Constricted throat & glands up

[tag]

Hello everyone.

I'm after a bit of advice/reassurance regarding my current state of health.
It's absorbing every waking moment & indeed preventing me from sleeping properly too. It's affecting my family life and I'm so very worried that my dear wife is finally going to have had enough of my constant panicking soon.

I suffer terribly from Health Anxiety and whilst I am taking steps to try & knock it on the head for good (currently half way through a CBT stress & anxiety awareness course) I am a very regular visitor to my long-suffering but fantastically-supportive GP who is usually very good at reassuring me - until the next scare rears it's ugly head.

I'm male, almost 40 & gave up a moderate to minor smoking habit just over a year ago - one of my smarter moves, it has to be said. :)

Anyway, sorry for the preamble - my current concern is this.

For the last week or so I have had a constricted feeling at the back of my throat - a bit like the globus feeling that so many must be familiar with. Added to this, the glands in my neck seem to be raised, as are the little ones under my chin - causing what looks a bit like a double chin (although I do have one of those anyway). Last week I did have an earache in my right ear for a few hours but my throat doesn't seem to be particularly sore.

I do tend to get the odd sore throat from time to time, the left tonsil being particularly prone and I am currently being treated for long term post nasal drip with Omeprazole (to cut acid reflux down) and a steroid nasal spray - Nasonex (been using the spray for almost 3 weeks - Omeprazole a month).

I do try my best not to visit 'Dr Google' but unfortunately sometimes it's incredibly difficult to resist the urge for an ill-advised trip around the Web - hence the fact that I'm now even more petrified that it's something awful.

So, anyway - if anybody is able to give me some reassurance or has experienced something similar, I'd be ever so grateful to hear from you.

Many thanks in advance..

[Greenman50]

I get the constricted throat feeling , like someone has there thumbs pressing each side of your neck , i,m also on a ppi for acid reflux , also the globus feeling sometimes .

My doc said its tense neck muscles that causes it , through anxiety , i,ve also had the feeling of food being stuck , very worrying but it wasn,t there yesterday so i,m happier today .

Are your neck , shoulder muscles also tense ? Best thing i did was ignore it and you forget about it . I also get sore throat that can last 1/2 a day on one side or both .
Had all this on and off for four months so told myself its nothing after this lenght of time , the less i think of it the more it isn,t there .

[tag]

I get the constricted throat feeling , like someone has there thumbs pressing each side of your neck , i,m also on a ppi for acid reflux , also the globus feeling sometimes .

My doc said its tense neck muscles that causes it , through anxiety , i,ve also had the feeling of food being stuck , very worrying but it wasn,t there yesterday so i,m happier today .

Are your neck , shoulder muscles also tense ? Best thing i did was ignore it and you forget about it . I also get sore throat that can last 1/2 a day on one side or both .
Had all this on and off for four months so told myself its nothing after this lenght of time , the less i think of it the more it isn,t there .

Thanks for your reply - that's really helpful & does sound very similar to what I'm experiencing.

Yes, I do get tense shoulders & neck - a combination of poor posture (8 hours a day in front of monitors) and the inevitable tensing which comes with worry & stress. My chiropractor usually manages to sort it when it gets too much but I try & catch myself when I slouch or get stressed.

I did wonder if it might be the tension I create within myself that causes the throat 'tightness' & I know that globus is a major symptom of anxiety.

It's just that when you've got yourself into the self-perpetuating circle of worry it's quite a task to be rational as you have evidently been and 'see the wood for the trees' (love the quote: "the less i think of it the more it isn,t there" :)).

Thanks again, it's good of you to respond.

[Greenman50]

My Doc said straight away when i mentioned the throat tighness that its all connected to the neck and shoulder muscles , it does feel horrible and i found the more i worried the more i swallowed to see if it was getting better , then the globus feeling arrived , then the swallowing issue i had .

Sounds exactly like mine . Its hard to believe that stress can cause all this , but i,ve had days symptym free (it took ages to go) so my doc said that proves its nothing sinister or it would be there all the time .
Its such a strange feeling the thraot tightness but it will go .

[tag]

It never ceases to amaze me just what stress is capable of.

I've lost count of the various things I've experienced because of it - all of it terrifying to a greater or lesser degree and pretty much all of it caused by stress and anxiety.

Great to hear that you have the symptom-free days - I notice that the constriction does seem to come and go throughout the day - quite often I'll find myself thinking of something else & then my mind will return to 'The Problem' whereby the symptoms come back. Just like now for example..

I have an appointment booked at the Doctors tomorrow so I'll have him take a look then.

Cheers.