN the throat like more related to something you swallowed that got stuck down there and won't go down? Not UP towards the nasal passage like I'm having?
Anyway, appreciate any thoughts anyone might have! I currently have awesome insurance and will for the duration of the pregnancy so if it seems like I should eventually see an ENT to take a look I would like to do it with this insurance coverage!!
A quick background - I'm in my 30s, currently about 6 months pregnant. I seem to have some seasonal allergy symptoms but not the classic red eyes, itchy eyes and throat, etc. Usually it's just some congestion in the morning and stuffy/runny nose which leads into post nasal drip and a lot of swallowing/clearing my throat. I'm aware that pregnancy also can exacerbate these conditions (pregnancy rhinitis) and I've definitely had some level of this with my previous pregnancies and this one.
So with that background, a week or so ago, I ate something - I think it was a dry shredded wheat cereal - and a little piece of it felt like it got stuck in my throat. Not like down in my throat after swallowing, but like UP in my throat where it felt like it was between my throat and my nose. It didn't hurt but was a really irritating and bothersome constant annoying feeling that I couldn't get rid of. Tried blowing my nose a bunch, swallowing a lot and trying to kind of add some suction when swallowing, used a Neti pot, tried eating other foods and drinking hot tea. Nothing worked. I went to bed that night with it bothering me and by the next day it seemed to be resolved. A couple days passed where I ate mostly normally although I definitely had some anxiety about it happening again. It didn't really recur although the post nasal drip feeling was still there on and off. Then yesterday I ate some popcorn and almost immediately the feeling was back. I have tried looking in my throat with a flashlight and one of those dental mirrors and I can't really see anything up behind my throat.
Yesterday I did discover some tonsil stones that I was able to scrape out/off of my tonsils (disgusting, if you've had these you know what I mean). This didn't really change the throat feeling, although it does feel a little similar to in the past when I've had a tonsil stone and can feel it. So I was hopeful the tonsil stone issue was maybe the cause. I'm wondering a little bit if there may be more tonsil stones I can't see easily and remove myself that could be causing this feeling and I'm just not really correctly pinpointing where the feeling is happening.
Anyways, after getting up this morning the feeling is still kind of there in my throat but maybe a little less acute. It definitely feels like it could be mucus just draining down from my nose kind of creating a constant feeling of needing to swallow and clear it but not being able to. But I'm kind of confused why certain foods like pretzels, popcorn, crumb-y type things like muffins are the triggers I've discovered for this feeling. I would normally try some different kinds of meds to deal with the post nasal drip but given the pregnancy I'm pretty limited in what I could take.
I honestly don't think this is "just" anxiety because it seems related to certain foods I eat. I've also had plenty of psychosomatic stuff in the past and it always feels different to me like I can identify the psychological trigger more easily. BUT I also know from having had these situations that anxiety is a b**** and can cause shocking levels of physical symptoms that I previously would not have believed were not "real" physical problems. I came across the "globus" name in trying to figure out what was going on with my throat which led me here to say - could this be anxiety? Or just post nasal drip? Has anyone had this sensation and been able to figure out how to get rid of it? It kind of drives me mad when it's there, like a tickle in my throat that won't go away. Most of the globus stories I've seen sound more like a lump DOWN the throat like more related to something you swallowed that got stuck down there and won't go down? Not UP towards the nasal passage like I'm having?
Anyway, appreciate any thoughts anyone might have! I currently have awesome insurance and will for the duration of the pregnancy so if it seems like I should eventually see an ENT to take a look I would like to do it with this insurance coverage!!