Palate hyperawareness

[ForRarePombear]

I've got a very unusual issue, will be amazed if anyone can relate but here's hoping... In April this year I had a traumatic experience of nasal endoscopy (camera up nose and down throat) as I thought I'd got a vitamin gummy lodged. I found the procedure quite painful and ended up in A&E 2 days later with panic attack symptoms.

Ever since then I've had these weird sensations in my soft palate (back of roof of mouth) making me hyperaware of that area 24/7, kind of feels like my soft palate is collapsing into my throat. Been back to ENT who did the scope and to another ENT for second opinion, both say the soft palate looks normal and have never heard of such complaints in 30 years of doing these endoscopies.

I'm so depressed that I had this procedure as it's kicked off this hyperawareness and I've been stuck with this hyperawareness for 4 months.

If anyone has any similar sensation or ideas as to what's going on here (OCD?), I could really use some support as I feel it's ruining my life. I'm a full time career for my severely autistic son and this issue is impacting my mental health so badly. Thanks!

I've had one of those nasal endoscopes, and though I worried about it, it was a breeze, and the scope so small that I can't imagine it doing any physical damage. So yep I imagine that your brain has become hyper aware of things that it doesn't normally register.

Would hypnosis help? That would be my first port of call.

I thought this was quite a well recognised anxiety symptom? I’m sure it’s got a name. Globus?
My friend had it and took it as a sign to quit her job and become a wellness coach. Might be a tad dramatic but perhaps start with a GP visit and consider meds? And I think CBT is effective too.

Globus can also be something that rears it's head during perimenopause, and I think can be a symtom of low B12. It's no fun.
I have real problems with gagging after nearly choking on some food, I'm now hypersensitive to bits of food that previously I would have just swallowed.

Globus hystericus - a 'tight' feeling in the throat, or a feeling that there's something there when you swallow

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/ears-nose-and-throat/feeling-of-something-in-your-throat-globus/

You've answered your own question in your post - "Ever since then I've had these weird sensations in my soft palate...making me hyperaware of that area"

In the same way, a speck of dust can start to look like a monster through the lens of a microscope if we magnify it to a large enough degree, so our worries, concerns or anxieties can start to look life-threatening if we spend too much time
focusing on them, which is exactly what's happened to you.

Have you ever lost a tooth and spent the next few week with your tongue relentlessly probing the hole? Or developed a lump/spot/bruise on your body which you keep going back, just to see if it's changed? Yup - all the same types of hyperawareness; the added issue here is the panic attack that has ramped everything up to the next level.

As PP have mentioned, if you can't distract yourself within a few weeks then a couple of hypnosis sessions would help you refocus.

Thanks for all your feedback. I think the sticking point for me is that most people have found that scope procedure to be pain free whereas I felt a ton of discomfort and pressure. My stressed out brain is telling me that the scope pushed my soft palate down giving me this sensation of hyperawareness of it. I'm desperately hoping this is a physical impossibilily and it's 100 percent psychological!

I'm also trying to habituate to 24/7 loud head tinnitus my nervous system is already on high alert which doesn't help.

I thought I'd got a vitamin gummy lodged

And was it? If not, it seems to me that this sensation was already there in the reason for the endoscopy, rather than the result of it.

I don't think the soft palate can be 'pushed down'. It feels soft, but it's not moveable as far as I can tell. Given your tinnitus and your caring responsibilities I think this is much more likely to be psychological and stress related. I hope you can find some help with it, as it sounds miserable.

Gently, that’s not happened has it, even if it were possible, because two expert doctors have looked at in and told you it’s normal.

Also yes it sounds like the globus was already present when you had the endoscopy and indeed was the reason for the endoscopy.

Do try a course of CBT and see if that helps?

No, the gummy wasn't lodged but ENT saw some bruising which seemed to be the reason for the globus feeling. That feeling resolved but was replaced by the soft palate hyperawareness. I was alarmed when I looked online at the anatomy of the soft palate and realised it's flexible muscle and tissue which is moveable. That's what started this obsession that the scope could be capable of pushing it down. 2 ENTs have dismissed this idea so I guess I will have to approach this as a psychological problem. I do have a history of sensorimotor OCD so maybe this is what's going on?

My brain takes a LOT of convincing that there's no physical problem when the sensation feels so real

I'm also trying to habituate to 24/7 loud head tinnitus my nervous system is already on high alert which doesn't help

Another reason for considering hypnosis. Understanding why and how your subconscious works goes a very long way in resolving sensory issues.

I’m not sure if it’s the same procedure, but it sounds similar to an endoscopy where they put a camera down your throat into your stomach. The NHS seem to push you towards having this without anaesthetic, presumably to save money.
I never got the camera further than my mouth, before I told them to stop and walked out. Other people I have spoken to it have reported similar, or have felt quite disturbed by it.
I’d say your feelings are perfectly valid regarding what is an invasive procedure.

Mad at myself though because I bypassed doctor and arranged private appointment with ENT. I was so anxious and wanted to resolve the throat issue quickly (up the wall with caring duties so didn't want the problem to drag on). My brother is a dentist and he said the palate can't be moved without cutting tissue. I sure hope he's right!!

It's different. The nasal tube is much easier. It's extremely fine and it doesn't affect the gag reflex or need you to swallow. It just slides in, like a naso-gastric feeding tube does. Or it should.

If a dentist tells you it can't move, then I'm sure he's right!

It does sound as though this feeling is connected to your other stresses and issues, so I'd focus on getting some hypnosis or similar. Good luck!

Re the nasal gastric tube, my niece has had 3 or 4 of those during treatment for leukemia. Never once had she mentioned any displacement or effect on her soft palate.