cleniching and tightening in my throat and tongue

[andy123]

hey everyone,

last night right before i got ready to go to bed i started having this odd tightening feeling in my throat directly under my chin and in my tongue.

it felt like the muscles in that area were tightening, and clenching up, kind of a contracting feeling only it was very uncomfortable and scary. kind of felt like i was having a charley horse in my throat althought it wasnt one but thats the only way to explain it. it just felt like somehting in my throat was getting pushed out forward into my neck under my chin right above my atomsapple and casuing it hard to swallow and be comfortable. i suffer from anxiety and have been doing alright lately but it struck me hard last night. i took a xanax and within the hour the feeling subsided and i eventually went to sleep. but today i am still thinking about it hoping it doesnt happen again because it was quite scary, almost felt like i was choking on my tongue or was going to swallow it, although im sure it was all in my head.

i just wanted to see if anyone else who suffers from anxiety or panic attacks, ever expirienced this feeling because it scared me alot. any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

[bottleblond]

Hi andy

Yup this is a definate problem for me too!
Have you noticed at all if your tongue is resting on the roof of your mouth or in the normal position?

Also check if your shoulders are tense! all is a symptom of stress/anxiety and completely harmless.

If so then just try to distract from thinking about it. Have a warm drink too as this can also help!

Take care hun
Lisa
xx

[andy123]

Hi andy

Yup this is a definate problem for me too!
Have you noticed at all if your tongue is resting on the roof of your mouth or in the normal position?

Also check if your shoulders are tense! all is a symptom of stress/anxiety and completely harmless.

If so then just try to distract from thinking about it. Have a warm drink too as this can also help!

Take care hun
Lisa
xx

thanks lisa,

it was odd, ive had this feeling a few times before but never this intense, you know when your expiriencing anxiety like right at the breaking point from going from anxiety to a full blown panic attack but you somehow tell yourself alright im going to be ok and you calm yourself down for a second just to be able to focus. well during that point the muscles in my tongue and throat just locked up and i felt like i couldnt breath or swallow. and the more water i drank, the more cotton mouthed i got, so i finally said enough is enough, i know this has got to be anxiety and took a xanax.

my tongue was resting in the normal position, but underneath my tongue is where i was getting the muscle spasm's and in my neck, throat area right under my tongue, kind of hard to explain without be able to show you the exact spot. anyway though i could feel it pulsating and it kind of felt swollen in that area. real scary feeling, just felt like my muscle was pushing outward of my throat and that area was clenching up.

see this is the first week i havnt taken any xanax because i really want to get over my anxiety by myself and i thought mabe because ive been real panicky without it, that somehow my body just spazzed out finally.

i never was addicted to xanax but i was becoming quite dependant on it in the sense i would take it right during anxiety instead of coping with it on my own. i went to the doctor this week too and he said i was fine, i just needed to learn how to relax. and ive been doing pretty good. but i still have my daily jitters of anxiety but that feeling last night really freaked me out. it was just very intense and lasted for a lot longer then i thought it would. creeped me out a bit because i was thinking that it wasnt anxiety at first because it was the only symptom i had and normally when i have anxiety, i have like 3-5 different scary sensations happening all at the same time so i really thought there was something wrong with the muscles in my neck. im just going to try not to think about it and stay positive.