Need some help here if possible. Recently, I had some heartburn and some excessive burping urges, or at least so I thought.....Began to panic about various cancers.....Went to see a gastro specialist who seemed to think all was ok but scheduled me for an endoscopy since I have a history of being a hypocondriac. While waiting the two weeks for the endoscopy, also developed what I term as a lump in the throat and a tightening of my neck muscles. There is also the feeling if I take a deep breath that reminds me of the shuddering that a kid would do after crying for a long time....Or if thrown into a cold shower suddenly.....Anyway, cutting to the chase, the endoscopy showed a slight irratation to the lower esophagas, bioposy came back negative and since my initial fear was cancer of the esophagas, I felt relieved....My throat still felt the same but initially, I figured he was just in there, if there was this huge lump, he'd have seen it, right? Well, leave it to me....In a matter of days, I became convinced that since he was a gastro guy, his interests were strictly the esophogas and the stomach.....He probably didn't even look at my throat...Although the camera had to enter through that area. Panic took hold again....I went back to see both he and my regular gp...Both seemed to swear I had globus histericus...The gp suggested zoloft.....The gastro guy said, look, I am not the worlds foremost throat expert but I saw you vocal chords, your swallowing mechanism...I think i'd have noticed if there were any gross abnormailities. While this fit the pattern of making me feel better for a day or two, now since the throat thing is still there (and now I have to clear my throat of mucus and feel a nasal drip), I am back into a funk convinced I have some horrible disease. I seem to drink and eat ok (unless I try to screw that up by micro-examining every swallow)....Any opinions?

Hello joe,

according to the medical dictionary, globus hystericus is a symptom of some physical disorders such as reflux larngytis as well as a classic sign of hysterical neurosis, a psychosomatic disorder characterized by a change or loss of physical function (such as blurred vision or paralysis of the legs) that suggests a physical disorder but instead is an expression of a psychological conflict or need.

One doctor used the freudian term 'globus hystericus' to describe my throat problems before too.. Another said it seemed an odd diagnosis because I was the most relaxed and collected individual he had ever had as client. Go figure. When I was young, the doctors had me do a barium swallowing test (a feckless procedure imo) to rule out any physical abnormalties in my esophagus and throat. Nothing turned up.



The fact is that doctors do not have any diagnostic tools to test for muscle tension in the throat or vocal cords. Saying that these sensations are "an expression of a psychological conflict or need' is not very helpful because few humans do not have such conflicts and needs. We're all "neurotic."

my problems are due to "anxiety" in the neurological sense. Call it a case of hyeractive neurons. Should the tension I feel turn out to be phantom or real, it makes no difference to my brain. When pain is not a symptom of some actual damage to our bodies, it is called phantom pain. Nevertheless, phantom pain, like real pain, is the result of neurological activity. Both can be shut down. The same is true with sensations of tension or discomfort. The term psychosomatic implies the intrinsic connection between neurological activity and bodily sensation. Disciplines designed for relaxation and stress relief are, no doubt, of great benefit to many. For the rest of us, thank god for drugs.

I can identify with the "mico-examining" swallowing thing. It's called conscious interference. Like the smile we're asked to give on queue, both produce unnatual results. Most the things we do without thinking, like walking and blinking, are rhythmic precisely because they are unaffected by conscious thought. These functions are naturally taken care of by the careful orchestration of dozens of tiny muscle groups in the appropriate sequence. When we try to reproduce them consciously, we enlist the wrong areas of our motor cortex producing clumsy and uncomfortable results.



Let your natural body rhythms take charge.


I wish you well, my friend.

Thanks marty for the in depth information. Not sure why this is rearing it's head now (i'm 56 and should be beyond this) but I will try to not let it interfere with my life as much as it has been preoccupying me the last two weeks or so. Funny how anxiety works, as I said in my first post, my initial fear was some esophagus disease due to the burping, the throat was at first, a late comer to the symptom fest and a minor consideration. The endoscopy put to rest all fears of esophageal disease....And guess what? In a matter of a day or two, no more burping problem.....But the throat....Ahhhhh......Perhaps a gastro guy missed something in my throat......So, my anxiety gravates to that area of concern........And despite seeing it play out.....I am helpless to stop it.

Good morning joe!


I sent you an e-mail, hope you got it. :)

many people experience the sensation of having a lump in their throat. My sister is one of them. She always feels as if she has to clear her throat too. Again, barring anatomical abnormalities and desease, the both of you have little to worry about. You might consider seeing your otolaryngologist, just to rule out sinus problems as that is the most likely culrpit causing your discomfort. You might also give the zoloft a try. You may be pleasanlty surpised by a life free of anxiety. :)

I'm not getting married, but I have the throat problem. I"m like you, if I don't think about it, i"m ok, the minute I do, nothing will go down. How long have you been suffering? I've felt this way off and on since june or so but lately it's constant! I wish it would "just go away"! Will it ever leave!?

Hello jlmon2,

it sounds as if you're suffering the same sort of anxiety that causes people to feel flush and unable to eat in the company of others. Anti-anxiety medication is meant to block somatic reactions to anxiety so that people who have these or similar difficulties can relax and get on with life. Regardless of the accuracy of my diagnosis, don't feel embarassed to inform your doctor of your discomfort.

:shock: could do with some advice here! I am mid thirties reasonably healthy. I like white wine and I probably work too long...... However I have had a strange sensation of something stuck in my throat for about a month now. I went to the gp and he said that it was stress related and to come back after xmas if it had not gone! Having read this thread I have a lot of common symptoms with everyone else, the only strange thing is that when I wake up in the morning I have a sore throat which goes after a while. Is this normal?

I searched for this on yahoo, and this site came up.

I decided to join so that I could post what I thought, and maybe check in every now and again.

I have been suffering from this for a few months. It went away for a month, and then came back. I get panic attacks because of it, and they really, really suck. I feel like i'm dying.

This goes away when I eat, which is bad, because I really shouldn't be eating so much!

Since it's the holidays I don't see my counsellor until january 9th, which freaks me out too... Just because I feel I need that support, ya know? Maybe that's what's bringing this up. I'm not really sure.

Thanks so much for everyone who replied though - you've made me feel relieved. I just wish this would go away.

Sometimes it actually helps me to put my scarf around my neck, because then I convince myself it's the scarf causing the tightness, rather than it just "being there", ya know?

How old are all of you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm 19, but i'll be 20 in january, so i'd pretty much say I was 20, ha.

Anyway, again, thanks for the post, it helped me a lot.

Have a great holiday season everyone! :d

It was sort of comforting to find this. Lately, I dread going to sleep because whenever I lie down, I feel the throat tightening and difficulty breathing or it feels like it. I have hypothyroidism and since I took the radioactive iodine to kill the thyroid gland, it's very sensitive around my throat. I don't have it when i'm busy, and for now my thyroid is normal. My question is this: if you're thyroid is normal and you don't feel a lump, how can there be something physically wrong? Is it possible? I too, suffer from anxiety and depression, and my symptoms sound similar to you all. I have ativan and it helps. I usually take .5 milligrams and this is nearly enough; but last month I took it alot for a very long menstrual period and that amount of ativan stopped working; I called the dr, and he said to stop it for one week and then resume taking it. I'm also in the field of psychology and I know this drug can be addictive if you take it too much especially at higher doses and frequently. I was also told it comes out of your system quicker than valium by a psychiatrist. But they are both benzos which mean they can be dependent-forming. Anyway, I haven't taken any ativan and I have panic because I can't take it now, and feel that I need it. I'm counting down to when I can take it. It is very scary when you feel this constriction. It seems to get worse after having a heavy meal. Also I have sinus and post nasal drip problems and was told you can get this feeling from that. It's frustrating, because I know I have thyroid problems and I just wonder which is causing which. I may have a thyroid scan just to reassure my self.

Just thought i'd update everyone on progress now that 2 months have elapsed since I started taking the "proton pump inhibitor" mediation. Largely it has worked a treat. Over christmas there was no sensation of swelling in the throat or constriction. Unfortunately my wife cooked a very spicy chicken dish which I think may have started the symptoms off again though only slightly - i'll have to avoid that in future (the spicy chicken - not my wifes cooking :) ) I find that if I constrict (really pull it in) my stomach I seem to force air up and out and this gives relief of the sensations - this is something that works for me anyway.

Overall though, the medication has had a excellent result. I still don't know how long I have to take these for though - maybe for ever??? I hope not but it would be a small price to pay

Glad to hear that the medication helped you ataraxia. May I ask what your dosage is? I am taking one nexium 40mg in the morning. It hasn't seemed to help much and all I have read about this somewhat a-typical symptom of gerd requires at least two doses a day and supposedly it is needed for a miniumum of 6 months. Thanks and once again, glad you are feeling better.

Hi,

i am taking one 30mg each evening. The actual drug is called zoton fastab (active ingredient lansoprazole). It has not cured it completely but has reduced the symptoms to "very slight" I am reluctant to "up the dose" unless really necessary.

I hope this helps

Hi, i'm new on here but have been reading through what people have wrote.
I have been suffering with the feeling that something is stuck in my throat for about 3 months now. I have in that time had a few weeks respite from the feeling.
My first thought was I had some sort of cancer of the throat but a doc exam could find no lumps or growths and he put it down to globulus hystericus.

Trouble is the feeling is still there, and i'm also getting the feeling of a tight band round my head as well as aches and pains in my ribs, shoulders and joints.
I've also had a pins and needle type feeling in my jaw chin and cheeks.

Most of these i've found are symptoms of anxiety. I know this but I still think every ache and pain is something really serious. I have to go for a blood test at the end of the month as my g.P thinks i'm perrimenopausal.

How can I get rid of these horrid thoughts? How can I make the lump in my throat go away. The more I think about these things the worse they feel.

Anyone got any ideas or suggestions that might help.?

Thanks cocreative. I'll have a look and try.

Hi pinkpenny1uk,

if you have had a scan through the previous posts on the threads (i'm sure you have) those symptoms are pretty well exactly the same as mine - especially the pins and needles in the chin - which I though was very odd. I also got the odd pain around my shoulders - almost as if it was a nerve or tendon which gave a localised pain for about a minute or two then went away. Are the symptoms much less in the morning - mine are /were. I am now on proton pump inhibitors - one tablet a day for treatment of gerd and it has worked. Not completely, but say 80% reduction in the symptoms - live with able anyway. The doctor has advised me to stay on them for another two months then have a trial without them. I also do need a bit of a lifestyle change. Less onions/garlic, tomatoes (can't stand them anyway) fattyfoods, citris fruits (pity about that) and lose two stone. Mostly sensible things to do anyway. I don't smoke or drink heavily. Worrying about it does not help - easier said than done. Now after a few visits to the doctor and a specialist I am reassured that while the problem is there it is treatable and with a bit of care and attention nothing to get too exercised about.

Best of luck

Hi ataraxia

i did wonder if it might be gerd that was causing some of my symptoms. I say this because sometimes I feel nauseas tho i'm not actually sick. I seem to have more wind then usual if you pardon the pun and I seem to burp alot more then I ever did. Sometimes I get a burning sensation at the back of my throat aswell. Does gerd cause the sensation of having a lump in your throat?

My symptoms are very slight in the morning but as the day goes on they appear more and more. Then of course the more I think about them the worse they feel. The pins and needles in my face the dentist thinks is trygeminal nueralgia (not sure if its spelt right). This is a nerve problem too.

I have to go see the nurse in a week and i'm wondering if its worth mentioning the above.

Many thanks for replying.
All the best

Hi, that was my experience - lump in the throat feeling, almost as if a "normal" sore throat was starting but not quite and slight burning sensation occasionally. Looking back on it I can now see the signs leading up to this going back a year or more. Also, if I lay down on my back the sensation is slightly worse than on my side - funnily it was worse if I lay on my right side than on my left.

I definitely have more wind :oops: . During the worse phases, once I had burped, the sensations eased - for a while.

I think that as you don't eat at night and your stomach does not produce the acid to break down food, to the same extent anyway, the symptoms are less in the morning, so your condition does sound similar to mine.

Also, during the worst stages I thought that this had to be much more serious than "acid reflux" but again with a bit of hindsight I can see and understand how all that discomfort/anexity was caused.

I hope this is of some use

Hi,
i''ve just spent 2 days in hospital. I had 3 faiting fits in 2 days so I was admitted to have tests done. Seems I have posterial hypotension(low blood pressure).
Whilst in there I mentioned numerous times about the lump in my throat and all my other symptoms. I was told I am suffering anxiety, of which i'm already aware.

Upon coming out of hospital I felt the sickness feeling getting worse. And the wind. I too found sometimes a good burp eased the symptoms. Then last night I ended up at the emergency docs because I started coughing up little bits of blood.
I was diagnosed with a small tear in my throat due to me keep retching. The doc perscribed me with some gaviscon and some omeprazole capsules to take once a day.

How long was it after you started taking them when u started to feel the benefits? Did it stop your nausea and wind? Hope you can enlighten me a little.

Cheers

Hi,

i was never as bad (worried) as you seem to be, and my blood pressure is normal (very slightly high). It was really about one to two weeks before I started noticing a diminishing of the "tight throat" symptoms (and it still has not fully gone away but is only noticable sometimes now) after starting the medication - though I think the actual act of taking something helped with the anxeity (i had never taken tablets of any type before) plus the consultant told me what was wrong and not to worry that it was anything worse. Strangely, now, any symptoms I do notice are usually only noticeable at night - when I lie down - which is the more classic signs, while previously the opposite was true. I don't think there is any quick fix but once I noticed the first signs of improvement, the anexity went and the improvement seemed to speed up.

The medication has reduced the wind but has not fully stoped it. I suspect that it depends on what I eat, so over the next few months I will be monitoring that to see what effects that has.

I hope this helps and that you are feeling better soon

all the best

Hi,
thanks for posting a reply.
I've had a good day today and I think part of what is helping is finding other people who are experiencing and going through the same or similar things.
I have hardly thought about the lump in my throat today which for me has got to be a good sign. Hopefully it will continue. .

Many thanks again.

Regards
pp1