i live with the feeling of a lump of phlegm at the back of my throat which is definitely triggered by all the acidic, spicy, dairy foods. ENT diagnosed silent reflux, but all gastro tests revealed nothing physical. The consultant said probably imagined (globus sensation) and discharged me. I have moved on to Speech and Language who have helped with tension in throat and hoarseness. I’ve stopped ranitidine and feel no worse. There is a theory that it started as a result of stress ,but I definitely have a physical condition regarding food. I shall continue with SLT as they are promoting mindfulness as well, which I’m only beginning to get into.
has anyone experienced anything similar?
Do you feel the need to keep swallowing it down all the time ?
Yes. But I can’t shift it unless I eat a really alkaline meal but then it’s back in the morning
Hi Janet, I have the EXACT thing going on. Over the past year and a half I have been dealing with anxiety over my health.....over a year ago I started having some pain and burning and went for tests nothing was found and I was refferred onto other specialists.....they did no further testings despite me having symptoms, I stayed in constant worry that they were missing something and the stress became unbearable.....then in February of this year I got shingles....(which I am told can be triggered by stress)...after I got over that and battled a few cold viruses I started feeling good...actually perfect.....then as summer approached one evening I was sitting over indulging in a night time snack when all of a sudden I was over come with a terrible sensation that my chest was being squeezed and the pain was horrible......I was worried that it might be my heart so I went to ER....they did the proper tests and said it was probably GERD....I had not heard of any of this before.....a few weeks later I started to feel this lump sensation in my throat and then a month later another chest spasm.....so they sent me for all the heart tests....heart echo, stress test, heart monitor for 14 days and countless ecg's all came back good...so again the term GERD came up. Upon doing research it is possible I have had silent reflux for many years, as I have always had sinus issues and post nasal drip. The lump and the throat sensation comes and goes, but I feel it on a daily basis pretty much, I find as the day goes on it gets more noticeable. I have not had any GI tests done other than the non invasive ones, a blood test checking for h-pylori which was negative and a fecal test looking for blood in the digestive tract...negative as well.....In the new year they said they can refer me to get a upper GI x-ray and a modified barrium swallow test which is done with a speech pathologist.......I wonder if stress and anxiety triggered it including the gerd symptoms, for it seems to feel worse when I am tense or anxious. I have changed my diet for a few weeks and didn't find much a difference. I am avoiding eating at night and this has helped with the other issues, but not the lump in throat. I think it is muscle related only because all my symptoms seem to be linked back to over tight tense muscles. However if it does not improve I will go for the barium tests. I do feel a pool of mucous in the back of my throat as well. I have found for me since I entered my forties my body has never felt like it used to...sigh!