1. Community
  2. Gut, bowel and stomach
  3. Oesophageal Achalasia and Spasm

Throat tightness and difficulty swallowing and speaking

Posted , 8 users are following.

astonia
astonia

I'm 24 and just over two months ago, I started feeling a tightness in my throat that makes it difficult to swallow and speak (feels like running out of air and comes bundled up with a feeling of pressure on the top of the chest). At the time, it spooked me and I had a bit of panic attack. I also had a mild fever the following couple of days and was barely able to eat anything for the whole week. 2 different akg's found nothing, 3 different doctors listening to me breath found nothing. After that first week I've developed insomnia and am still unable to sleep for more than 3 hours straight (and then on and off for an hour at a time). It generally feels better when I rest my head and I feel fine for the first hour to about 3 or 4 hours after waking up. It gets progressively worse towards the evening (also worse if I'm tired due to lack of sleep), exercise seems to lessen it too. I've been reffered to a psychiatrist who perscribed me with xanax (that was a month ago) which I took for about 3 and a half weeks before stopping. To be fair the psychiatrist never actually told me what's wrong, just said "It'll pass, it takes a bit of time". So I assume it's all down to stress, and the only thing on the internet that I find that sufficiently matches my symptoms is throat tightness due to stress or anxiety, but the thing is there's a chicken and egg situation here as when I first felt this feeling I wasn't stressed or anxious or the like. I didn't know what was going on and panicked, sure, but it came literally out of nowhere. Now it's two months later and though it's not as bad as say, the first two weeks, the differences between now and a month ago feel somewhat barely noticable (true, I might not have been the calmest or stressless person during this time but I wasn't constantly panicking or the like. The internet says my muscles need "ample time" to return to normal after prolonged stress, but seriously one panic attack and then two months with only a mild improvement?).

 Really the best way I can describe this feeling is a constant feeling of pressure on my throat and when I chew (or hold anything in my mouth really), I feel a pressure coming from my throat and upper chest that culminates in either me forcing the swallow or spitting whatever is in my mouth out.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • john1806
    john1806 astonia

    Posted

    Hi Astonia

    Talking from experience , throat issues can be very difficult to get diagnosed .

    It took me over 15 years to be diagnosed with type 1 Achalasia , after years of return visits to the doctors being told I was working to much , stressed , hernia , sleep apnea , irritable bowel ... The list goes on , enough to make anyone depressed .

    I started to feel down in myself as I knew there was something not right with my body , it can become very frustrating .

    The steps are in fact very simple .

    Your doc could request a barium swallow video - this will expose any restriction that you may have from your mouth to your stomach , this would be a good start and go some way to assuring you that there is or is not a problem .

    Should something be exposed then they could request a manometry test - this will test the muscles that are used during swallowing to expose any defects that may be there .

    The above mentioned is what finally gave me the answers I had long been searching for

    I had a robotic heller cardiomyotomy last Wednesday and feel so much better already .

    There are many reasons why someone can experience your symptoms , so I would persist with you quest for a correct diagnosis , and not all are sinister .

    Hope this helps and good luck

    Thanks

    John

  • ann79577
    ann79577 astonia

    Posted

    Sorry you are so young and have these problems my problems started later in life sometimes you've got to be aware what your body is doing Relaxing exercises helps sometimes I'm aware I'm clenching my teeth together take deep breaths exercise  and learn how to relax its not easy 
  • AlanJM
    AlanJM astonia

    Posted

    You may or may not have achalasia as there are all sorts of reasons why people feel constricted in their throat area.   Tension and anxiety won't help things, regardless of the immediate cause, so trying to find a way to relax around eating would be a good thing to do; and keeping up your nutrition levels by whatver means you can.   An ear nose and throat specialist may be able to help, also tests like a barium swallow, endoscopy and manometry.   An Upper GI (gastro-intestinal tract) specialist may also be able to help.   It all depends on whether the food sticks in the upper part of your throat - or whether it slips down and then gets stuck in your gullet / diaphragm area so that it does not enter your stomach easily.

    Can you cope with soft food like soups and so on?

    • astonia
      astonia AlanJM

      Posted

      To be honest it doesn't feel like things get stuck, mostly everything seems to go down smoothly, it's the act of initiating the swallowing that seems most difficult. The density of the food doesn't seem to be too much of a factor as i have this issue even when eating a yogurt and when drinking. I can eat reasonably well during the first half of the day though it gets more and more uncomfortable as the day goes on.

      I'm seeing the ear nose and throat specialist tommorow for another check up as last week he didn't have the tools to perform more than the standard "say ah" and stick in the mouth check which revealed nothing. 

    • astonia
      astonia AlanJM

      Posted

      Well the ear nose and throat doc stuffed a tube through my nose and down my throat, saw nothing. He did agree to refer me to a barium swallow test if it eases my mind, thoguh he doesn't think it's necessery as I don't have heartburn
    • AlanJM
      AlanJM astonia

      Posted

      Having the barium swallow test is a good thing!
  • anbuma
    anbuma astonia

    Posted

    i agree with Alan M.doctors are too ready to put things down to stress and anxiety.i had an endoscopy,colonoscopy and barium swallow test after three years of symptoms which revealed hiatus hernia dysphagia and diverticulitis.i have difficulty swallowing and food gets stuck in my throat or hurts on swallowing.
  • Dodoman7642
    Dodoman7642 astonia

    Posted

    So sad alot people dont get it till it happens to them. I remember drinking water and as i swallowed it squirted back out of my mouth. I do get where your coming from. Lets hope it can be sorted.

    ​  I fell to bits i was 17 stone went down to 8st in a few weeks people thought i had cancer. Hang on in there it will get easier to live with. It broke me Depression stress anxiety got it all Some days better than others.

  • Revburr
    Revburr astonia

    Posted

    Hello. I'm 55 and have similar symptoms. I'm pretty sure my symptoms are the result of side effects from Benazipril which is a medication. It's very annoying and difficult to swallow at times. So I'm wondering if your symptoms are side effects of something else?? You may try acupuncture. Eastern medicine can help where Western Science leaves off. Best wishes.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.