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Sore throat...?

Posted , 3 users are following.

emilia47047
emilia47047

Last December I had really bad anxiety. Shortness of breath, tight throat and chest, racing heart, etc etc. All these symptoms are gone now but I have something new that is bothering me. It feels like a sore throat that comes and goes. Almost like my throat (at the very back of my tounge and very top of my throat) is swollen but it doesnt hurt or anything and I can eat just fine. I woke up at 8 am today and was fine until like 1pm. sad I've gone to the doctor but she said she can't recommand more xrays because I've been through a lot of radiation in my checkups for anxiety so she refferred me to an ent. The ent said that they wouldnt perform the test where a camera is insterted through ur nose to check the throat bc it makes you feel out of breath and they didn't want me to panic. 

Any advice? Is this really just anxiety or should I insist a checkup? When i get this sensation then I start to feel out of breath and panic. I never had this until I started to take Escitalopram and stopped my antidepressant because I thought it was causing my sore throat and I couldnt take it since it feels like the throat is closing up. sad 

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Rainboy
    Rainboy emilia47047

    Posted

    Dear Emilia

    Having experienced this myself, I can assure you that a sense of swelling, difficulty in swallowing, or a narrowing in the throat, can very easily be the result of anxiety.

    It is hard to accept. It took a long time for me to be convinced. I was constantly examining my throat and neck checking for lumps, and was convinced that something was stuck in my gullet and I would choke.

    They were of course all phantom symptoms even though I was convinced I was feeling something physical. The mind is capable of making us feel the strangest things, like ex-servicemen who 'feel' pain in their leg even though it has been amputated.

    If you believe something to be real enough in your mind, then your brain will cause chemicals to be released and muscles to tighten that reproduce exactly what you believe you have.

    Based on your medical history, everything points to symptoms of anxiety, but should you ever experience a symptom that is new or previously unexplained, then don’t presume, and have it checked by a medical professional.

    My very best wishes to you and I hope fervently that these unpleasant sensations will soon pass.  :-)

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 Rainboy

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply Rainboy, 

      I'm going to see a new doctor on Monday just to "clear my head" on this issue. Too bad monday feels like next year xD. I know this is probably just anxiety because I was fine all day, then all of a sudden drank water and the feeling was there, but that's so hard to accept. 

  • athol91131
    athol91131 emilia47047

    Posted

    Dear Emilia, this sounds like anxiety to me too, and it might be worth reminding yourself that none of the weird and wonderful symptoms of anxiety can harm you in any way whatsoever and that nobody has ever been harmed in any way by anxiety. It is a perfectly safe  bodily defence response. I know it can feel horrible and the mind goes off into one about it which can be disturbing but I have researched this thoroughly and spoken to experts about it and they all say the same. 'that the symptoms of anxiety are uncomfortable but not dangerous'. You are perfectly safe and you will be OK. Try to distract yourself. Hope this helps.
  • Rainboy
    Rainboy emilia47047

    Posted

    Hello Emilia

    Thank you for showing kindness by sending a reply. Yes, you are quite right, it is "hard to accept". As I explained, I felt the same and nothing would convince me otherwise.

    But I'm here to tell you that I was eventually convinced, and now I look back and say to myself, if what I was 'feeling' was real back then, I wouldn't be here now writing to you!

    It 'feels' real Emilia. It is as distressing as it would be if it 'were' real. But, it is a manufacture of the mind. A trick. A physical reaction to a mental state.

    I shall be thinking of you on Monday and I sincerely hope you get listened to and properly supported.

    God Bless.  biggrin

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 Rainboy

      Posted

      Thank you. You know when I first got anxiety it was so bad I went to the Emergency Room twice becayse I thought I wasn't breathing. Hehe now the breathing is fine but new things pop up. I guess I should consider going into an antidepressant, life is a bit harsh for me at the moment. 

      I'm glad to hear you are doing better. Did you get rid of all of your anxiety symptoms? 

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