Throat Tightness-please Help

My throat has felt tight, almost like someone is squeezing/choking my neck for about two weeks, i thought it was a thyroid issue but my tests came back just perfectly normal. It's on and off everyday, makes it hard to talk for long amounts of time, makes it hard to swallow sometimes. I even gag because it gets to be too much. Please help!

could it be anxiety?
cause when i get really stressed out my throat feels like im being choked.

just an idea.

donnako, thanks a lot
you remind me something now. i do have sinuses, at night sometimes i can't breath through my nose, i have to use mouth to breath. that could cause a lot of trouble. i suspect that the dust and airboned particles in the room may carry germs. i have order a air purifier and dehumidifier. i will see how all these helps.

gingerelizabeth, i am not sure how anxiety takes effect on the symptoms. sometimes it's hard to verify, because nowadays seems most of us are kind of stressed. you can always blame it for any bad things. but that could be part of the reason.

Hello to all: I am responding b/c I have had the sensation of a feeling of a golf ball in my throat for the last month! It all started when I pulled a muscle in my neck doing a back stretching excercise! The next morning, my whole upper body was in a spasm, I couldn't turn my head and it hurt to burp, laugh or cry! The severity of that has passed but a couple of weeks after, my throat started having this sensation. (it still really seizes up when I cry......laughing is ok unless I laugh alot or hard!) It was going into my chest and shoulder. I went to the ER thinking it could be my heart! They admitted me and after 2 days of every heart test, have ruled out that its not my heart! I do have acid reflux (7 years) and have been on different meds for that. My GI doc changed my med to Nexium twice a day with an "anti-depressant" medication in the evening. No one seems to have ever heard of these symtoms! Very distessing to me. It is completely not there in the morning when I wake up but 10-15 min after, it all comes back! I did see an orthopedic dr too who did an MRI, nothing showed up but arthritic changes in my neck. My neck is always painful and stiff, esp in the back.
A muscle relaxer does help me making me know this is muscular. Reading all of the other responses and that it can last a long time does not make me feel good! I will be seeing an ENT if this Nexium doesn't work!
Please all...keep me posted on your progress as I will mine!
Massage therapy sounds like it might help......saw a chiro too in the beginning.....not much relief! K

karen, my symptons also started with back/neck pain too. in my case, it came from the pillow, when it's hurt , for a day a very strong air conditioning blew the cold air to my neck, in the room i work. and then the weather suddenly turned cold. i tried massage and hot bath, it helps a little. but since i change the pillow and took ibuprofen 2 days. the pain disappear very soon but it could come back if you are not careful. it happened to me twice one month after that. so i think the best way is to rest that part of muscle, but dont exercise it for at least a month after you feel that it's healed. now for the throat problem, i had that 10 days after i got the back pain, and it stays much longer. i had these 2 things together for about 2 weeks. i m pretty sure they are related. but i dont know how. i think it could be the also relate to the spinal bone position. keep us posted if you try anything new.

I have suffered with this condition since December of 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina. I have been to Gastro. doctor and have had an endoscope and since then had my espoghaus stretch 4 times. This last time was the worst....and the doctor told me that my throat was VERY TIGHT and this would last a long time....needless to say 4 days later here I am typing feeling like I being choked to death. i don't know how much longer I can take this. I take 2 medication for anxiety and depression and that is not helping...Anyone have suggestion...I would love to be stress free...but I am worry wart and that is just my nature...HELP

Tonya--read through all the posts if you already haven't. It's very possible it's drainage or acid reflux. Have to find an ENT and will treat both and you might get relief. A lot of people who have posted have been through all the tests already. I guess Docs just do not know what this is. Check out the cricopharyngeal spasms as mentioned in posts.

Well folk, it's been several months since my last post. Good new, good news, and a lil bad news. For one, my Acid Reflux is gone. I guess it was because of the low immunity I had while infected with thrush and all the medications I was taking. Another good news is that I haven't had a panic/anxiety attack nor throught tightness... This was due to my muscles and upper EPS and neck healed. The bad news, due to my work, the stress has been a lot and, with it, that lil lump sensation. Taking Diazepam and IB Profen, again, and so far it has been getting better.
I guess I need to start getting massages after each trip. I hope this has made everyone feel better or more informed. Cricopharyngeal spasms is basicaly what I had and could have if I don't take care of myself to prevent it.

I am having all the same symptoms as everyone mentions and if scaring me to death.

Tightness in the throat is worst when I lay down and then I cant swallow and then I have to false swallow, its making me to so stressed.

I have not been to a doctor because Im freaked out. Looking at what everyone else is saying it sounds like im not alone and it would be good to hear what helps clear the symptoms we all seem to be having.

Jason, 35, London - England

Glad I found this forum! I've had a lot of these symptoms since late Dec. I had pneumonia with asthma and was on anti biotics and a steroid inhaler. Ever since, I've had this sensation of a knot in my throat and tightness. Feels like I have a popcorn kernal stuck and I cant get it up or down. Lately, it seems like its a fungus. Seems like I have shedding of the inside of my mouth. Been to the Doc twice. They say it doenst look like oral thrush cause I dont have the white plaque stuff, but I've been on nystatin rinse and Dyflucan. Nothings working. Meanwhile, tightness continues. I can swallow, but it feels strange. Thirsty all the time but never feel like thirst is quenched. Going back to the ENT doc this week. Will check out the cricopharyngeal spasm info, but not sure if it fits all my symptoms. Any info or suggestions would be very helpful!