Can hardly eat.

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Hi I did post here not so long ago. I am 28 years old.

My anxienty has developed since I had a panic attack on a short plane flight. That was over a month ago.

My latest problem is my throat. I have been to 3 doctors who have put it all down to anxiety.

I constantly feel pleghm in my throat and I am intimidated by eating. I occasionaly bring up (not cough up) a very thick glue like substance. Before I eat I am more aware of my throat, I am constantly feeling the need to swallow. I have lost some weight (not a bad thing as I was a little overweight for my height). I feel the need to spit a lot and sometimes I see food in the phglem which scares me

When I do manage to eat I sometimes get a mild, i wouldnt say painful, twinge on the right side of my chest and the adjacent in my back.

Im off to Spain on Saturday and am a little apprehensive. I guess going on holiday will be good to take my mind off things. Doc prescribed me some Citalopram but im not going to take them as they seem to have more side effects than good. Guess Im writing here to gain reassurance. Does this ever go away? I used to be such a good eater! :-(

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Also my breating changes after eating. Can anyone relate/advise?

[kinnygirl1]

Hi

I know when I am at my most anxious my swallowing and breathing are affected. I think it is from concentrating on them too much.It makes the muscles tight and so it is harder to process food and swallow properly. I also get a feeling like I can't breathe and eat at the same time.

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Thanks for the reply :-)

I dont know where this anxiety thing has come from?? Im normally such a positve outgoing person but this throat thing is stressing me out. It feels like there is a constant presence in my throat!

[kinnygirl1]

Thats anxiety hun! A "lump" in the throat is a classic sympton. Distraction is the best thing you can do, like some gentle exercise or go and chat to a friend (not about this though).

Hope this helps. x

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

I even asked the doc for a blood test and possibility of ENT referral but he refused to believe there was anything wrong, which should theoretically calm me but I worry they have missed something.

He said most ENT cases he refers turn out to be nothing.. You ever followed it up? Is yours a constant feeling?

[kinnygirl1]

No never followed it up. I have accepted that that particular feeling is caused by my aniexty because I can kind of understand it. Its not constant but regular I would say. My main worries are about my heart and no amount of GP reassurance on that one calms me so I do know how you feel. x

[kinnygirl1]

OOh just had another thought -someone recently gave me a tip of always having a bottle of water with me and sipping when I feel anxiety rising (in my case fast heart rate or funny breathing). It kind of helps your body take over the breathing whislt you are drinking (sounds wierd I know) I wonder if that would help you too with it being a swallowing thing?

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Thanks for your input. I do hope we all get better. I never really sympathised with people with anxiety in the past but I feel so bad now I am suffering it. Its awful and I need to control it. Its affecting my lufe :-(

[kinnygirl1]

it is awful but knowing we are not alone is a comfort. YOu will get better. x

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

be good to hear anyone else who is having these issues. Im particularily interested in if anyone has this constantly (not just every now and again)

[allergyphobia]

it sounds like you are suffering with post nasal drip and acid reflux or both. i have had both of these and it caused me to stop eating basically through fear! please do not fall down this slippery slope. i would highly recommend you start a nasal rinse, google neil-med neti pot, you can get them off amazon.

the sensation you are describing is mucus running down your throat - i have completely had the glue you are talking about but it's MUCH less since i have had nose sprays and nasal rinse.

anxiety makes both of these conditions worse, and post nasal drip can often be caused by acid and vice versa. please ask your doctors about this.

i have been to an ENT specialist and had a camera up my nose and viewed my throat, it was a complete waste of time. he said i was on the best nasal spray possible and had to 'ride it out'

you have to find strength to believe this is anxiety and possibly PND/acid...please continue eating whatever you fancy little and often whenever you fancy whatever you fancy.....

sorry this is rushed i am work.

both these conditions and anxiety give me tight throat that is very uncomfortable.

this is very common and you are not alone!!!!!

x

[allergyphobia]

oh and chest/back twinges is all connected with acid reflux!

[Anxiousmess]

Ooohh yes, sorry just had to post here, ive had this horrible horrible sensation in the throat, it feels like someone is pushing there fingers real hard on ur throat all day long, i think whats happening is ur anxious and ur muscles in ur throat are tensing up.. i know its horrible, but i i can also tell you that it is anxiety, hope u get better soon xxxx

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Many thanks for taking the time to respond. My doctor gave me beconase spray to use twice a day been using for over a week and still no better.

Can post nasal drip really last for 3-4 weeks?

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Thanks to you too Anxiousmess! Great name btw ;-)

[allergyphobia]

i have had a post nasal drip for over a year!

beconase won't do much, you need a steroid nasal spray like avamys.

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

The beconase spray says it is a steroid? Is that not the case?

[Helmet]

I had eating problem too. I just forgot how to eat. But I knew that I have to eat.
I even panicked when was going to eat . The point is I sometimes just ate watery foods but then I decided to back to eating and push the bit to my mouth!! It was horrible but till now more than 3 years I have succeed for that. I was very stressful maybe of going to death.
Those days I had a friend of mine told me a quote from The Gladiator movie that he likes:

Maximus (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172495/quotes): I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
DO NOT GO WRONG it is not a suicidal quote :winks:

Maybe for you now, my words sound s||t but just relax.
When I introduce myself here I mentioned that I kinda hate any type of aircraft. I cannot go into a plane while my very best friend is a pilot! and in our childhood we two wanted to be astronauts :blush:
Planes ruined my life I always said this. but maybe someday I could overcome that maybe not ...
Hope this help a little bit.

[Fedupofbeinglikethis]

Thank you for your words!

Its really annoying, last night I literally threw my knive and fork like a child because I simply couldnt eat a bowl of pasta :-( Had a complan instead. Im flying to Spain tomorrow for a week in the sun. Just hope I dont get panicy over there.

Last night, in bed, it felt wierd like my throat was closing up. Really scary but I guess all part and parcel of the anxiety.

[Helmet]

And something else
My English listening is not that good but maybe this video helps: Flying (http://www.fearofflying.com/store/free-video.shtml)
Please tell me after your trip....

(http://www.fearofflying.com/store/free-video.shtml)

[Davinci817]

It could just be plain old nasty anxiety but as another poster noted it sounds like it could be GERD as well. If you read on RLR's website http://palps.chemicalforums.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl you can read up on how GI issues can cause anxiety issues. Also have you had your thyroid checked? Believe low thyroid can cause the lump in the throat feeling and thick mucous feeling, can also cause anxiety!

I do have health anxiety now thanks to a long time of being misdiagnosed/ignored. So I am not denying anxiety is real and can cause many of these things.

My personal experience went from an anxiety diagnosis for 4 years to a GERD diagnosis, to an HPylori (stomach bacteria) diagnosis and then to GB issues and now having an endoscope to make sure I don't have an ulcer, hernia or scarring from all of the damage the previous GI issues caused.

Five weeks out from GB removal and have not had chest pain or panic attacks in three weeks. My anxiety is very low and I think that is because the severe chest pain, vomiting, lump in my throat feeling like my food was stuck and all of the other gut issues that were going on are now GONE. Instead of a constant fear, now it is just a little tick in my brain when something hurts.

You know your body. If you haven't had anxiety up until now, demand that things are checked out first. When I spoke with my surgeon at my follow up visit and was told "you were a very sick woman and had been for a long time" it was a relief to finally know that it wasn't all in my head! Sadly it was to late and I had developed HA :(.