Perserver,

is the lump in your throat feel like the lump you may get at a funeral? My lump started when my wife and I lost our baby on 11/4/2005. After we buried her (natalie rose is her name) I was super consumed with worrying about my wife’s health. After about three weeks when I became sure that she was ok, I noticed this lump in my throat. It had occurred to be it may be cancer, but I tried to ignore it. Over time it became worse and worse. I then started to get super consumed with any little feeling in my body. Then I caught a cold (not a bad one) and I started to loose control of my thoughts and worries. There was a little blood coming from my sinuses and I couldn’t barely handly it. I checked myself for a fever and it was mild 101, but I was so worried that it may start going higher than that it completely freaked me out. It was the worst experience of my life and the symptoms of anxiety that followed are like being tortured. This experience has effected my work, marriage, relationships with my siblings, just about every aspect of my life.

I have also noticed that the anxiety makes me over sensitive about every little thing. I used to love to argue and verbal conflict, now I do not. I used to not mind getting sick as it gave me an excuse to watch tv all day, now the idea of getting even a stuffy nose makes me anxious. I am also very short fused. I used to have what I would call a temper tantrum once a year or so, after we lost the baby I started to get really angry about small things about once a week. My wife witnessed a couple of my last blowups, where I first broke a chair by slamming it on the floor, then a couple of days later I punched a wall and broke my hand (i am typing this whole thing with a cast on).

For fun here are some of my other symptoms:

- lump in my throat. It is probably there all the time, but I am so distracted by the next symptom that I almost never think about it.
- definitely feel like I am not breathing correctly. I feel pressure in my esophagus, and strange in my stomach. Also like I can’t take a deep breath. This has been constant since december. I went to two doctors (one of them lost a son recently and said he suffered from the same malady for two months after it happened) both said it was due to anxiety.
- forcing myself to take a deep breath squeezes my throat and it can feel like there is a little tiny wheeze, like there is a bag in there that squeezes air out when I take a very deep breath. I can’t verify that this is even happening because I don’t detect any air going anywhere.
- feeling like I can’t talk correctly (especially when I think about it) because I am not breathing right. This is really interesting because I taught a three hour class a couple of months ago and did not have any noticeable trouble, but when trying to respond to someone for just a short phrase it seems difficult.
- weird feelings around my ribs front and back, never in the same place. Kind of like there is a little soft pebble under the skin or maybe between my ribs.
- feeling like my whole head has a slightly higher pressure in it than the rest of my body (not like my ears popping, but like blood pressure). Had my blood pressure checked and the doctor said it was normal.
- feeling so off that I might just faint or drop dead (not light headed, or loss of balance, just like I might go unconscious because I can’t deal with the anxiety).
- feeling like my whole body is quivering very slightly.
- very sensitive to cold breezes.
- have the feeling that I am going to burst into tears but don’t. This is really interesting, unprovoked, I was walking down a grocery isle and I just felt like I would explode into sobbing. I didn’t but the feeling comes back again and again.
- complete loss of appetite (this returned after I cut down on smoking).
- weird almost numbing sensation on the edge of my left hand.

If your issue for the past four years is really due to anxiety, there may have been an event that triggered it, like the death of a loved one. If you have been checked out by doctors, then I think it would be good to start addressing the lump in your throat as if it were in your head (even though it never goes away). I don’t think the lump in my throat has gone away since I got it five months ago.

For the first two months after we lost our baby, I could barely sleep and at more than one point had to just get out of bed and pace back and forth for hours. Like you I couldn’t eat. It was and is extremely scary. I did from time to time think death was better than living the rest of my life like this.

Since then I have done a lot of research on anxiety and I also talked with a lot of friends. Turns out many of them suffer from it (no one from my immediate family). Sometimes it has to do with guilt (an old girlfriend of mine lost a child – was before I dated her - and felt it was her fault this caused her uncontrollable anxiety). Other times it has to do with emotional pain (my wife had a boyfriend of four years cheat on her, her best friends husband committed suicide and she lost her car all in a period of a month this pushed her into anxiety that lasted for four years). She too couldn’t eat; lost weight and her hair started falling out. After four years she started going to church. A doctor gave her a prescription called celexa. This she took for 6 weeks and worked so well for her that after the 6 weeks she went off of it and no more anxiety. She has been free from anxiety for 2 years. Even after loosing the baby she still is way more together than I am.

I spoke with my wife about your problem and she said she did not have anyone to support her. She had friends that had no clue about anxiety, but no one else. She thought if she had a support group of some sort to lean on that would help.

Since you have lost weight and can’t eat, I would suggest attacking the anxiety from every angle that you can think of. You already asked people to pray for you, so I am going to assume you are somewhat religious.

For nutrition you don’t really have to eat, you can drink protein drinks. This is way easier on the stomach. This will at least get your energy up. I start my morning off with two eggs a banana and some milk mixed in a blender. I am surprised at how little is said about nutrition and good health. It appears to me that most doctors are way more apt to treat any ailment with a drug rather than have a person make personal changes (i supposed this is because people never want to do things that take time).

Stay away from coffee soda pop / caffeine (this has been critical for me).

If you smoke try only smoking at certain times of the day (this requires a lot of self discipline, but may give you something very small to look forward to during the day which will help). This is what I did (even thought the anxiety robbed my of any pleasure from smoking, I still looked forward to it). Cutting down on smoking may help your appetite as well.

For me a strict routine has been critical to getting through the day. Because I am a catholic I include a trip to a local church where I pray about all the things that are on my mind, which is a lot. I saw a physiologist for some problems I was having as a teenager and he gave only one bit of useful advice, that I needed structure. I have known that structure is important since then, but being under anxiety makes structure all the more important. Try to do the exact same things each day in the same order. After you get up make a protein drink, then take some vitamins, take a short walk, answer your email. If you are working try to introduce structure in your work. Subconsciously your system builds trust in the environment around you because it always knows what to expect. Surprises and major changes are very bad for the anxious.

I have been seeing a chiropractor / acupuncturist for a few months now. I am not sure if it is helping, but the doctor really believes he can get me back in good shape. I do think there is something to it because he said this is all related to an over stimulated fear system (he says fear and the kidneys are related). The main reason I think there is something to it is because for years I have had a small choking phobia when eating, since the acupuncture this has went away. Because of this I think you should try the emotional free technique, it appears many people have found success with it (http://www.Emofree.Com/downloadeftmanual. Asp) it is based on the same principles of acupuncture.

There is really something to the fear thing because while we were in the hospital waiting for the baby to come out (we already knew she was dead), I was consumed by the thought that she was still alive and they would be killing her with the procedure to get her out. I was so worried about this and I don’t know why. We already checked, checked and rechecked, the ultrasound showed no heartbeat or anything. I can also remember right after we lost the baby I saw some city workers digging on a street near my house. For some reason it jumped into my mind that they could be poisoning the water supply. I knew this was completely unrealistic, but I was still terrified of the possibility.


Anxiety runs in my family and I have an aunt who got car jacked, they were going to kill her and her son, but she was saved by some people just before they pulled the trigger. This completely devastated her. She found that 5htp worked wonders. 5htp is what your body uses to make serotonin which is supposed to be important for a persons feeling a calm and well being. It is a simple over the counter supplement (you probably will need to tell your doctor about any supplements you will be taking because there may be some reaction prescriptions).

Chamomile tea helps me with my appetite as well. It also helps calm me. Ginger tea had helped me with the lump in my throat (it is kind of spicy so some might find it annoying, I thought it helped and is supposedly helps with digestion). Also papaya helps with digestion and (supposedly) acid reflux.

A lot of these suggestions neglect the spiritual side of anxiety. I recently saw an interview with a woman who felt extremely guilty for something she had done (i won’t include it here because I don’t think it matters what a person feels guilty for). To remedy her anxiety she joined a group that helped people avoid the thing she was suffering anxiety from). During the interview she said “i can breathe again”. I thought this interesting because I have the “can’t breathe sensation every time I think about it”. This would be a guilt thing. If there is something that you feel guilty for (it could be anything… hurting a friend, cheating on a spouse.)


another thing on the spiritual note, this is something that has occurred to me more than once during my whole dealing with this. Is that we may be anxious because something in our lives needs to change. Maybe it is diet. Maybe it is the company we keep. The idea is that if we do nothing, in all likelihood there will be no change at all. Many people deal with anxiety by bumping up their prayer life. Most of us change so many things that it is hard to remember what we were like before hand.

I probably should stop now. This is way too long…. I hope at least something in this post is useful to someone.

Joe

hi everyone I no how u feel......I too have started suffering these symptons and im starting to feel depressed becuse of the constant fear of choking throughout the day and it wont ever go away and when im board it gets worse because of my thoughts im terrified thses doctors are all rong because they simply have jus not experoenced thses sypmtons like all of us can sum1 please help and tell me wot these relaxing techniques are

Thanks joe for your concern I appreciate it. I have had worries and anxieties all my life. I lost my brother 4 years ago plus my grandmother in the same year 2002. But this throat problem started before that. There are some medical things of concern though. I went to a homeopath and had a live blood cell analysis told me I had leaky gut syndrome where undigested food sits in the lining of the gut causing tears and the waste goes back in the body. I also had a neck scan that showed a mild herniated disc. I went for traction for a couple of months don,t know if it is gone. Also for $10 dollars there was a promotional offer to have an exray of your spine with a chiropractor. The exray showed that the natural curve to my neck is gone and my head is bent forward and out of alignment. The only thing is I can't afford to go to the chiropractor and my doctor says even if my neck was causing it the doctors wouldn't touch my neck. I also had a partially narrowed esophagus which was stretched by an internest, didn't help though but the scope he did showed bacteria in my stomach which he said could cause cancer if not treated. So I was put on 8 pills a day for a week. I don't even know if it is gone. If anyone knows the medical term for leaky gut syndrome could you please let me know. Perhaps that may be my stomach trouble. My neck is another issue. I have heard of people having neck trouble with problems with their throats and after some adjustments feel better. I was told I had a chronic neck problem by the chiropractor, but my doctor doesn't want to hear about natural stuff. He is trying to help me but won't listen to things I have been told by the natural doctors. I also had a misscarriage 2 years ago. My ex and I and my bestfriend went on a walk in the woods, and we were all in the same area after I found out I was pregnant about a week later I developed a horrible rash all over my arms and stomach and some of my legs. The doctor said it was just poison ivy or some for of dermititis. But I had it for a month drove me crazy it was the weirdest thing. Anyway I will close now this is very lengthy but lots too say. Maybe there is someone out there that is going through these exact symptoms. Could my neck problem and leaky gut be part of the problem who knows, only god.

P.S. Thanks again joe for your letter if meant alot. And I will pray for everyone on this site suffering with this horrible thing which I call my nightmare because I don't feel like i,m even awake I think it is all a dream and I will wake up and the horrible choking feeling in my throat will be gone but it never does. God is my only strength he helps take away the panic attacks when they come, he helps me to go on hence the name perserverer. The only thing is the inner anxiety never goes away and that is a horrible feeling. Anyway god bless you all and may he give you the strength and peace to keep on going and never give up hope because I have almost given up. Too close to even think about. God does strength.

Hey guys,
i have suffered from the same symptoms as all of you and I can tell
you that it is in our heads. However, I still have the tightness and lump
feeling in my throat. My brother pasted away less than a year ago and
up till then I was invincable. After his death, I basically turned into a
babbling fool. I thought everything was wrong with me. I went and got
every test done every invented just to find out that I was healthy. But between test, I was always feeling that something was wrong. Come to find out, it was all in my head. I am hoping that this tightness in my throat is the last phase of my grievement for my brother and that I can
get on with my life. I know that these symptoms are from stress and anxiety, but I just want them to go away.

Man... Is there anything I could do? My day of enlistment is coming.. I'm worried about how i'm going to survive with my situation like that..

Yep,i`m another victim of the tight throat syndrome,i`ve had this on and off for about a year..I too have seen the doctor about it and yes he said there was nothing wrong with me..But just so happends it flaired up when I got up this morning,sometimes it makes me heave,i`ve had the feelin once or twice today already,i just cant get my head round it at all,i reckon it maybe stress I dont know,but its a bit strange that my anxiety panics have been back 2 days solid now,and just so happends my throat has started up again at the same time so all I can say is,probebly anxiety...

So... Do I see a psychiatrist?

Hi,i reckon you should drink a couple of cans of beer and have a good time with a friend or a group of friends,have a night out and take your mind off it,somtimes when I get real bad panicks,i have a drink of beer..It temperery drownds all my anxiety away for a while,also you should see someone and get some sort of counciling,definately..Unfortunately i`m passed that stage,but it may not be too late for you..

Is it really in the head? I'm not against the possibility but I jus dont think it's it, the doc says i've got a mild reflux and discharged me and besides that, I feel it even when i'm doing other stuff. Jus like today.. I've gagged 6 times on the phone jus talking.. I was talking and all of a sudden I cant talk cos my throat is tight and I jus gagged... U know? And i'm almost gagging now while typing this post out.. I have no idea why but it seems worse than usual today..

I dont know about gaging bu one time I was at a bar and everytime I talked I felt like I coulnt breath . Now ive noticed it happens a lot becuase I pay attention to it and I have noticed that my throat feels kinda tight.

I just feel nauseous all the time man... And I jus gagged twice again as soon as I submit my prev post.. I'm sick of this... 3 years man.. 3 years of hybernation and feeling like a wussy gagging all the time for no reason.. And i'm gonna be enlisted for national service in 2mths time.. That's just great.. I can imagine myself gagging and being yelled at to run and not being able to eat during meal times and just going silent trying not to gag in the middle of a conversation in camp..

Mine started 3 weeks ago just as I started the pill seasonale (birth control)
i would be posting a longer note but after typing for 10 min it went away so I will keep this short and to the point.
For the last 7 months every time I get my period I get really sick to my stomache in the first 3/4ths of the day.
Ob put me on bc to offsett any problems a period might cause
i have been to many drs appts and er visits and they found nothing.
One er dr did say I might have anxiety
one er dr did say I might have ibs - dont think so
but I would be intrested to see what my stomache dr will say at tomarows appt with him. Perhaps acid reflux?
Ohh then I could stop taking these birth control pills- they make me tiard and the throat thing.........Because the pills make me have breasts cramps, then the throat thing- then my anxiety kicks in and I wonder, what will cramp next- my heart??? I had 2 ekg's done and they were fine. I guess one more thing I found in common with the other members on this site (on this topic) is the hypocondreiac (totally mispelled) theroy. Hay has anyone been declaired disabled due to 'our problems" because I am a housewife ever since this started.Lately I have not been a very good housewife because I dont feel like doing anything.

I've had anxiety problems (locked jaw, throat problems and neck problems) for about the past year or so and I was looking for a way to deal with them - I don't know if this will work for anyone else but it might be worth a try. People say that the best way to get rid of anxiety is to find out what is causing it, but most of the time I feel as though nothing should be wrong with me and I still feel stressed. The main cause of my stress, I think, is not being able to let go of things and from problems and things that happened in the past so i've started repeating to myself every day 'i let go of the past, I forgive myself and I forgive others and I renew myself' I know it probably sounds corny but it is supposed to work as a kind of active way of acknoloing the anxiety and letting go of stresses. You can come up with your own phrase according to your own situation then just repeat a couple of times a day, in the shower or before you go to sleep and speak out loud to yourself when you are saying it.

Also, I didn't read far enough to see what the hypochondriac theroy was but know that I am somewhat of a hypochondriac and maybe with our tight throats and the tendency towards anxiety and stressing over things we are more likely to be hypochondriacs?

Anyway, get back to me if anyone tries their own phrase and saying it and tell me if it worked at all.

I have had this "lump in the throat" feeling for only a week now and I am already concerned. I have been dipping smokeless tobacco for a few years now on a consistent basis. I recently quit because I thought this lump feeling might be cancer. My doctor told me it was because of stress and not to worry about cancer.

The one symptom I haven't heard yet, which I have, is the fact that I now have really bad breath sometimes. I can taste it in the back of my throat. It's disgusting. I almost feel like some type of food got caught in there and is now rotting away. I have always been very good with my oral hygene (i guess because of the dip I felt like I had to work extra hard), so I have never had bad breath problems before. Any one else have this bad breath feeling?

Any alternative medicines that might help?

I started feeling exactly these symptoms you guys are describing late last night. I ended up in a&e because I thought the worst. Again, I was given antacid tablets. It died down for the night but returned again in the morning and on-off during the day. I've got it quite badly now but am thinking more positively knowing that there are others' out there like me - one big happy family huh?!!! And my ear hurts too - maybe it's an infection or something- I don't know.

Sometimes a varicose vein can form in the throat and it is due to a liver problem. Nausea, vomiting, headaches on top of head, discoloured whites of eyes, esp yellow and brown, swollen veins in throat to name a few. A lot of raw fruit and vegetables are needed to counteract an overloaded liver. No cane sugar and fizzy drinks, or marjorines and cooked oils. Not too much starchy foods and a reasonable amount of protein is good. The health shops have remedies for the liver in herbal form as well. I know of several who have had this problem, but of course it does not apply to all lumps in the throat. Hope you can all get a proper diagnosis. A qualified naturopath could be very helpful here.

I get a swollen feeling in my throat that can appear anywhere from the back of my mouth, right down to my stomach. Most of the time, its just about underneath my adams apple, however I find that if I spend a lot of time talking etc, the feeling moves down my chest and manifests itself near the top of my stomach, making me feel slightly winded sometimes.
Sometimes too, when I twist I can feel it tense up and it hurts like a kind of cramp feeling.
I too have seen plenty of docs, and an ent specialist, i've had blood tests and cameras down my throat etc, and they just keep telling me there's nothing there and that I need to relax and it will go away. Funnily enough, everytime I go to the docs, I feel much better for about a week afterwards - maybe the cure is to just go to the docs once a week for a few months :wink:
alternatively, i've found that if I drink alcohol, even 1 pint of lager I feel much better for 2 or 3 days after. Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe I should just take up drinking! :d
i've tried all sorts of other things too, like giving up caffeine, chocolate, stopping drinking alcohol, drinking loads of water every day, taking sleeping pills in case its from tiredness, but nothing seems to make any difference.. I also gave up smoking when this started but it didn't make any difference either.
I know the docs tell me to relax, but some days I feel relaxed and its really bad, other days I feel stressed and my throat is fine - it just doesn't make sense. It's also like the feeling is on a cycle - it gradually gets worse until its making me feel sick every day, then bam! Its gone for a few days before it gradually starts to creep back in.
Anyone experienced these symptoms & found anything to help? I stopped exercising because of the twisting pain I sometimes get as I mentioned earlier - maybe I need to start again.. I'm not overweight though & i'm generally in good health.
Anyone got any ideas?

Hi everyone!

I think we are all on the same boat and we don't know what exactly to do with this problem. I have this tightening of my throat for two weeks now. I have been rushed to the hospital twice because it gives me a difficulty in breathing. Just last wednesday I was rushed again, the doctors attended to me,
- I told them that I feel like there's something in my throat. I feel strangled. It seems there's a lump there
- I am always burping
- I cant hardly breathe
- it's difficult to swallow my saliva sometimes
- and when I feel the tightening of my throat, I start to palipitate, I feel so nervous, im so scared..

I had a thorough laboratory exams, my heart was good, I had my thyroid checked, they found nothing there,mny blood was normal, everything was good..The doc told me that I might just been stressed. I went to see another throat specialist and he told me that m throat was fine except that my tonsils were swollen so he gave me antibiotic for 5 days. I am still taking it now but still I can feel the tightening. I am hoping to see him again after 5 days of taking antibiotics. Yes, its making me panic when I start feeling it. Its just so scary. I've been thinking what causes me to be stressed. I cant figure out. I have no problems, I stopped excercising since I started to feel different in my throat, hmm its just that lately i've been thinking of my health esp my throat.

When can I stop worrying? Tell me how to relax? Is this really about stress? What can causes stress? I cant figure out what stresses me..

I hope we can surpass this...And hope we all be fine.

I just quit smoking (wasn't a heavy smoker to begin with, mostly just a pack a week or every other week). I've been having the same throat problems along with problems breathing for about 4 months now. I'm making it worse by worrying about cancer and of course that makes the breathing and the lump in the throat worse. I'm absolutely beside myself right now worrying about it. I've been to three different doctors and everyone thinks it's anxiety or reactive airway disease. I've been given advair and that makes the throat feelings worse and now my throat is red and feels itchy. Does anyone have the same problem with feeling like you can't get a deep breath unless you yawn, or feeling constantly like you're "choked up" or you have just had the best cry of your life? I've been having panic attacks because of this and, like I said, it's making it ten times worse. I've tried relaxation therapy, but it truly isn't working. Anyone???? :(

I went to see another doctor to check my throat. Still, im having this tightening of throat, the feeling of like having a lump in my throat. He said that there's no problem with my throat. He then asked me if I have problems because the cause of that is simply anxiety and stress. I made an assesment, maybe im really anxious on something. He told me to just relax and take things lightly. He gave me a medicine that could take away my nervousness. I did not buy it because honestly, I really dont like to take medicines.

I will try to relax myself which im trying to figure out how? Anyone who has any suggestions?

Guys, we are really on the same boat, let's try to look for something that could help us relax. This is not a serious problem but its just so annoying. :-(

hope we all be okay.