Hi,
I am a 28 year old male living in London, I am a non smoker and live a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and I am in good shape (not overweight or underweight).
Last week as I was walking to work I felt an increasing urge to unbutton my collar button and tie because I felt like I was choking. After unbuttoning the feeling didn't go away, and since then I've felt an intermittent lump in my throat similar to the feeling you get when under intense emotion (crying/fear/nervousness) but I had absolutely nothing to be feeling worried about. The tightness since has been intermittent, which is usually a lot better in the morning and gets worse during the day especially while walking or after eating, or under stress. Eating itself is fine and I don't have difficulties swallowing, but afterwards it tightens up and I feel fullness in my throat.
After reading your post on cricopharyngeal spasm this seemed to match my symptoms accurately. However, after looking at LPR symptoms online this seemed to bring my attention to a number of "background" symptoms that I've developed over the last 10 years but have never really done anything about because neither of them have impacted my day-to-day life by themselves:
1. Constant throat clearing
2. Friends and colleagues telling me I have a quiet voice and that they can barely hear me when I speak!
3. Feeling physically exhausted after I've been somewhere where I have to talk loudly or talk for a long time (e.g. in loud parties, work conferences, networking events, weddings)
4. Sinus problems, nasal congestion and mucose feeling in throat
5. After meals I feel as if my stomach "jerks" something up my food pipe, this sometimes makes an internal noise in my throat (not the usual "burp" sound!)
6. Slight cough after lying down at bedtime
Neither of these are a huge problem in my life and it's true to say that neither of these have got significantly worse over time, and up until now I have always considered them to be independent of one another. It is only after I read about LPR that I then "connected" all of these. The lump in my throat though is really annoying, and I guess it doesn't help when I get anxious when reading that LPR is difficult to treat and can lead to serious health problems in life.
I have booked an appointment with my GP for Monday, but as these conditions are frequently misdiagnosed and not very well understood I just wanted some advice (especially from a UK specialist) as to what I should ask my GP and who I should consult first so that I don't get "lost" in the NHS.
Thanks for reading and apologies for the long-windedness!
Osian
What your physician should be able to offer you is an accurate diagnosis. If your GP can offer you that, then great. If they cannot, then referral to a laryngologist can lead to an accurate examination of your throat.