This board is so wonderful! I can not believe how some of your post sound exactly like me! I am scheduled for an upper endoscopy on Tuesday . I have just been feeling worse and worse all day, the lump , the tightness in my throat , all of you have described it so perfectly> I can't wait until this test is over and I hope so much it is just due to anxiety. I am 58 yrs. old and I worry so much about cancer. Your post help reassure me and help me feel so much better mentally.

Well I had the scope down the throat done and it showed everything seems fine. There were two narrow places that the dr. stretched, which did not feel good let me tell you, even in my "drug induced stupor" it woke me and felt painful while he did it. Well I still get a lump feeling off and on and other weird feelings behind my adams' apple area, kind of like there is a piece of something that won't go down the pipe ! even when I turn my head side to side I feel like there is something in there moving around, it is weird. I just hope the endoscopy would of found anything bad (tumor) and I will stay on the Protonic , the doc said it can take 3 mo. on the Protonic to get rid of the lump feeling.........we will see

I'm having a lump in throat feeling and this makes me really scared. Its my 1st time having this feeling suddenly. I could eat, drink without much prob but i constantly keep thinking what's stuck in my throat. Sometime i breathe in deeply to ward off the lump sensations but its still sitting right in the middle of my throat. Whenever I feel anxious, excited or scared its abit painful at the middle of the throat, sometimes its not painful...Or whenever i got the urge to cry the lump prevents me to cry....this is really annoying and sometimes i would think i'm goin to die any moment. Pls help!!!

I'm having a lump in throat feeling and this makes me really scared. Its my 1st time having this feeling suddenly. I could eat, drink without much prob but i constantly keep thinking what's stuck in my throat. Sometime i breathe in deeply to ward off the lump sensations but its still sitting right in the middle of my throat. Whenever I feel anxious, excited or scared its abit painful at the middle of the throat, sometimes its not painful...Or whenever i got the urge to cry the lump prevents me to cry....this is really annoying and sometimes i would think i'm goin to die any moment. Pls help!!!

Well, I am the lifelong lump in the throat girl. I know this doesn't make any of you optimistic but I have been looking for an answer ever since I was 12 years old and I am now almost 28. I have been having a really bad spell this past year. I hate the feeling of not being able to breathe and feeling like you are going to die. I have never thought of myself as an anxious person and it is happening to me so I don't believe all the doctors that say it's anxiety. I did try taking an anxiety medication for a few weeks once just to try and it did nothing for me. I have had all the tests that are imaginable to be told that I am normal. I never thought I would cry when I am told that nothing is wrong with me because more than anything I just want someone to say that I have something wrong and now we are going to fix it. Here recently I have been so bad that I can't exercise at all or even walk up one flight of stairs without having to stop and relax for a while. I try to tell my doctors, my family doctor, my obgyn, my ear, nose & throat doctor etc. and they all blow me off like I am a young paranoid girl with anxiety problems. I think I am starting to accept that I will never be normal and that my life will eventually end and not know what is wrong with me. I used to be such a spontaneous, fun, adventurous person when the lump didn't bother me this much but now that it's almost constant I pretty much have no fun. I tried going camping a few weeks ago and I do believe that anxiety makes it worse because I seriously just had to lay down and make myself fall asleep. My family loves to walk trails and I do too but there is just no way. If anyone has been experiencing the same symptoms and knows the answer than please tell me. I would be the most thankful person in the entire world.

Kasey

i logged on today to see if i had some hideous condition and you have all described my experiences to a tee. thank you all for sharing.

This SENSATION is very common with severe anxiety and is technically called "globus hystericus" (Latin rough translation: A lump or round feeling caused by hysteria). I had it off and on for 2-3 years when my anxiety was bad. I was seeing a psychiatrist at the time and because I was so worried about it and because my GP said it was anxiety (but of course I did not believe him) my psychiatrist suggested I get a "barium swallow" X-Ray to show it and also rule out other upper GI things. It can be caused by GERD also, but even then, it is easily controlled by Pepcid or other mild drugs you can get from your doctor or a GI specialist. So that is a good thing to rule out if you have not already.

I went for the "barium test" and the doctor was very nice to actually show me the spot where due to tight tense muscles I actually had a very SMALL constriction, but by no means would it affect my eating or breathing. He said he saw it alot. I was relieved and also, because mine came and went and got worse when I was really anxious, it was pretty clear that anxiety and also sometimes indigestion causing what they call "esophageal fullness" put abit more pressure on my lower throat and made the sensation feel abit worse.

As I learned to relax more and not focus on it, it went away. Also, when it was bad, I would not eat alot so my indigestion from the anxiety did not make it worse.

Just like when we get a "lump in the throat" when we are very emotional or scared, due to many reasons, those same muscles cause the sensation of "globus" you sound like you have been feeling. If you are really bothered, ask your doctor to order a barium swallow test for you, or an ENT doctor can also reassure you by doing an in office test that you do not have any tumors or anything else there but the sensation caused by very tight throat muscles, caused by....good old anxiety.

Hope this info. helps and is reassuring.

Remember, what you focus on will usually become more intense. So learning how to blow it off and distract yourself or say to yourself "I am OK, it is just because I am feeling anxious," will go a long way in it going away for good or if you do get it, it will not bother you much.

same deal here. mine comes and goes. couple good days and then "bam!" in my research i came upon this. probably the most comforting writing on the subject i've found as it describes my symptoms to a "t".

check it out....
http://www.voicedoctor.net/therapy/cps.htm l

good luck everyone.

Hey guys and girls this site has been alot of help and I have read almost everything about lump in the throat on this web site. However I have a symptom that I'm not sure any of you have sometimes when I swallow it feels like my throat is popping, now this usually happens in the morning and goes away through out the day unless my throat gets real dry. I have anxiety and have had panic attacks and I hope for my sake lol that someone will tell me they have these same symptoms thanks

It is definately from anxiety. I am mostly always dizzy and get very faint feelings and a tight throat like it is closing in on me and I won't be able to breath. It is the worst feeling. I just try to relax and possible meditate of do yoga or thing to get my mind off it but usually under any kind of stress the dizziness and tight throat comes back. I just hope it doesn't last forever it is not a very nice life to live this way. God bless.

I'm a 19 year old female with anxiety problems. For the past two weeks I have been having chest pain, muscle pain, anxiety attacks at night.... and what worries me the most is the "lump" in the throat feeling. I've been to the hospital and the doctor did blood tests and all, and said nothing was wrong with me and it was just stress. It's weird though, I'm still convinced there is something wrong with me. I always have to think the worst - and it drives me crazy. I cry, I pray, I try to distract myself but the second I think about my health I become miserable all over again. Has anyone come over this anxiety, and, if so, what is some advice you can give me?

I'm hopeless

1. I can take the metaphysical spiritual karmic route and explain this or

2. I can take the resultant neurological route and explain it...

Since neurology is measurable... lets stick with that.

Your body is the dashboard of your mind. What ever you think... is relayed down to your tailbone via the spinal column. IF you have an emotional experience... your heart rate accelerates. Thats because your brain send stimulation to the thoracic nerve ganglia that then pushes that nervous activity to your heart.

IF ... in your case.. you get a lump in your throat... the brain is used to pushing out vocal nervous impulses through your cervical vertebrae... aka your voice box... the adams apple. WHEN you experience anxiety that manifests in neck tension... the reason is simple...

YOU ARE CONFLICTED ABOUT SOMETHING TO SAY OR TELL

Think about it... intense emotional experience accellerates the heart...
intense knowledge based experience (like seedy goship) accellerates the flapping of the lips. And yes... intense mental cognitive - imagination accellerates the rate your eyelids blink.

Next time your throat gets a lump, SPEAK UP. SPEAK YOUR MIND. Only then, your brain will relax...

For months now I have been experiencing mostly nausea problems which I have been to doctor's, gi specialists, and had an mri for. Many time, along with the nausea, I have a lump in my throat that almost feels like mucus that wont go down, and has painful effects, ones that make my throat feel very tight. A lot of time before doctor visits, or tests, I get this sort of anxiety, which is accompanied by intense nausea. Doctor's have not found any problems with my Stomach, Gall Bladder, or Brain, which they suspected my symptoms would've come from. This had added to my anxiety I think, the confusion, and frustration with not knowing what is wrong with me. Lately I have started istening to Eckhart Tole on my i-pod, and his book called the power of now. It really gives a lot of great solutions to anxiety issues, which cause physical symptoms, and explains things that may be effecting you, maybe things you've never even heard of. I strongly reccommend this to anyone who is experiencing anxiety related issues.

i just found out that i have a lump in my throat,doctors said i need surgery asap he said it was polyp ,what is it and what should i do i'm scared but i will have the surgery .what happen after words ,how will i feel ,do they go in my throat or cut my neck ,what.help

I always have lump in my throat. It started when i had my first panic attack. Right now, i am experiencing an extreme feeling anxiety for at least twice a week. And i always feel the sensation of having a muscle or phlegm in my throat every time i have an attack.

While i am encoding this message, I am experiencing this dream like sensation, I want to seek help so I am here.

I thank everyone for your honest response to the lump in your throat. I have been experiencing mine off and on for about three weeks now, but I have always experienced some hoarsiness and uncomfort in my throat anyway, but this is different. I feel very anxious like something good or bad is going to happen. Waiting for alot of good things to happen in my life so I hope that's the anxiety i'm feeling. Like alot of you that posted a comment. I was thinking do I have throat cancer? All the worst things I could think of, was running thru my mind. I'm very glad to see people who feel like I do and I'm going to try and focus on some good thoughts. Have a great no lump in the throat day!

I had Gerds after my second pregnancy but I also had anxiety, the anixiety would make my nerves go off, I would eat more and the gerds would get worse.

Anyways I was provided with a prescription for Losec(pri-losec) and an anti-depressant/anxiety.

A few months later, I was fine, changed my diet, didn't have the anxiety and started to loose weight. You need to rule out GI problems like anothe poster said but sometimes the two of them go hand in hand~!

Hi, I sometimes also have globus. I don't have it right now but I have developed a fear of not being able to swallow or breathe. It is really bad when I eat and think I'm going to choke and feel like I have bits of food stuck in my throat. It really sucks. I don't want to go back on antianxiety meds but think I may have to. I also sometimes wake up in the nigth with a racing heart and have to remind myself to breathe as tho I've forgotten.

I developed the 'lump in the throat' problem after experiencing 4 intense weeks of bushfires here in Australia. After seeing a specialist and having a CT scan, nothing seems to be evident. I am beginning to reconsider the possibility that this could be stress related, which is great, because it's something I can do something about myself without having to resort to medication.

Lets see If I can describe my problem well. I have had anxiety related symptoms for over 10 years but just started having a "closing throat" feeling or pressure down below my adams apple. It seemed to make my breath irregular as well. I do smoke so I thought it might be related to that but the more I read and think about it its gotta be a new manifestation of my anxiety. As soon as I take a xanax it goes away completely which is a sure sign that its that. The fear of it bounced me off of a good diet and into more sweets which may have hurt more than helped so diet plays a role. ( see a nutritionist about lowering bread, sweets, fats, etc).

I was paranoid that it was lung problems but I breathe fine and just get a pressing feeling in my throat that is uncomfortable. Its seems to be the worst at 8 pm and not so bad during the day. I thought about alot of tests but I am so sure its anxiety that I may just skip those. I also thought that the generic xanax may be causing it so I switched to name brand to see, but not sure that will help.

There are alot of readings to make you paranoid but if it was COPD I would have a cough and bad lungs so its not that. If it were allergies I think I would be sneezing and have cold like symptoms and dont. If it were a tumor or blockage it wouldnt go away right away after taking anti anxiety meds. If it were some sort of physical blockage I would be coughing up phlem or blood or something i would think. The mystery is why would anxiety effect such a concentrated area and give me a sense of strangulation. My blood oxygen levels are fine and I ruled out carbon monoxide poisening in my living space or bad air etc. no dust mites, etc.

It has become a process of elimination but I dont like having a dependency on the xanax twice to three times a day at 0.25 mg.

I thought of food allergies to my regular items like milk, Vegetable juice, breads, eggs, turkey bacon, turkey burger, chicken, but cant identify one that may be causing it.

I know that I must drop smoking but the complex part is that it seems to get so much worse when I quit the cigarettes cold turkey. That I need to light up to ease the symptoms. Strange when you think about how anxiety mixes with cigarettes. ITs a major ????

So it has been a few weeks with an uncomfortable and yes scary problem and the only way I found to deal with it is to switch it off with xanax. Wish I had a better way, Also decongestents seem to help a little. Sore throat sprays, tea, chicken soup, vicks and steemers, Primastine Mist inhalers, etc all have been tried but only treat the symptoms and do not prevent recurrence.

I have not tried any Acid Reflux treatments for wouldnt I feel pain in my stomach somewhat if it was that ?

So other than anti anxiety meds I would love to find better solutions for that may just be shifting the problem to another addiction of meds.