long term sore throat

[Saty09]

any further update on the subject ? I am also having similar problem (for last two months) and trying to figureout what's to be done. Does anyone know about root causes

[ashyam86343]

My root cause is Acid reflux / trapped gas.

[TuesdayBlue]

Have you tried regular gargling with salt water?

[sydverne]

Hi All
I got my appointment brought forward as I was so worried.
Here's what I thought I had:
Oropharyngeal cancer: on the rise significantly in my age group due to hpv virus. Symptoms: pain when swallowing, localised sore throat, swollen glands in neck that are not tender close to site of sore throat. I had all of these.
Here's what the ear nose throat cancer specialist who I saw on my private medical insurance said I had:
A left swollen lingual tonsil. This is an area of cells down the back of your throat (who knew the tonsils went down there). From the camera he saw it looked a bit swollen from the viral infection. The infection is causing my lymph nodes closest to it to swell in response. He said he would give me an MRI anyway as I have private insurance for peace of mind. Then I will follow up on the nhs with an ENT (he specialised in cancer only).
Beyond relieved I cannot tell you. Can't believe something as simple as this isn't online anywhere! Obviously if your sore throat or swollen gland lasts longer than 3 weeks go to your doc to be on the safe side!

Thanks for this

[Shariq123]

Hi Guys, I am sorry but this is going to be a long message....

I started feeling irritation in my throat about 1.5 month ago along with muscle cramps in my neck near the collar bone and neck base and at times in my throat , showed it to my GP and he asked me take antibiotics, took the antibiotics for sometime, no relief. Another doctor gave me GERD medicines, no relief. I tried home remedies like salt water gargle, sipping warm honey water, black or green tea, pivodine gargles, etc, no relief.

Finally my ENT did a upper endoscopy, numbbed my throat and looked in with a camera. He told me my throat was clear and suggested me to visit a psychiatrist. I narrated the whole story to my psychiatrist. She immediately put me on Olanzapine (2.5 MG) daily and asked me to conduct Vit D, TSH & Calcium tests. All came normal except Vit D, which showed moderate deficiency. On the next visit to my psychiatrist, she prescribed me oral Vit D supplement (1 tab / week of 50000 IU) and added Tegretol (Carbamazepine) to my daily dose of Olanzapine.

I can safely say that I have experienced quite a bit of reduction in my symptoms, lesser irritation in my throat and the neck cramps are almost gone. She has asked me to take these medicines for 1 month and visit her again. I think, the next time she will ask me to tapper down the medications as it cannot be stopped abruptly (which might have some side effects).

To conclude, the problem is majorly in the mind rather than actual symptoms presented. I suggest to all those who are suffering from a long term throat irritation to visit a psychiatrist and tell them your detailed story. I, like others, also feared of fatal problems like cancer or other terminal illnesses but fortunately its not the case.

Visit a psychiatrist and he/she might be able to help you out. Do let me know your comments. Waiting to hear from you all.