24/7 Extreme Globus for over a year - My story and resolution

This is going to be a bit of a novel , but I promised myself if I ever found even the slightest, smallest form of relief I would re-visit this website and share my experiences with all of you in the hopes that maybe this can stop or help relieve someone else's agony.

Let me start by saying , I'm no stranger to suffering. I've had broken bones and hearts, invasive surgeries, tattoos you get the idea. I'm also not the type of person to break easily or express discomfort easily. Globus sensation, for as long and as severe as I experienced is easily the most difficult and draining thing i've ever had to endure. I did not find a cure that worked for me in this forum, but I did find a lot of comfort knowing there is somebody out there who understands, and that I wasnt alone even though it seemed so and I just wanted to say thank you so much for that.

I'll try to spare as many obsolete details as possible and keep the timeline as clean as I can, please bear with me also as not being a gifted writer.

In august , 2019 I first experienced the sensation I would later learn identified as Globus , Or Globus Sensation. I woke up feeling a tightness in my throat, I described it to my boss as being difficult to breath. This went on for about 2 or 3 days and vanished. I didnt think much of it , In fact I'm pretty sure I chalked it up to bad air quality due to it being fire season where I live.

Before you read this , I never had a history of breathing or heart problems anxiety, or ANY problems related to any of those things my entire life. I was laying down in my bed to fall asleep on march 31st 2020 and I kept experiencing this weird feeling where it felt like my heart would flutter , or race , and I felt like when I exhaled periodically it was really difficult to inhale (or at least it felt like it was) accompanied by a very doomy feeling. This went on for a few hours and eventually it got to a point where it started to concern me enough to wake up my fiance and ask her if I should see a doctor. We both convinced each other that it could be serious, especially with my heart fluttering ( or fluttering sensation). My emergency room visit was inconclusive. They ran an EKG and heart related blood work, monitored both my heart and oxygen levels for over 4 hours and everything came back completely normal. This continued on for several nights afterwards. I started monitoring my own heart rate with a fit bit, even at night when laying down and experiencing this. According to the fitbit , even when I felt like my heart was racing , it wasnt. On June 3rd 2020 I started to develop a severe pain in my chest on the left side, underneath or what felt like behind my left nipple, it felt like I might be having severe heartburn or something similar. It felt like a very sharp stabbing , throbbing almost burning pain right around where my heart is. So I went back to the emergency room and they did some blood work and another EKG, results were inconclusive yet again and everything appeared to be normal. The pain seemed to be less when I was sitting or standing, but still present. It seemed to be worse when lying down. By this point I had missed several days of work due to not being able to sleep literally at all. Frustrated and growing increasingly concerned, I went to another emergency room in the next city over on June 8th 2020 , to get a CT scan still having severe chest pain in the same area, I also noted that it felt like it was radiating to my back side and below my rib cage, and also in my upper abdomen but still in a very concentrated area. The CT scan revealed slight constipation, but nothing more. They prescribed me laxatives and sent me on my way, after the medicine ran, I had slight releif from the abdominal pain, but the "heart" area pain still persisted.

During all of this time I was still visiting my primary doctor off and on , he prescribed me Pantoprazole for suspected GERD or heartburn and Lorazepam for suspected anxiety, I took the pantoprazole for several months every day and I was becoming heavily drained by not sleeping every night from the constant severe pain and unknown cause. My symptoms remained identical on the Pantoprazole, The Lorazepam didn't really seem to have much of an effect at all and I began to develop a sensation of my throat feeling small, or like something was stuck inside of it, like wearing a really really over tight turtle neck, or being held in choke, however the sensation mysteriously vanished, and returned again time and time again with no obvious triggers or solutions . I visited my primary doctor and he referred me for an endoscopy.

On June 29th 2020, In heavy desperation for any answer , relief and sleep I went to the hospital in Boise and requested another CT scan of my chest and heart, and inquired about any other possible tests or possible causes. The CT scan came back with normal results again.

On July 13th 2020 I conversed with my primary care doctor with an updated list of my symptoms, I still felt the pain but it wasn't a constant like it was before, I only got the pain occasionally at this point , but the turtle neck choking sensation was worsening, and no longer coming and going, just constant. On July 23rd I had the endoscopy done. The results were also normal, the doctor informed me she took a small biopsy and prescribed me Omeprazole. By this point I no longer felt the burning stabbing pain in my chest. After the endoscopy I stopped taking Pantoprazole and took the Omeprazole from July 23rd up until August 26th 2020 , under instruction from my doctor I stopped the medication due to a lack of results, I went back to my primary doctor on August 31st 2020 and explained my symptoms, he prescribed me Buspirone for suspected anxiety.

The Buspar did seem to provide a very temporary relief, I still am unsure if it was actually effective , or if my brain tricked me into thinking that but it also made me feel ill and just down drugged to the point where I didn't feel comfortable operating a vehicle. I continued taking the Buspar daily for a few weeks until I was convinced it wasn't helping at all. Under instruction from my doctor I stopped taking the Buspar. No change in condition. By this point I was starting to lose hope, and the will to continue on and found little to no point in recording dates and times, as this information proved to be pointless so far. I visited my primary care doctor yet again and he prescribed me Zoloft. I took the Zoloft until about October and under instructions from my doctor weaned off the Zoloft due to a lack of results and prescribed me Lexapro. By this point my doctor was convinced that the Globus sensation was due to an underlying anxiety disorder, and nothing more, and I thought that this was absolutely insane because I'm not an anxious person, and never had anxiety problems before, I would never have even entertained this thought before. Desperate and confused I took the Lexapro for several months, but the Globus persisted. 24/7 , extremely tight Globus. By mid march I was weaned off of Lexapro due to a lack of results.My doctor referred me back to the endoscopy doctor. I was prescribed hydroxyzine I took this for months to no avail, she then prescribed me amitriptyline on a dose that tapered up to from 10 to 50mg daily eventually to 100mg daily for about 2 months , no results. By this time I had really started to loose all hope and had began to entertain thoughts of suicide regularly, and was loosing my will to live. The Globus sensation was so extreme, it was absolute pure agony, I was in a constant state of extreme discomfort for endless months and months and months and was finding it impossible to find enjoyment out of anything in my life. Things that I once loved, just became things, talking became exhausting and just waking up knowing that I had to live with this another day. I eventually ended up in a very reclusive and depressive state, alienating every person in my life, nobody around me understood or took it seriously at all , including many medical professionals I encountered, In fact the ear nose and throat doctor told me that I needed to learn how to live with it. I never experienced real depression before this.

My primary healthcare doctor retired shortly after I stopped taking the amitripyline , forcing me to find a new primary doctor, not knowing where to go I continue to turn to the doctor at the digestive clinic, she reccomends several other primary care physicians , and several other types of doctors including an internal medicine specialist and an ear nose and throat specialist , and a vocal cord specialist, I did so many tests , hormone tests, blood tests, urine and stool tests, a barium swallow test, an ultrasound and CT on my thyroid, and neck all with normal results. I frantically search all corners of the internet, I even tried other types of odd remedies like gargling hot salt water for 20 minutes, gargling cold salt water for 20 minutes or only eating cold food , only eating hot foods , not eating spicy foods any sort of diet modification you can think of. Massage therapy , you name it I've tried every remedy you could think of. I really start to spiral. Convinced I will never find a solution for this I locate a new doctor, and make an appointment. When he walks into the room, immediately I am not impressed, he looks like he is my age, or possibly younger. I think to myself great, another doctor who is going to listen to me talk, but not hear my voice, this isn't the doctor, this isn't THE GUY. This guy isn't going to be able to help me, I'm wasting my own time. Why did I even come here? I've seen so many doctors. Against my better judgement, I give him the entire story. He asks me a few brief questions and then asks me if I've tried or considered a medication called Cyclobenzaprine. Well by now you know I haven't. Reluctantly I pick up the prescription, read the instructions and consume my first dose.

Wow.

I don't remember exactly how long after the first dose of Cyclobenzaprine, but it wasn't long, I felt a noticeable (not much seriously) but the smallest most miniscule noticeable difference THAT night before I went to sleep. I was so greatful I cried , The Globus is still terrible but I felt a change. 3 days into the medication I'm really starting to notice a change. 10 Days into the medication and WOW what a difference , the sensation is cut in half by this time. Now at approx. 40 days into the medication and my Globus has completely evaporated.

Fast forward to today, 9/10/21 and I am completely symptom free, occasionally I will still feel the Globus sensation EVER so slightly, but it never lingers and goes away within minutes.

I would never wish this on another person, and I express my deepest sympathy for anybody who has struggled with this in any capacity.

Thank you for reading my long story. I wish you all the best. I leave this here in hopes that it will help anybody.

B

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