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My experience with Globus Hystericus / Pharyngis

Posted , 16 users are following.

ZEN.
ZEN.

I hope you are sitting comfortably as it is time for me to share my experience of Globus on this sensationally helpful site that I stumbled upon that has helped me so I just had to join as even if my story helps just one person to relate to it then it has been worthwhile..

it all began November 2009 when I got an odd sensation in my throat and at the back of my toungue after eating too many apples (I have an orchard)..

Off to the doctors i went and was diagnosed with Globus, the feelings of there being something causing discomfort when swallowing got worse, I also had night sweats, pains in lower left of jaw and more recently a clicking in throat when swallowing.. Over the past 18 months I have been sent for a chest/throat xray, had 6 nasal endoscopies (the last two without anaesthetic as it made my throat sore for 2 weeks after and numbed it so much at the time I actually couldnt swallow at all), I was also sent for a Gastroscopy (camera all the way down my windpipe whilst awake to assess my esophageus) , I have had at least 6 bloodtests to check for lymphocites, thyroid , liver, kidney issues white and red cell counts and anything else abnormal in the blood All of which came back clear. I also got a coating at the back of my toungue that has been treated several times but still returns.. I have had lots of different doctors/ consultants feeling my lymph glands.. All results fine

The feeling of globus is as you know very worrying and often frightening, for me it caused major health anxiety as I had just followed the step by step daily blog of a close friend who ended up dying of oesophageal cancer, so that worry has always lived in the back of my mind. I am on Citalopram and Diazepam when the feeling gets bad and the doctor is now trying out Lorazepam in case GERD is causing my globus. I also started hitting half a bottle of strong wine a night to ease my worried mind as the only time i got any peace from my worries was when i was asleep..

I believe that it is most definately made worse by the vicious cycle of worry that it perpetuates ..

My tips for surviving GH are..

1. Cut out as much worrying as you can

2. Accept the feeling GH brings dont fight it

3. Relax as much as you can

4. Get plenty of sleep as my GH seems to get worse later in the day and a lie in helps

5. I Dont gargle with chemicals / mouthwashes as it makes my throat feel worse the next day.

6. This works for me try it if you like at your own risk..When GH strikes try stretching your neck by tilting your head back and stretching your lips forward as though you were trying to kiss the roof whist at the same time lightly massage your neck muscles around the tightness affected area i do this for around five minutes.

7. I use a distraction technique by diverting my thoughts to listening to some music or doing something i enjoy..

8. I have had 9 months of CBT which helped me to manage and understand my worries ( ask your doctor for Cognative Behavioural Therapy to help manage your GH worries and anything that may be underlying causing your other worries)

9. Always see your doctor and get checked out if you have any unusual symptoms in your throat, neck, mouth or oeasopageus or any issues with swallowing.

I believe that as there is no known cure as such the best and only plan of action is to manage the symptoms when they come on and as you get used to managing them you should worry less because you will be in control..

I wish each and every one of my fellow GH sufferers my sincere best wishes and good luch on getting to grips with this mentally destructive illness..

Enjoy each moment of the good days and control the negative thoughts of the bad days

5 likes, 34 replies

34 Replies

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  • georgie95
    georgie95

    Posted

    Hi thank goodness i found this site thought i was going mad, not sure what is wrong with my throat seems like i have 2 different things going on, firstly an ongoing sensation of a lump of bread stuck in my windpipe. and more recently 2 really bad throat episodes of painfull swallowing like a really bad infection, which went after 5 days anti biotics then returned 2 days later, i am now on 2nd course of 2000 milligrams a day. pain gone but still sensation of something in my throat is this likely to be this globus hystericus thing ???
  • ZEN.
    ZEN.

    Posted

    Hi Georgie,

    It may well be Globus but it is always best to get ENT to take a look what is going on with an endoscope, ask for a referral from your doctor.

    Globus is quite a strange symptom isnt it ?

    First thoughts are is it serious and am I going mad and generally.. Whats going on with my throat..

    Please keep in touch if you have any questions or updates..

    Regards

    A

  • georgie95
    georgie95

    Posted

    thanks for the reply, and yes if its globus iv got it is a really strange one

    feel like people think im nuts its so hard to make anyone understand the feeling

  • Louben
    Louben ZEN.

    Posted

    Hi there, I have just got back from hospital where I had camera down nose/throat - I was bricking it but it was not too bad. I have been having odd symptops since early this year of firtsly post nasal dripping, resulting in throwing up lots of clear thin mucas. I was diagnosed over the phone with post nasel drip, after 3 months of putting up with it. I was prescribed steroid spray for nose and this dried up the dripping but then the pain / lump in throat gort worse and worse. Was then sent to see ENT who did not hve a camera to put in throat so was gicen a course of Omeprazole and gavison, as the consultant though I may have LRPD. I do drink and smoke and eat late, so it all seemed likely. After visiting the hospital today and having the camera down throat, the consultant reckons I have Globus Hysteria. Advised to continue with mediatuon, albeit at reduced dosage, 1 tablet per day instead of 2, and he suggested that eventually my lump feeling would go away. I hate the gaviscon, but he said that was doing more good than the tablets!

    Now got paranoid as I have been having night sweats and this site suggests it is a red flag - what the hell does that mean? I am 43 and am now confused as to if I am going through the change or now have red flag on the symptoms. The consultant said all looed ok, but now I a worried again - and the worse thing is I know 100% sress and anxiety only add to the symptoms!! My husband was widowed almost 4 years ago his wife was then 41, his last wife died of secondary cervical cancer....my brother died of a cancer at 37, my aunty died of cancer 53...all too young, and a lot healthier than me!! SO how do you stop worrying about something that is not clearly cureable and causes so much pain and discomfort?

    Basically my point is, we are all worrying so much we are making ourselves ill. Stress, anxiety, worrries about experiences we have hasd with friends, families dying young, have exacerbated our own issues, un conciously and sometimes conciously, I want this thing to go away, so I can enjoy my new marriage with my lovely husnband , step kids, my own kids and not have him stressed about me and being ill after he has all been through with his late wife.....enough is enough!

    SO I guess the answer lies within. The condition is triggered by 'something' but is then exacerbated by the age and persons worry.....to get rid.....try and not think about it and I like some of your suggestions, I will try them. Giving up drinking and smoking....not sure - they help me relax and  forget about the worries....which is the worse of the evils...? I know i shouldnt drink too much or smoke (I dont smoke a lot), but for me - it helps me relax and the symptoms go away......Im buggered arent I? Lol...

    This seems to ecoming a more common condition from all I have been reading. Is it the environment? Is it generally that we are more stressed?

    Good luck to you all - I am praying my symptoms will ebb away as suggested by consultant today - otherwise I ay go nuts with it as it is so hard to expaling to people...you feel like a freak!

     

    • ZEN.
      ZEN. Louben

      Posted

      Hi Louben

      1. Are you still a member here?

      2. I am so sorry I have left it all this time to reply, my symptoms went away and I wanted to totally take my mind away from Globus so left for a while but here we are 6 years after my post and I'm back..

      3. How are you and do you now feel better?

      Best Wishes

  • martin0
    martin0 ZEN.

    Posted

    Hi thanks for the info. I have the same. I agrre that most of it is stress. I have been mountain biking with some swimming which i must start again and this for me seems to be helping. I think the more excercise the better. All the best martin
    • ZEN.
      ZEN. martin0

      Posted

      Hi Martin, 6 years on from my initial post and I have returned as has my Globus.

      Successfully get rid of it every time with Diazepam but as the Diazepam wears off it leaves a massive depression feeling so am currently trailing a different muscle relaxant.

      I am actually going to take your path and try a bit of mountain biking and swimming again as a distraction..

      Good Luck and Best Wishes for a full recovery

    • martin0
      martin0 ZEN.

      Posted

      Hi Globus let me know how you get on. I'm sure it will help Take care 

       

    • martin0
      martin0

      Posted

      Hi Zen.

      Mine has gone now. Although sometimes i get bit sticky in the throat. When I sit back and think about it. the exercise has helped heaps and also what the exercise has done is take my mind of it to the point I forget about it and haven't looked back. So to me it is a combination of the mind and exercise. It did take a little bit of time to get rid of it .

      All the best Martin

  • Cho13
    Cho13 ZEN.

    Posted

    Dear The Globus Kid,

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts, advice and experience with us. GH is indeed such a destructive experience (illness?) and it stuns me how so many of us are afflicted by it and seems to be of no interest to doctors in terms of finding a cure (atleast thats the impression I got from doctors I have dealt with over the past 6 years of suffering with this horrible condition).

    I was wondering if you happen to have any pain associated with your GH? I have constant pain that radiates from my throat into my upper chest and upper back. I am scheduled for a pH testing procedure (one where you swallow a tube and keep it in for 24hrs to test any possible reflux conditions in the espophagus). I am so concerned about doing this because of the already horrible globus feeling I have, and when the doctors palpate around my throat especially my thyroid they reproduce the pain sensation I experience. Now go imagine a tube down my throat for a whole 24 hours?!?!

    I pray for a healing miracle for us all. In the mean time, forums like these keep people like me in the light of hope. Maybe one day the more we share our experiences the more we can identify patterns and maybe even begin to figure out triggers and solutions as we have more information to observe and analyse.

    Thanks again for sharing and wish us both a final and speedy recovery! Please do share if you feel pain or not, I am keen to know what aspects of my sensation are shared with others and which are not. I still have my days where I wonder whether after 6 yrs there is a small foreign object in my throat that they just keep missing in all the scans! Has this thought ever crossed your mind??

    • martin0
      martin0 Cho13

      Posted

      Hi keep in touch its a possability it could be an obstrucion Best of luck and take care. Cheers Martin

       

    • ZEN.
      ZEN. Cho13

      Posted

      Hello Cho,

      No pain just pharyngeal spasm for me.

      I was diagnosed by 2 high level consultants so fully accept their diagnosis of pharyngeal spasm.

      See if you can try Diazepam (Valium) on prescription it works very well for me but when it wears off it makes me feel down for a while.

      Good luck with the tests, Stay positive it will pass

  • ZEN.
    ZEN.

    Posted

    OK Fellow 'Globus Kids' 6 years on and I'm back with an update...

    "OMG!" I hear some of you think '6 years!'

    I can assure you that probably 98% of the 6 years has been free from Globus symptoms.

    I am a born worrier and suffer badly with Health Anxiety but am trying to combat it without medication and with positivity so by default I get anxious which feeds my Globus which feeds my anxiety which is a vicious circle indeed.

    5mg Diazepam has relieved symptoms 100% of the time and I trust in the Consultants diagnosis.

    I am currently getting the tight throat thing and occasional clicking from the carteledge when I over swallow to compensate, I think it's called 'Superglotic Swallowing'

    I am now getting a bit reluctant to continue using Diazepan due to its depressing wear off feeling so have been put on 10mg of a non benzo diazepeen muscle relaxant so let's see how that goes I will keep you posted.

    Good Luck All

    • deon28030
      deon28030 ZEN.

      Posted

      Hi Globus Kid and other sufferers of globus,

      I've had this since Oct. 2016. It came on very suddenly, which I am curious if others have had the same experience. It's been very difficult going through this, but I would say for the past couple weeks, even though symptoms are still there, it is feeling relieved somehow. Instead of a chicken bone stuck in my throat, or the feeling of being choked, it is more like an airball or furball in my throat. I still have clicking in my throat when I swallow or turn to the side sometimes. But good news is that most days are bearable.

      I have taken up drinking alcohol, it does seem to help temporarily relief it. Even though it is not the healthiest past time, anything that helps is welcome by me. I stopped smoking too, any irritant to my throat was not good.

      I want you to know it does get better. Acceptance has a lot to do with it. Sending out well wishes.

    • ZEN.
      ZEN. deon28030

      Posted

      Thank you for your post deon.

      The clicking is a really disconcerting part which i believe id caused by the pharygeal muscles which help swallowing tightening up and causing the hyoid cartiledge to be pulled slightly out of line.

      Take care and best wishes

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