Tight Throat

[sheppeyescapee]

I have a really tight throat and cant figure out why. It's not the first time either. Feels like someone is pressing on my airway. Feel rather light headed, dizzy. Have a burning pain in my ribs when I breathe. It's horrible. Wondering what is causing this.

[Fiona-Jane]

is it maybe a spasm? i get them in my lungs and the tissues around my lungs which leaves me feeling like someone is pressing really hard on a small area and it makes it really hard to get air in and out of my lungs. if its there for a while i get a burny sensation too, which i expect is irritation to my airways... i also get them in my oesophagus and sometimes if the spasm is around the opening of the lungs it can make it a bit of a fight to get air in and out and is pretty scary!

the only thing that works for me is my salbutamol (ventolin) inhailer and a buscopan tablet to open up my airways and remove any spasms...


it may also be an infection, or an area of inflammation.... i usually take a buscopan tablet and if that doesnt work i then go see my doctor, but usually the tablet works, and you can buy it without a prescription if you wanna give it a try


hope it clears up soon!


fi


oooh, just had another thought- maybe you have a virus that has made your tonsils and lungs react? there are 2 sets of tonsils- one at the back of the throat that can be seen and one set further down that is just far enough down the throat to not be visible.... if the bottom set swell up it may make it feel like your throat is constricting.... and the burny lungs could just be that normal burn that you sometimes get with a chest cold...... maybe a wise plan to mention it to your doctor?

[Eloise]

Acid reflux? This can cause inflammation in the airways as it comes up and then goes back down the wrong hole. I know ENT consultants that end up using loads of ppi's to treat this issue.

[nemonie]

Have you been reading Bendygirl's blog recently - maybe it's a milder form of the collapsing/spasming throat thing that she gets. I get a similar kind of thing, either through overuse of my voice or choking on my own spit. I find that my ventolin inhaler helps like Fi.

[sheppeyescapee]

Also might be aggravated still from the NG tube from a few weeks ago. My inhaler hasn't helped.

[Blaadyblah]

You haven't knocked a vertebrae in your neck lately have you? I've done that before and the swelling behind the vertebrae took a while to settle down, until it did I had real trouble with swallowing and so on. I quite often find stretching out my neck beforehand makes it easier to eat a meal too.

[sheppeyescapee]

Been to the Drs and she said my glands are up and I should take antibiotics and go back if I'm still having the symptoms in 2 weeks. Might explain why I have been feeling rather off lately.

[nemonie]

I thought I'd hijack your thread a bit Sheppey
I went to my Shiny new GP today about my weird clenching throat/choking on nothing issues and she's referring me to speech therapy for a swallowing assessment! Yay

(Mods - I know there's probably somewhere else to put this, but it's late and I've got a migraine threatening - looks pathetic )

[ciderpig122]

has anyone ever considered MS?

I get the whole choking tightening voice croaking stuff, added to my new found ability to do and remember nothing, and i mean nothing, I am cocking every single thing at work up and staring into space, I reversed into a parked car on an abandoned road, parked right behind me and just having looked right at it thinking 'oh, i wonder why thats parked so close' i promptly got in and reversed right into it.

I also nearly took off my other halfs fingers when he asked me specifically not to start the car engine, and me, 2 seconds later whilst looking at him with his hands in the engine.......started the car.

[Rosie]

Hi all

ciderpig - I know that some people on here have been tested for MS, as there is a specific test for MS this can then be ruled in or out. But what you descrube is what we tend to call 'brain fog' and can be due to side effects from meds, POTs symptoms, tiredness, fatigue or just HMS 'having a bad day'. There is a thread on this somewhere,worth a search.

Rosie

[hdufort]

Hi! I've had trouble swallowing for years, and my voice gets hoarse as soon as I feel a bit tired or nervous. Knowing that my cervical vertebras (and spine in general) are unstable and in general bad shape, I have found a possibility. Osteoarthritis and other vertebrae degeneration diseases result in osteophytes, which are bony outgrowths. These can interfere with movements, in this case, swallowing -- either by narrowing the pharynx or by reducing its ability to move up and down. Another possibility is more obvious; a floppy, loose or collapsible pharynx will have effects on speech and swallowing, especially when you're tired and can't compensate.

A simple X-ray will rule in or out the presence of osteophytes.
For the other hypothesis, I have no idea how it could be investigated, since it's related to functional limitations.

ps: MS and other neurodegenerative diseases such as CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth, dozens of variations) can produce hyperlaxity-like symptoms, reduced functionality in sphincters, paresthesia (tingling/burning feelings), and numbness, as well as POTS-like dysregulation. However they can be EASILY ruled out by measuring nerve impulse speed, looking for nerve/brain lesions or, in the case of MS, by looking for specific antibodies (found in 85% of cases). Under the microscope, skin and membranes will look normal in MS and CMT; however, nerves will show demyelination. Diagnosis of MS and CMT has greatly improved over the last few years, with a better understanding of the causes and course of the disease, and less false positives (wrong diagnosis).

ps: Some copper deficiency diseases are known to result in hypermobility, skin laxity, dysautonomia and seizures. Symptoms are variable in nature and severity, and overlap with Ehlers-Danlos, MS, CMT, etc., so this can be confusing for the medical personnel. OHS (Occipital Horn Syndrome) was formerly classified as Ehlers-Danlos type IX, but is now considered a separate disease related to the (more severe) Menkes Syndrome. In the case of OHS, swallowing and speech symptoms might be caused by nerve damage, and not by the hyprmobility itself.

[Fluffym]

hdufort,

WOW you sound very knowledgable. How do you know all this stuff?

Fluffym

[hdufort]

I've been wondering for years what's wrong with my joints and skin (especially the feet, ankles and lower spine). That, and very puffy eyelids, stretch marks at odd places, etc. My health condition has worsened over the last few years, so it's getting impossible to ignore. Plus, my 5-years old son has health problems too, doctors are puzzled, and I have no choice but educate myself about all the possible medical conditions.

[nemonie]

The medical terminology relating to collapsing airway/voicebox due to lack of structural integrity within the structures (in our case usually because of poor collagen) is malacia. So for each specific part there is a specific name;

Trachea = tracheomalacia

larynx (voice box) - laryngomalacia

brochi = bronchomalacia (although this applies to both the bronchi and trachea)

It is possible to have just one or all of these and when mild the condition is often mistaken for asthma, especially as salbutamol medication used for asthma (a bronchodilator) will often relieve or reduce the spasms.

p.s. by the way, I am an enthusiastic amateur and not a medical professional. Please seek advice from your GP or specialist if you are having issues. An Ear, nose and throat specialist or Speech Therapy (in the UK - they deal with swallowing issues) is who you want to ask to see.

[sheppeyescapee]

My voice keeps going and it still feels like someone is pressing on my throat. Will take the full course of antibiotics and if it hasn't improved then I'll go back to the doctor.