Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Horrible swollen feeling in throat - anyone else suffered similar?

19 replies

Pinkchampagne · 08/06/2007 23:30

I had this last year & went to my GP who said it was probably stress related, it later went away & stayed away, but now it's back. It almost feels like my throat is closing up at times, and sometimes I feel like food is stuck in my throat, even though I have no trouble swallowing.
It is not always there, so I guess it is probably nothing too serious, but I can't help but worry each time I experience this.

OP posts:

ScummyMummy · 08/06/2007 23:35

Is it seasonal? Could it be hayfever?

Beauregard · 08/06/2007 23:35

That is what i had last week and was anxiety .
hope you feel better soon.
keep occupied ,go on msn or something.

shanks313 · 08/06/2007 23:36

Hi,

I have been going through exactly the same thing for about 6 weeks now.GP told me it was all just anxiety but I sympathise in how scary it can be.
Some meals I can eat no problem then suddenly I find it really hard to swallow.I wish I knew how yto make it stop.

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 08/06/2007 23:42

I am so relieved to hear I'm not alone! I have been getting myself pretty worried again & started trying to google my symptoms, which can worry you more!

It isn't there all the time, but when it is it can be quite frightening.

I have been through a fair amount of stress recently, so I guess the anxiety thing is a big possibility. I just get myself all worried!

OP posts:

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 08/06/2007 23:45

I used the word "worried" quite a lot in my last post, which says it all! I am probably not helping myself here!

OP posts:

flibbertyjibbet · 09/06/2007 00:37

I get same thing every time I have prolonged stress. You need to tackle what is stressing you and try to relax all the neck/shoulder area when you are stressed as tension there will aggravate it.

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 09/06/2007 09:27

It is really reassuring to know I'm not alone with this - I wasn't expecting any response to my thread tbh!

I have been through quite a bit of stress as I moved into a new house alone with the boys a month back, I'm having my eldest son assessed for special needs & I am also experiencing behaviour problems with DS1 atm, so this could all be stress related. Not sure how to relax myself though!

OP posts:

flibbertyjibbet · 09/06/2007 21:11

I find that sometimes a pretend caraoke to something easy singy like Take That(in empty house of course!) relaxes the throat cos you are singing away and using the muscles instead of tensing them all up. Also, the singing helps lift your spirits and helps de-stress me!

tegan · 09/06/2007 21:21

I have had this for 3 days and gp has given me anti biotics thank god. Feeling much better now.

tweetyfish · 09/06/2007 21:29

I have this when I stressed too.. For some reason I find yawning helps momentarily.

I must admit it is nice to see that other people have it too!

nooka · 09/06/2007 21:41

I've had this on and off for the last 10 years (ever since dh and I got engaged...). I have had several investigations which have come to nothing, and every time in the end it just disappears after two or three months. Having made friends with an acupuncturist I now know that it is a very common stress disorder (known as "plum stone"). My last bout disappeared before I had any treatment, but if it is getting you down then I would recommend that you visit an acupuncturist. It's the sort of thing GPs are fairly useless at helping with. Chises medicine can also help, but you need to make sure you don't visit a quack (acupucturinsts all have to pass exams to be accredited, but I don't think there is anything universal for chinese medicine places).

flibbertyjibbet · 09/06/2007 21:47

nooka, I still say that part of the cure is getting rid of whatever is stressing you... you say you've had it since you've been engaged... interesting!!

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 09/06/2007 21:58

Wow, I'm amazed that so many of you have experienced this! I really didn't expect anyone to have a clue what I was on about!

OP posts:

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 09/06/2007 22:04

I need to now try & get rid of things that stress me, which could be tricky, but getting rid of the husband was a pretty good start!!

OP posts:

nooka · 09/06/2007 22:38

Well it's caused by build up of Chi on the liver apparently, which can be stress and also frustration. I find that a particularly stressfull event can trigger it for me, or sometimes it's just after a stressful period of time. Of course eliminating the stress would help, as would letting out the frustration (something I try to do, but I'm not very good at it). I've been seperated from dh for almost two years (now in the process of probably living together again, but that's a very long story!) and I've still had two batches of it. I have noticed that all my family suffer from stress to one degree or another so I am trying to learn how to positively relax, but it's hard to change the habits of a lifetime. The most annoying thing is that once you have it it is very difficult to relax because it's so irritating

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 09/06/2007 22:45

Blimey, didn't realise it was connected with a build up on the liver!

This is my second proper spell of it too. I had it when I was going through a lot of stress in my marriage, just before the separation, and now I have it back again over a year later!

It is hard not to get more stressed & worried while you are suffering with this horrible throat thing, isn't it?

OP posts:

nooka · 09/06/2007 23:32

It's really horrible - and frustrating when your GP says it's stress related, and you think OK, but now this is what is causing me stress! I don't know about the chi thing (I am public health trained so always a bit skeptical) but acupuncturists go through an accredited training programme, and there is quite a bit of evidence of efficacy. Also it is apparently quite a routine sort of disorder (I was so pleased to hear that it wasn't just me being weird!). So I think it's worth a try, and definately next time I have an episode (which seems to be every couple of years) I'm going to go for it.

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 10/06/2007 09:15

I went to my GP when I first experienced this, because I started to convince myself it must be something serious.
He asked if I was stressed about anything, and I told him that I was, then he said that sometimes when you're very anxious, your throat tightens up. He just said "So try to stop getting stressed about whatever's stressing you!"
Easier said than done when you are going through a highly stressful time!

Last time I didn't get the feeling I had food stuck in my throat after eating though, which I do get this time, which has started me worrying all over again!

I guess there has been around an 18 month break between my experiences of this, so quite similar to your yours.

OP posts:

Original poster

Pinkchampagne · 17/06/2007 09:55

This seems to have calmed down a bit now thankfully, so I'm hoping it soon goes away completely. It does worry you when you experience this, so it was really reassuring to know I'm not alone here!

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me.

OP posts:

Flip