tight throat

[allergyphobia]

Hi All,

I haven't posted in a while, as I have been having CBT and trying to keep my head above water and not reading too much into things, however this has been bothering me. As some of you may know my main sticking point is my rather strange food phobia that I have developed. I have gotten quite nervous around food and even safe foods are difficult for me sometimes. However i have started noticing sometimes when i am eating, or after, i develop a really tight throat, almost like someone had their hands around my neck. it is SO uncomfortable, and me being me thinks this is my throat swelling up but the rational side of me says....this is probably just my anxiety giving me the cruelest symptom possible? Any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly received :) thanks all x

[allergyphobia]

just bumping this now it's a bit busier x

[suzy-sue]

Theres loads of posts on this .Its caused by the muscle in the throat going into spasm .Its a symptom of anxiety .The more you think about it and take notice of it the worse it gets .Maybe you could try to distract yourself a bit whilst eating / play some music or watch the tv .The Dr could perscribe you a muscle relaxant ie Baclofen or Diaz .for a short time to get you out of the viscious circle you are in at the moment .Im sure there will be lots of useful tips in the other posts you may find helpful tho .Hope you feel better soon ,ive had it myself and you have my sympathy .Relaxation is the key ..Easier said than done tho lol .t/c Sue x

[ziggy]

I have the exact same phobia as you, along with a healthy dose of general health anxiety as well... In the early days of my anxiety I kept getting dealt symptom after symptom from my anxiety - and as soon as I was convinced that one was only due to panic either by rationalisation or by being fully tested and checked, it would vanish only to be replaced by another symptom and the cycle would start again.

One of the symptoms that I experienced was the 'lump in the throat' feeling and general throat tightness (feeling like it was swelling etc - NOT good considering the allergy phobia, so i feel your pain!!). I ended up getting a referral to the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, and was seen fairly quickly (it's funny, it's true what they say about health anxiety, even though I asked for the referral etc, the fact that the doctor gave it to me - on my insistance - managed to convince me that they obviously thought something serious really was going on!)... When I got to the ENT specialist, he asked all sorts of questions and looked in my ears, up my nose, in my mouth etc... then, just when I thought he was finished and had declared me healthy, THEN he did the ol "now before you go I'll just have a quick look in your throat with a small camera" trick!! He got a big long instrument that looked like a snake-light and put it up my nose, and fed it into my throat so that he could look at it on the screen!!!! Gargh!!! The pain! The discomfort! Let me tell you, there is nothing - NOTHING! - more uncomfortable than the feeling of something being shoved up your nose and down your throat, then having it hanging around in the back of your throat whilst you try desperately, but in vain, not to give into the natural instict to swallow!! Oh, and having to count backwards from 10 whilst all this is happening!!!! yergh!

On the up side - this did achieved two things though:
1. He was so thorough, I had absolutely no doubt that if there was something actually wrong, he would've picked it up; and
2. whenever I get that feeling, I remember that camera and am absolutely SURE that I never NEVER want that test again, so I've got a weapon against myself to make myself move away from that feeling and it subsequently goes away..

Moral of the story - if you're really REALLY worried, go and get it checked and if you do happen to go to the ENT specialist and he/she does this check, you'll be cured for life!! Otherwise, for a less dramatic treatment, there are massage techniques which you can use, as well as breathing/relaxation techniques that will ease the sensation.

One of things i use to comfort myself when I'm having that "omg I'm having an anaphylactic reaction" feeling, is to rationalise that if I was really having a full blown anaphylactic reaction, I wouldn't really have time to think that thought... I'd be more worried about other things - like breathing!!

[Thumbelina]

Hi,

I also had this, and once when i got to ER with the bad panic attack on top of all the other stuff i told the doctor i have smth in my mouth and i cant swallow even, and then he gave me a drink and said drink now in front of me, and he wouldn leave me alone, and then i obviously swallowed a drink and looked like a right fool, which i didnt care about at that moment, because I trully believed myself i cant swollow at all.

It is amaising what we can think we feel while in anxiety state.

[clanshankly]

Hi

Long story, but hopefully you will find it worth it in the end.

This was the first stress symptom I experienced, and predated the panic attacks by about 3 months.
I do a lot of singing, for work and pleasure, and one day I opened my mouth to sing, and literally no sound came out. When I did get any sound out, I found I had lost the top 7 or 8 notes from my range, they just sounded strangled.

I got this checked out immediately, and was sent for the scary camera down throat check! Diagnosis, no nodules, cancer or any of the things I had frightened myself it might be. I was sent for speech therapy, and during the wait for the appointment, I developed panic disorder.

By the time I saw the speech therapist - I was a right old mess, but I now had the realisation and understanding that my inability to sing was a result of stress - and I confessed this to her.

She was brilliant, completely understanding - and she asked me to stand on one leg, bounce a ball up and down and sing. And guess what - I sang - really well. Because my mind was completely distracted by balancing and co-ordinating myself.

I keep reminding myself of this small miracle she performed, because it demonstrated in an incredibly powerful and practical way the power of the mind over the body.

Hope this helps!

Jacqui

[CrazyCatLady]

Thanks Jacqui, that's really interesting! I might try that next time, I think I have some juggling balls around here somewhere...

OP I have the same phobia whenever I eat nuts, even if I have eaten them hundreds of times before! I always think I've somehow "developed" an allergy.

You posted this awhile ago, and I hope you've found some relief, but fyi, I like to have yogurt drinks handy in the fridge, as it feels really soothing to me after, and relaxes my throat.

[loudspeaker]

I have the tight throat symptom again, I have found that trying to relax and breathing slowly often helps.