I have had anxiety (severe) for several years due to failing health and this was one of my first symptoms to come. It flares up and has good and bad patches throughout the years but I'm currently in a horrific one. I have been on 2 types of ADs for it which helped a little but currently going through withdrawal atm.
My globus is so bad and affects me so much because I over yawn (to say the least) with it to try and automatically release it. If i also leave it without water or gum or something to suck on I start dry heaving. Many panic induced vomiting has come from this.
Are there any pictures on the Internet anywhere for these exercises? I am willing to give anything a go.
Hey umm, did you find any video or an image at least?? I've had this for 3 years now and it's still at its worst, I also have post nasal drip that's making it worse! If you find anything please share! Thanks
First of all, please don't panic and stress yourself cause it's get worse. For me keeping myself busy and not thinking about it helps a lot. There were nights when I kept thinking about it and it gave me nothing more than negative thoughts.
I believe the main cause of this sensation is because when we are stressed out too much, our muscles get tensed and that's what we are feeling inside or throat too.
Treatment for it will be regular basis of exercise and keeping yourself busy. Let's not waste our time in vague fears. Let's have fun and be happy, enjoy life
This sensation will be gone soon. No need to eat medicine, panic or overthink about it.
I actually just found out some good and bad information through my doctors. I had a Barrium swallow and that turned out ok I guess, although he said he can't see if there is acid as it was done and its on an empty stomach. So I guess that is good news there. That was done on Monday morning. Then on Wednesday morning I had an endoscopy done empty stomach as well, went in, under anesthia and he found that I have gastritus and that I will have to take a med for probably ever, as I can take it and get rid of my symtoms on that part, but it will just always return, so its best to keep taking it. And its Pepsid, as he doesn't want to give me the PPI because of the long term side effects and they (as we know) are not good. Also, he did take a biopsy and I will not know the result to that for about a week and a half to 2 weeks. He said that its a process to see if the bacteris grows. Anyway, onto the not so good news. I am actually VERY lucky to have gone to the endoscopy when I did, because if I didn't then I might still be in the hospital. You see, I came home and went to sleep for about 3 hours maybe and when I woke up I ate half a banana and drank some water, within like 5 mins or so I was sweating really bad and hot flashes and short breathing as well as a headache started to form. I actually had to sit in front of the fan on high for 10 mins to make the heat go away. I called the Gastro dr and the nurse said to just relax and lay down for about an hour or so and I woke up with my legs in so much pain and a fever 101.1 in one ear and 101.3 in the other. My head was pounding and I really had trouble breathing and of course I was crying so that didn't help. The pain felt the same as if I had done 1k squats and lunges and more. So we called the Dr office again and she said go to the emergency room. I did and they took X rays, EKG, catscan and sonograms of all my kidney liver gallbladder and I think a little of my intestines (not sure there) They took a very lot of blood and found that my white blood cell count was at 25k and the normal range is 5k-10k. So they looked into that and took MORE blood and found that I had pneomia in my left lung, and because the count was so high they admitted me right away. I was there from Wednesday until last night (Friday night). They pushed fluids and antibiotics and yesterday Friday mornings blood came back to 11k so they got it down and said that I would be able to go home later in the day. They also pushed another bag of antibiotics as well. I had some pain meds while I was there and not such a good time. But, they also gave me breathing treatments every 4 hours or so. I still haven't coughed up the stuff in there so I don't know where it is. Yuckyness, but I only spit 2 times while I was there and that was good, but not enough. I now have an antibiotic to take here at home for 10 days and have to see my Dr in about the 10 days. So I actually have a lot going on now. Monday I have to make a lot of appointments to get going. Bad thing is, I was to have an allergy test of Thursday and I missed it due to being in the hospital. I however came up with something that I think my also be a route to look at. I think that I do, well I know that I have allergys but haven't been on the med since all this started because we were figuring out pills and seeing what is going on. I think that the slight mucous that I have running down the back of my throat is meeting in the esophagus and possibly causing some of the problem. Since they can't see anything wrong on empty stomach and all. That actually to me makes sense and I will be brining that up in some appointment here in the future. Anyway, I really do need to stop stressing so much and stop letting my anxitey overrule me at this point. I have been feeling better mentally since the anti depressant seems to have started to work. I want to exercise again, but I cannot for at least the 10 days, I can just try and keep busy around the house at a normal pace. The antibiotic that I am on, I guess need to be VERY careful with, as pulled/ripped tendons can happen very easily with it. Always a downside to everything. UGH, but I will take my time on that aspect. Its just annoying as when I was eating crappy and I was heavy 15 pounds more then now, I was fine, not a problem. I started eating really good in May and June did great and then all this bogus stuff started to happen to me and it makes me sick to my stomach, because I can't help but think to myself, if I stayed heavier and didn't worry so much about losing weight and pushing myself to hard to do it, then I might not be in this situation. GOSH that was a long story, Im sorry... Any thought on the things I mentioned?
Thank you for your post. Very helpful..I haven't had as many test as you, just the scope through the nose by an ENT. He said that all was fine and it was globus.. I always worry about everything. I for some reason lately I'm always worried something is wrong with me.. I have a lot of stress with family and dealing with menopause.. Not a good combination. Thanks again for your post and I am going to try the excercise.
Thank you for your post. I hope everything is better (for the most part). I noticed my globus symptoms started after I had a week long battle with influenza. Hard coughing and drainage. After a few test with the ENT, he told me to take zantec first and then maybe try something for post nasel drip. I too have some drainage in back of my throat. Not sure what to take for that. Thanks again for posting. Very helpful.
Hi chippy I have this sensation after I had a camera put down my throat it's awful I literally just come from the doctors I'm 39 year old man who's in ok health in general I was diagnosed with a small section off Barrett's disease but it's all under control but the globus is driving me crazy I wake up in cold sweats thinking the very worst making it much worse with anxiety I will try your exercises or anything to get rid of this terrible felling thank you very much
I feel your pain. I took an allergic reaction to spicy food one night and my uvula swelled up. Went to A&E not knowing what it was and the nurse was particularly rough putting the endoscopy camera down my nose and throat. That one episode has caused me so much grief. I immediately got a globus sensation that sent me into a spiral of health anxiety and stress. The feeling lead to crazy insomnia and depression - it was all I could think about. I too have reflux/acid issues which i assume will inevitably give me some kind of Barretts symptoms but for now am on Omeprazole. But this doesnt have to be the way with the globus though! I was on my own with no advice and couldnt find anybody who had gone through a similar thing. Not to mention the insane negative and useless information online regarding globus, seems to be one of those 'nobody really knows' type of things. I was filled with dread.
Ok so now the good news. This was about 3 years ago (roughy) and wow what a different place Im in now. The sleeping thing, as a side note, had a bigger mentally affect on me but thats my on psych than the globus. It stills haunts me a bit - knowing my mind can be so strong it stops me from sleeping even when Im exhausted. However the globus is barely part of my life. I still have a sensation a bit most mornings but doesnt cripple at all any more. Through the day I dont even think about it and night is normally fine. Doesnt stress me at all - maybe one or two 'episodes' a year but things could be worse. In general Im in such a good place with it all things considering.
Unfortunately it is a bit of a mental game, my understanding (or at least the way I think of it) is a neurological reaction causing my throat to 'close up' so the better I can re-focus my thoughts the quicker it goes away. The quicker it goes away the less it tends to come up. Its in your head.
In a weird way the whole thing lead me to alot of meditation, mindfulness type stuff that has actually helped me in general in life so Im grateful for that.
Easy to say but dont let it get to you. Its insanely intrusive but it can and will eventually die down if you let it. Stay positive and focus on the good things.
Best of luck on your journey, hope some of the things Ive said has given you some hope. If you have any question or want to pick my brain just let me know.
That was very kind of you to share the experience. I have the same problem at the moment and did start to wonder if it had something to do with my hashimotos. This autoimmune condition raises the thyroid antibodies effectively attacking the thyroid. May I ask why you had high antibodies? I hope you are ok now and I am going to try the exercises you have suggested. Many thanks to you
I know this is an old post, but I have to say a few things in response. I could have written this post - mine came on almost exactly the same way! I woke up in the wee hours with a severe tension headache that hurt everything from the middle of my neck to the top of my head, just before my period started, and included in that headache was a weird sensation in my throat like I was getting sick. After the headache went away, I wasn't sick, but the lump in my throat remained. I also just went off birth control pills 3 months ago, switched to an IUD.
I don't know if you'll read this, but I want to tell you that I read this article and skimmed through the comments, and after I read yours, the lump in my throat went away by 95% almost immediately (for a little while, anyway, but it's a relief to know it can go away).
Big thanks to everybody for talking about the panic. I've been in total panic attacks for days (making it worse, I know), and it helped so much to know that I'm not crazy for that.
Thank you soooooo much ! I was desperate to find something that helped , i had my tonsils removed 15 days ago because i thought that was causing this sensation , but days later i still have this feeling and its making me miserable , in dont even want to eat or go to work because i feel like i am going to choke ! I was not able to breathe well for the past 2 weeks and also had really bad chest pain and after some xrays the Dr confirmed My chest area was healthy , and now im taking anti acids and i am able to breathe alot better . I highly belive this started back when i got H -pylori ,and after treating it my stomach never went back to the same PH level i guess and i really think all this problems including my Anxiety has to do with Acid Reflux ! If anyone had any tips or anything i would appreciate it ! Good luck everyone ! 🙏🏻
Hey, Mike. Oh this sounds so familiar to what I'm going through just now. I was a bit stressed (way more manageable than now) when I had a smear test result come back inconclusive. I had to wait a couple of months to find out it was an infection and I went on antibiotics to clear it up. On the last day of taking them (9 days in total) I was violently sick. I had this weird feeling in my throat like acid was bursting up and my heart was racing. I then had 2 - 3 weeks of oral thrush which affected my uvula and made my gag reflex go crazy. My throat and tongue were quite swollen. I got used to waking up in the morning with them low in my throat and my tongue being swollen and having to adapt the way I talked so I didn't gag. It was hell.
3 months on and I'm still in hell intermittently. I took anti fungals and things got better for a while. I would still notice it sometimes since I have provisionally been diagnosed with acid reflux as well. But sometime 6 weeks beyond the first episode this all got on top of me and I honestly feel more close to losing my mind than ever before. This is on my mind constantly. I've started fearing panic attacks and having them (because it's a vicious circle), including when I sleep. I wake up shaking and my stomach is in knots. Between that and the acid reflux it's caused a lot of nausea. Which makes the throat thing even worse.
Again, I got back on track for a couple of weeks and started to feel a lot better, though I would still be wary through the day of this occurring and occasionally feel sick. I had a throat infection which again caused a swollen uvula but I rationalised it. But I relapsed at the weekend. Had a day with seering nausea and it made my throat and chest constrict, followed by random heart palpitaitons at times. People keep telling me it's panic attacks and I'm going back to the doctor to discuss everything but I'm a wreck. I'm scared to eat because of how it might make me feel, I'm scared to talk in case my throat closes over, I'm swallowing constantly. I'm terrified of when this attacks me. I'm terrified of reading things about people having heart problems and cyclic vomiting and this being a symptom of it. I'm terrified of going for tests and not knowing what's wrong with me, and perversely I'm scared this is anxiety because like you said, what does that say about my mind? Please reply, I need people just now. I couldn't get a doctor's appointment this morning and convinved myself it's always going to be like this and I'm going to die young (I'm only 30), I'm in a pretty bad way. It's not everyday - but the bad days are bad and I can relate to what you're saying about not sleeping big time x
I private messaged you but a few things in here I didnt mention.
Ok, so the swallowing thing. this was a MASSIVE issue I totally forgot about (im now doing it haha but I can genuinely laugh about it and I know it will be gone once I move my mind from it) - I swallowed CONSTANTLY. To the point my thoat was doing this weird clicking thing cause I was wearing the cartilidge out or something (thats how I imagined it in my head) - I use to walk around getting mad at people cause the could just swallow! Such a simple task. It was weird. But I dont do it anymore, its gone and I wont let it come back. And if it does Ill figure it out again.
The sleep thing - I use to fall asleep after hours and hours of stuggling and my body would jolt awake immedietely with my heart POUNDING and it felt like my arms and organs were pulsing (and the stomach knots too) - again almost impossible to explain the feeling. I would get so mad at myself through the night, why me? Why is this happening? Why wont my mind let me rest? Etc. It was all a horrible cycle but now I just say to myself 'if I dont sleep, I dont sleep' and just lay in bed reading or something. The acceptance allows my mind to move on and eventually before I know it Im asleep. Dont get me wrong, i still only sleep 5-6 hours a night but Im ok with that. One day Ill get the full night back.
Dont forget to try the usuals for the reflux, dont eat before bet, less caffeine bla bla - the usuals. Every little helps.
For the record my diet is horrendous now ha! But I dont eat late, thats a big one for me and how my throat and stomach deal with things.
Also the talking thing, so when it was bad I couldnt talk either, when i went to speak Id gag - its not pleasant but youll find away of 'getting over it' and before you know it it stops. You will have spells of all of the above coming back but youll get quicker and quicker at making it pass to the point its gone almost all of the time.
Have a read of my PM too and ask any questions you may have.
I have almost the same problem, it occured on 27th July,2016, after two tragic two tragic events befell me concurrently. First, I lost someone very close and on the same day, my car broke down and was written off. I didn't realize how these events had struck me, I only remember that on the same day I started feeling some lump in my throat.
At first, I thought it was something temporary that would go away after a couply of hours, or perhaps the following day when I wake up. Believe me, it has been 4 months, now, and I still feel the same globus in my throat. The first few months, the sensation was on and off, I could feel it twice or thrice a week, particularly in the evenings. Gradually, the sensation has increased; both in intensity and frequency. Nowadays I feel the globus sensation 24/7, it worsens when I talk loudly. I even feel that for the past 1 week that my voice is rough and have a feeling that I am losing my voice. Now more than ever, the condition is making me very uncomfortable, and that thinking about it has become the order of the day.
I'll try out the exercises you suggested and I hope that I'll get my normal life back, life that I can swallow saliva without feeling something up my throat.
N/B: I am under medication for acid reflux as prescribed by my doctor. Esomeprazole 40 mg x 1.
* I don't have history of anxiety and neither am I so much stressed up.
I always get this when I'm at job interviews or particularly tense. At the moment I'm battling with acid reflux and God knows what's at the root of that - an ulcer perhaps? I'll find out over the next few weeks. But it's given me so much anxiety with my throat since one of my symptoms over the past few months has felt like my gag reflex is going. Stress played a part in that and exacerbated it. I don't feel as preoccupied with my throat now I know there is something clinical going on - as if by magic it's gone. But (supporting the doc's suspicion I have h pylori or ulcer) - I get worse when I eat loads.
That's not to say things don't become psychosomatic, and I have always suffered from a dry throat when stressed. It's so difficult but you need to focus on something else if possible. It sounds like the grief and stress you've encountered have literally got stuck in your throat and now your body has adopted that as a stress response (sadly my new body "tic" appears to be nausea because of all this stomach stuff going on) - blood annoying.
My doc also said our throat spasms in times of stress and when there is irritation in your food pipe. The latter is true of me just now but it's worth looking into - you could just be hyper aware of things now. Good luck with it, it's so draining! x