voicedoctor.net - Lump in throat

Cricopharyngeal Spasm Symptoms

empreszau — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:15:27 +0000

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Your website very helpfully lays out the symptoms of a cricopharyngeal spasm. Up until about two weeks ago, I would say I was a textbook example of someone with this condition. Recently, however, I began having days when instead of (or sometimes concurrently with) a sensation of tightness/fullness in my throat, I feel my throat muscles tense up to the point where my throat aches constantly. It's a sensation similar to when I would run a mile with my mouth open. It's a very sore feeling and goes away or resets after a good night’s sleep. That's not really one of the symptoms listed on your web site but I was wondering if this is something that happens with a cricopharyngeal spasm.

right vocal cord Intubation granulomas

gautam2k — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:08:53 +0000

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Lump in throat

Hello sir,
I am suffering from right vocal cord Intubation granulomas from last 2 months. This is happened as I was admitted in hospital last October 2012 and admitted to ICU. That time they puts lots tubes in my throats. I have uploaded the photo of that glanulomus. Please suggest what to do now. Do I need to surgery or proper medication can cure it. Eagerly waiting for your reply.

Thanks & Regards,
Gautam Guha
email: [email protected]">[email protected]
Kolkata
India

Could muscle spasms in neck cause cricopharyngeal spasm

gshockv7 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 22:21:05 +0000

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Lump in throat

My question is, "Could muscle spasms in the back of my neck trigger the muscle spasms in the front of my neck (Cricopharyngeal spasm)?

I have been having neck pains which include muscle tightness since December 2011from a physical training accident. I saw my personal physician in March 2012, and after a complete physical including blood tests and x-rays, I was reffered for physical therapy. The physical therapy helped a little however I still suffered with neck pains and muscle tightness. Then in June 2012, the front muscles in my neck started to get tight. This would happen towards the end of the day. The tightness would work its way from the back to the front of my neck. This is when I started to get the symptoms of a "lump in my throat", along with constant throat clearing. I was reffered to an ENT. The ENT doctor conducted a scope of my throat and said that all was fine, no growths or lumps. A MRI was done, which found no abornormalities. I was prescribed a muscle relaxant which seems to help. The "lump in throat" symptoms have contniued since then and are usually worst in the evenings. I went back to the ENT in the ending pf July 2012, and he scoped me again with same results no growths or lumps but he did observe possible liquid pooling near the esophagus. He ordered a barrium swallow and prescribed me Omeprazole. The results for the barrium swallow showed no abnormalities also.

Thank You.

SLP with CP Spasm

Hpstautz — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:37:45 +0000

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Lump in throat

I am a 28yr old SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist) and have experienced the "lump" sensation for almost 6yrs. After seeing a variety of specialists I was finally given the diagnosis of cricopharyngeal spasm which seems consistent with my symptoms- a globus sensation in the laryngeal area that comes and goes but is typically worse in the evenings. My ENT found no symptoms of reflux and being a professional in this area I am familiar with how to detect/prevent reflux and heartburn is something that I rarely experience. Despite telling my ENT that I am not anxious about the "lump" feeling, just experiencing discomfort he prescribed me Valium (2mg/day) and told me that I was probably "ignoring my anxiety". I felt no reduction of symptoms at the 2mg dosage and I've taken up to 8mg with still no results but I am hesitant to go higher. The last time I went to my general care doctor she asked about the ENT visit and when I told her I didn't see Valium as a long-term solution (really since it didn't help it was no solution at all) she wrote me a prescription for Zoloft (despite the fact that my answer to her question of "how do you deal with stress" was "well, I typically just feel normal every day stressors but I work out daily and talk to my husband")...is it obvious that I'm insulted by the swiftness in which she resorted to the "magic pill" solution?

My question is this...is there a possibility that the spasm is NOT linked to anxiety? That perhaps the muscle is simply in an involuntary spasm? What other treatment options have been explored by the medical and research community. I am not a fan of Botox injections. Is Biofeedback or CBT a possible alternative to perscription drugs? I don't like the "stop thinking about it and it will go away" strategy that is the gist of most of the peer-reviewed articles I'm finding online. I'd prefer something I can ACTIVELY DO to make it go away. Thoughts???

Chronic lump in throat

perandre — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 16:12:34 +0000

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Lump in throat

Thanks for a great article on Lump in throat!

I have all the symptoms described, but there is one exception: The sensation has been there for more than 10 years, and will not go away. I do have other symptoms too, most notably that the tension in my throat makes producing sound a bit harder than normal, so speaking or singing usually gives pain in the surrounding areas too. I have seen quite a few doctors and specialists in Norway, so there is no cancer or other scary things involved.

I did actually have an email conversation with Dr. Thomas in 2003 (thanks for replying and giving valuable advice!), but at that time, I didn't know "lumpn in the throat" was a medical condition. In fact, I have been searching the web for articles mentioning the combination of EASY to swallow food, HARD to swallow salvia. Thanks for bringing it to the light!

I have now contacted the closest expert you listed in on the site (Sweden). Still, I would like to ask: Are there any other known cases with this condition more or less stable for 10-15 years (some days are better than others. Singing + speaking always makes it worse)?

Questions on the article

alytejani — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:48:06 +0000

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Lump in throat

Hi James,

Hope you are well.

You mentioned about dispensing several valium but you did not state a the approximate dose that is given to the patient. In addition, there are surely herbal muscle relaxants which are safer to use but doctors don't seem the mention these, why not? If this information could be provided, it would be much appreciated. Moreover, there should be some drinks that would help with alleviating the cricopharyngeous spasm, please could you specify these drinks?

Thanks
Aly T

Lump in throat, history of throat clearing and "quiet" voice

osianllwyd — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:10:16 +0000

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Lump in throat

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

Treatment for hoarseness

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 21:09:00 +0000

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Lump in throat

I have the sensation of lump in throat,some problem swallowing and voice changes including hoarseness, reduction in range and breathlessness. My Ent has suggested a trial of 40 mg nexium twice a day for three months. I do have Gerd as well as myasthenia gravis,fibromyalgia, raynaud and menieres. Is this trial a good idea? The examination of vocal cords indicated left side is not vibrating like the right and there is a gap. Thank you for your assistance

Throat so tight it affects breathing

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:14:35 +0000

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Lump in throat

Hi, for the past 6 months, I have had serious issues with my throat that are really affecting my breathing. My nose feels it too. Let me explain. At the nose level, my nose is extremely tight all day. What I mean is, even the very bottom of my nostrils are permanently in a tense state, effectively making my nose opening more narrow. However, my nose itself is apparently "clear" based on what doctors say. So, that leads me to believe it's my extremely tight throat that's causing my breathing symptoms. Essentially, my throat feels like it's being squeezed at all times. When I breathe in, it's as if my throat is sucking in on itself, and I feel like I didn't get a normal breath. I often end up taking a deep breath out of my mouth repeatedly. When I breathe in through my nose, in addition to the sucking in feeling, it's almost like this feeling of cool air somewhere in the back of my nose or upper throat. It feels like a thin column of cool air is getting through only. When it's at its worst, the cool air feeling goes away. I found a few tricks that seem to help slightly. One is a very deep yawn. It seems to almost stretch my muscles out or something and the next few breaths (for about 20 seconds or so) are a bit more satisfying. What I notice during those breaths is my nose seems less tense and the cool air feeling becomes more pronounced in my throat, as if the column of coolness has increased thickness slightly, meaning more air going down.

Some other weird symptoms I have noticed are when burping, my throat seems to block them off now, like they literally can't come out my mouth anymore. In fact, every time I burp, my nose often blocks off temporarily even more. I hear like air popping sounds and liquid type gurgling sounds in my throat afterwards. It almost feels like my esophagus has somehow shifted higher in my throat or something. Another thing is when I breathe in through my nose or mouth, my stomach constantly growls, a sign that air is getting into my stomach. But, it's literally happening repeatedly now. One of my theories is that something is so tight, enlarged, or out of place in my throat, that air is getting somehow displaced towards my esophagus instead of my wind pipe, which is causing all these symptoms. The thing about it is, no matter what, even if I do everything possible to make my nose feel clear, it isn't enough, because my throat still sucks in on itself when I breathe in, and air seems to get displaced from into my esophagus. It also seems to explain why burping seems to go into the back of my nose. It's almost like there's some kind of direct path from my nose to my esophagus that has formed. I often take breaths through my nose know as brief "sniffs" cause extended breaths in just seem to tighten my throat more and more.

I know it sounds crazy, but these are the symptoms I feel 24/7 now. My ENT basically "released" me after 2 visits, saying I'm crazy. He did do that straight scope thing. Basically, even my family thinks I'm crazy, but they have no idea that I know something isn't right here. It's almost like I'm the only one who really knows how bad these symptoms are, and these stupid doctors here just blame everything on psychological problems or "reflux". I'm not sure what to do. I live in Panama City, Florida. I'm going to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville soon, but my doc is sending me to a gastro doc. Truth be told, I'm not so sure that's the issue. Something very insidious is going on here, but the symptoms are terrible. It's really not like a cold feeling in my nose, it's more like some kind of physical restriction at my throat level is affecting both my throat and nose and breathing. I don't know what it could possibly be.

Anyway, is my theory about something shifting out of place like my esophagus or air rerouting into my esophagus instead of my trachea too crazy to be true? I know the thyroid can cause those issues, but mine by all accounts isn't enlarged at all. I really feel like something is structurally wrong here.

Cricopharangereal Spasm

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:06:00 +0000

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Lump in throat

Thank you so much for your article about lumps in the throat - it was such a relief to read it. Knowing that there will be an end to it and that the symptoms are not imagined is a great help.My comment is for other sufferers:I seem to be getting some very temporary relief by relaxing my jaw (and therefore the throat) so there is a gap of about 1/2cm between my teeth and my lips are just closed. As it is often a struggle to swallow saliva and panic about breathing difficulties can start, (I appear to be developing allergy induced asthma at the same time) any relief is most welcome.

I do hope this might help someone.

Nell