i dont no what to do anymore, maybe i am losing my mind after all

[Linny]

i have not felt well for months with a list of symptoms that my doctor said were non specific. he said it was depression and i refused to believe it was all down to that.
i had a feeling of something being stuck in my throat which i know can be anxiety, the ent couldnt see anything , but he wouldnt because it had gone by the time my appointment came around.
now a few weeks down the line its back and i am thinking that it is food that is getting stuck and thats why it comes and goes . yesterday a piece of bread was definately stuck, higher up than where i normally feel the lump.
i also have a permanent dripping down my throat feeling.
i am scared to eat now so i am just having soup.
i am so sick of myself, i feel so guilty and crap for my kids.
i am due to ahve a scan soon due to constant headaches and nausea

i started on cipralex 2 weeks ago just to see if it would make a difference but because i have tried before with horrendous side effects i have only been taking a quarter of a tablet a day. would this be enough to make any difference at all?

if anyone can offer any words of comfort or advice i would be grateful as i feel so alone

[bex1970]

Honestly, lump in throat and sensation of food getting stuck is SO common in anxiety (see the symptoms list at side). It's called Globus Hystericus.... and the dripping down the throat is also common and at worst could be post-nasal drip.... I had this for two years - saw ENT so many times I could have become one.... the ENT you saw, would have seen something if anything was there.... serious things don't just come and go...

Most people on here have suffered from this. It could also be acid reflux.... all of which cause these sensations. Don't panic, it's completely, completely an anxiety thing - be reassured that your ENT didn't see a thing. Nausea and headaches are also a side effect of anxiety and maybe of your pills... think side effects are quite common at first but apparently they wear off after about 4 weeks.... see the medications list at the side too.

you'll be ok - don't panic - if ENT didn't see anything - it's cause there's nothing there....
xx

[LisaLisa]

Bex is sooo right.

The dripping feeling i have too and someone in my office has it too its acid reflux and it just feels like something dripping. Dr told me this and gave me omperazole for it. It also makes you feel like there is something stuck at the back of your throat, dr told me some pleople even cough with it, its called EERD extra something esaughegal reflux blah blah

It is very common in anxiety apparently and so are tummy upsets and headaches, i have them too and the dr told me the same thing.

As for the tablets, i pussyfooted around in taking mine for the same reason and consequently just delayed getting better. The side effects are poo but they dont last long usually and its propbaly better to persevere. I think that taking too low a dose prob has no clinical effect and is a waste of time but then again if you take the proper dose now you might find that your body is more used to them already cos you were taking a lower dose so your side effects might be much less. I know than when you come off them you should reduce the dose gradually so I guess it works in reverse for starting them


Lisa
xxx

[lauren6]

What the ENT should have done is what most do as the next step...refer you to a gastroenterologist. I had this and had an endoscopy (no big deal, you can be alseep). They saw some esophageal irritation, diagnosed as reflux and put me on Prevacid. You asked for advice so this is mine...if possible (if this is in fact your diagnosis) ask the dr. if you can take something like Zantac or Pepcid rather than the stronger proton pump inhibitors, which are a stronger class of drugs. It can be rough weaning off them.

I had a similar problem years ago and they put me on Zantac and it cleared it up. I changed my diet, followed the reflux rules, raised my headboard, changed foods and was fine. Years later, it came back and I am now on a PPO, tried to wean and it came back with a vengeance so still on them. I will try again as I don't like being on anything this long (3 years now).

You can get Zantac over the counter or you can get Prilosec (a PPO, which I would not recommend without a diagnosis...too strong). If you're going to try something on your own, being the wedding is so close, try the Zantac...I don't think it can harm you and it may solve the problem for now.

[Linny]

thankyou for the replies i really appreciate it.
can you tell me if zantac is ok to take along with the cipralex tablets?

[MaWi69]

Not sure about Zantac and Cipralex - although both medicines will have instructions on the label which may direct you... failing that have a chat with the pharmacist as they will know. Gaviscon works too, although this is more a quick fix - Zantac seems to have a less instant effect, but last much longer.
Just thought I'd share a few of my own experiences (as rather selfishly it may help me too). I had a feeling of a lump in my throat about a year or so ago, and got a bit too panicy for my own good. Went to the doctors who could see nothing wrong, then sent me to and ENT specialist. He checked my throat and put a camera down and could see nothing. So he referred me to get an Barium Swallow Xray (mostly at my insistence), but this was also negative. Soon after this the feeling went away and I thought all was fine.
Then my work started to send me to India for the occasionally week every few months (incidentally I'm here now), I don't like being so far away from my wife and little daughter so I suppose tension and stress started to set in - and lo! the lump in the throat returned whilst I was here. Needless to say away from my family, and feeling increasingly more panicy I felt worse and worse. So bad I changed my flights, proclaimed what I thought was a more believable illness (a clue here) and went home early. I scared the hell out of my wife as I had to share it with someone and she couldn't help, so that didn't make me feel great aobut myself. Especially as the lump feeling dissapeared a few days after returning home.
This time I started getting the feeling before I came out, but after reading up heavily on it last time I have been trying to persuade myself it's just stress/fear of it happening again. Well I'm here and it's happening again.

When I get home I will go and see my doctor, I'm not 100% keen on flying so that probably doesn't help much (it's always a turbulent flight), so maybe a mild tranquiliser/relaxant may help as I can take it to stop this all kicking off. I'm also going to search about looking for some relaxation techniques to help me get to sleep, as that should help for whilst I'm here.

Ok that's that off my chest. There are hundreds of forums about this all over the internet - we are not alone! :-) Most people have the same sorts of tests we've had, with nothing found, but most if not all seem to respond to some form of relaxation - be it a pill or a technique.

It's just getting your mind to agree with all the evidence that is the hard bit. No matter how many times you are told 'all is ok', we still seem to cling on to the thought that there might be something wrong - we just have to believe that there isn't, all we have is a mental sensitivity to our body's natural reaction to stress/fear/nervousness.
Incidentally you can search about for these physical sensations on the net, but basically when stressed the bodies natural flight or flight reponse sets your throat up for getting lots of oxygen in by closing the glottis (the space between the vocal cords at the upper part of the larynx). This gives you the lump sensation. Then every time you swallow it rubs against it - making you consious of it.

Anyway, some advice which helps me (or more specifically things I try not to do as I know it makes it worse! :-))...
1. Follow the prop up pillows / diet regime (I'm living on rice, yoghurt and naan whilst in India!)
2. Try to breathe through your nose and out through your mouth; also try not to breathe more than normal (sounds weird but you will be mildly hyperventialating when stressed, and breathing through your mouth dries the glotis to makes the feeling more apparent).
3. Try not to swallow more than normal - this is hardest one! If you can keep it under control then you'll keep the irritation to a minimum, and once de-stressed the feeling will go away quicker (stopping you getting re-stressed about it). If it really gets annoying then eat something more solid than soup, but less scratchy than bread (but to be honest most things bar chocolate or similar sticky things will be fine as long as they're well chewed).
4. Occupy your mind lots / do something very involving - then your body will go on automatic and you won't feel it.
5. Try a self-hypnosis tape / nightol / lavender bath or similar to help you sleep, the time before bed is the worst time as that's when you only have your body to think of. Dropping off whilst watching a new film is a fave, using the Wii until the early hours also works. Being more active helps you sleep quicker too, so walks/cycling with the kids help, failing that the gym.

I'm rambling now (see what I'm doing to tire myself out! it's past midnight here). I wish you luck!
M

[Linny]

thanks for that Mark, sorry you are suffering with it aswell. ive got some acid reflux tablets from the doctor so im trying them . it must be either anxiety, reflux or both!
so,im hoping that by taking cipralex and these lansoprazole one of them may work!