I've been suffering from something ever since I went to the ukraine in march 2004. Prior to going on my trip, I had underwent a series of vaccinations. Upon arriving, I was there for only two days before the symptoms arose. I had eaten raw mussels, raw pig fat (sala) and a few other local foods. It was after a night of drinking a lot of vodka. When I woke up, I had this pain in the back of my throat, and over a few days it seemed to physically move down further in my throat, and when I swallowed, it would feel a little painful, like it was raw, but the pain also travelled down into my lower esophagus, like a nerve was causing it.

To this day, I still have the same feelings when I swallow. It feels a little spikey, or that there is ulcerations around my epiglottis. If I push in on my neck right below my thyroid, it also feels spikey, and induces coughing, something that never happened before. Also, if I stretch or flex the muscles in my throat, it is painful, and more painful while I turn my head down and side-to-side while doing this.

It's basically a chronic feeling that i've learned to live with, and at times is unnoticeable, but something I think about every day.

I went to my family doctor, they took a series of blood tests, said everything was fine, sent me to an ent, who put a video line in my nose and down my throat, checked out everything in my throat to my voice box and said everything was ok. He suggested I get a barium swallow, which I didn't do, instead I went to a gastrointestinal specialist who performed an upper endoscopy. They said everything looked fine, and took a couple of biopsies, one from my esophagus and one from my stomach. The lab said there was some rare forms of helibacter pylori bacteria, and gave me a regimen of helidac for two weeks.

Going through that routine didn't change anything, and i'm still back to point zero. I'm planning to go back to the specialist and ask them for another upper endoscopy.

It seems to feel better every morning, after waking up, but gradually returns to itself throughout the day.

It is so frustrating talking to medical professionals, who seem to focus on general rational, not believing it could be anything else. I think they are trained to not to look for rare things, because 99% of the time it's common.

There is something definitely wrong in my throat and esophagus, and I don't believe it was coincidence that it coincided with my trip to the ukraine, there is definitely an association. I never had this feeling prior to going there.

I'm also not ruling out the possibility of kissing and saliva exchange with a girl, the night before when I drank a lot of vodka, I just don't remember. Is it possible I drank something that permanently damaged my throat? I remember someone giving me these ru-21 pills, which are supposed to prevent hangovers, very stupid of me.

I hope someone can help guide me, and tell me what my next steps should be? Who should I visit? What tests should they perform, both blood and swab, etc.?

After dealing with this for 1.5 years, i'd like to get rid of it if possible, or atleast have an accurate diagnosis, so i'm not constantly trying to self-diagnose.