'Lump in Throat' sensation made worse by reading & talki

Yes, I know what you are talking about. And I have a theory on that: check yourself on how far your head or chin is sticking forward and up, even. People tend to do that when they look at a screen in front of them. They tend to look up a bit and stick out their chins. Make sure your head is on top of your shoulders, not in front of it, it helps me a lot.

Hi Maureen – I have been suffering with what I very well could call GH for the past 3 years myself. Also could be what my acupuncturist is calling, Plum Stone Throat. I have not read all the threads here, so maybe this is more detail than what you want, but I am also more than interested in trying to find relief and a cure for this, as it has become the focal point of my life and I am getting frustrated to say the least…

My throat irritations (anything from feeling a lump, to feeling tight and muscularly score, to bitter tastes in my mouth, even a dried out feeling in my throat and even soreness in my chest and achyness) started about 3 and half years ago. I was treated for Post Nasal Drip, Acid Reflux, Asthma, Speech Therapy, Eating and Swallowing tests and Cancer. All negative. I then started seeing an acupuncturist last January and he immediately diagnosed Plum Stone Throat – which from what I can tell is just a translation of GH. Rather than psychosomatic though, PST is attributed to the “energetic” level of you body – cannot been seen but is just as real as the physical body according to the theory. At any rate, the acupuncture definitely provided immediate positive benefits, but long term I was not getting better. So I have now been seeing a psychotherapist for about 3 months now. And while the sessions are great, my illness is still very real and I am just taking it one day at a time, still getting acupuncture every now and then too.

As far as the reading or talking. Personally, I think it is all just an excuse. The ENT I saw insisted I had a speech problem and that I spoke too tightly and from the back of my throat. Well, when he said that it was easy for me to convince myself that on days when I spoke a lot my symptoms were worse. But I went to speech therapy and practiced all kinds of daily physical therapy type exercises for my throat and neck and guess what – nothing came of it and I finally admitted there was no direct correlation between the severity of my systems and talking (or reading I would image as you describe). It is just such a frustrating condition that you look to ANYTHING for the cause and you can trick yourself into it – but it is all a placebo in my opinion. At least that is what I have experienced personally.

I am still searching for a long term CURE. I am really tied of just feeling better at points, I want to be better… So I would love anyone’s feedback on what has worked for them. But I find the following to at least provide some relief. But it is also frustrating because at least for me, my symptoms are so random in when they present themselves, for how long and how severe. So it is always hard to tell just how much relief a particular activity is giving vs. how much it is just my symptoms fluctuating. But with that said:

-Exercise – lots of it – 5 – 7 days a week (this is the best relief. Though where it used to relieve me for 24 hours, now it is only a few hours or half a day.)

-Acupuncture (I find acupuncture best relieves the tightness I feel. And it can last a whole day or so.)

-Meditation & Sleep (when I mediate or sleep it almost “re-sets” my symptoms. I usually feel better for an hour so after mediation and in the mornings is when I feel the best until I get into my day)

-Dinking (a few drinks usually really helps with immediate relief and I can even get to points where I feel normal again. But this has led to me drinking much more, which I do not like.)

-Sex (the entire act of sex provides a great distraction and physical release, which combined offers me relief. Though my systems do greatly turn down my sex drive. But a few drinks and then some sex and that helps ;-)

Anyway – I hope maybe this helps and I am more than interested in anyone else’ feedback.

- David

Hi guys,

I have been sufferieng form this terrible condition since 2002 after I gave birth to my daughter. It just happened one night and never ceased since then. I had hundreds of test done: blood test, thyroid, MRI, CTScan, laryngoscopy, Ba swallow, etc...and NOTHING! And still I feel it so real, it interferes with my whole life and my personal relationships as well. It is so real, it is so muchinto my sensations, scary...

I feel my throat sore, painful tension, I can hardly swallow solid food and hav eto wash down every single bite with water. Imagine how embaracing it is when we go with friends over for a dinner and I always have to look for excuse not to eat. It seems that it is in whole neck area, I feel soreness at the back of th ehead in the cervical nerves and feel neck muscles very tense and when I chew food muscles get tired. Sometimes I feel this sore sensation and tension on my chest and heart, but it is rare. Yes, I usually have the same problem when reading, working infront of the computer, sitting for a longer period of time, prolonged talking and singing. I also feel dizzy at times especially in the evening and feel my whole body tense and each fibre vibrating.

I went through all these stages as you guys and most of the time I thought I am all alone in the world, that there is no one else having this terrible problem, went through all the devastation, fear, grief, and finally had to accept it and learn to live with it. I have tried almost everything possible: drugs, herbs, supplements, accupuncture and Chinese herbs, but nothing really worked until I started taking Homeopathy.

I was really sceptic but for some 4-5 months I saw such a great improvement at all levels. It feels great. I know it will take some time to cope with it, but there is hope...

I wonder if anybody has this GH associated with dizziness and swallowing problems especially with solid food, it feels like the muscles of the neck are week and I feel like I am too aware of my throat which makes me uncapable to swallow, plus I have to sit down on a low table when eating, can not sit on a regualr table.

It is good to know I am not alone.

Best regards,

Zara

Please share your experience. It really helps to see one is not alone on this tough road.

Hugs,

Anne Z

Maureen,

I have exactly the same symptoms. I do have Post Nasal Drip with Globus, and my throat gets irritated if I speak for periods too.

Im 29, non smoker and I know the chances of it being something else are remote, but it does worry me still.

Yes, I agree with you. I teach for a living and feel that after talking for a long time and working at the computer, it definitely gets worse. The more relaxation in the day, the better the condition, I have noticed. I have only had it three weeks and feel a bit fed up reading some of the postings on this site as there are people who have had it for such a long time. I am not going to let it ruin my life!

This whole idea of a ''Lump feeling in my throat'' has recently entered into my life in this attempt to help my fiancée. I'm not sure the age on these threads posted but by the sounds of it, I wont be to late. This is a new problem in her life and any problem she has is a problem I have. So my contribution to remedy will bore all of you. I was hoping to get the few in this discussion together and fight this thing together. Lay down common similarities. Psycological behaviors. Attitudes. Find dome common understandings. That's may not be so obvious. And maybe together with all of our efforts we can reach comfort together. I understand these threads are designed to help. But I don't believe they unite quite as they should. There are enough of you with this terrible rarity and if there's a chance of a long turn relief. You have a better chance working together. Over the next few days my Fiancée and I  will work on listing our daily habits. Rutines. Diet. Levels of exercise. Emotional state and Psycological state. 

For today I wanted to introduce myself and her. Michelle is my beautiful bestfreind. And I am Nathan. And the purpose of this responce is to attract the few individuals that fell hopeless to this ridiculous condition. I won't rest until my fiancée has permanent relief... And the same goes for the few joined in this effort. Thankyou. 

Hi!  I know this thread is over a year old, but praying you receive this message.  I stumbled upon this thread and literally broke didn in tears reading your post.  You described my symptoms to a "T".  For the first time, I found someone who has the same crazy symptoms that I have suffered with for years and thought I was crazy.  I've been to countless doctors who dismiss me as psychotic.  I am a 43 year old married mom of 2 and I feel like for the past 5 years this "condition" is robbing me of enjoying my life.  Have you found any answers of what this is, how to treat it?  I would be forever grateful to hear from you!!! Thanks

Hi everyone, I've been experiencing similar throat issues. My ENT thinks I'm nuts because when he performs an endoscopy there's not lump..... but he confirms there is a lot of acid and the voice box is a little swollen, and there is an infection. I went to another he said my thyroid is a little swollen, and a lot of acid is seen. So the both of them prescribed nexium and steroids, one added antibiotics for the infection, and allergy medication for my allergies.

It doesn't help..... speaking is painful so they told my to rest my voice, I have to children so that is very difficult. I had a nodule on my right vocal cord that seemed to have shrunken. That's when this lump feeling started. It is uncomfortable, the front on my throat hurts to the touch, my neck muscles ache, the tonsils is swollen most of the time, I have terrible allergies, post nasal drip, sinus and acid reflux.

Over the past few years I've been to four ENT doctors repeatedly..... but the lump sensation came about almost two months ago.

Makes me wonder if bad diet and environmental allergies is the cause of my predicament.

I don't personally know of anyone with similar issues, but all the specialist reassured me there is no cancer.

Feeling frustrated, we need a solution.

Has anyone found any answers? I have the same exact symptoms as most of you. Barium swallow and blood/urine work all look great. The ent sees irritated vocal chords but no lumps or anything. Some days are good and some are bad, and I have not been able to pinpoint any triggers. On days that I can get away and actually not talk, I do pretty well. Talking is very painful in a short amount of time.