Swollen outer throat, Difficulty swallowing, numb/no sensation when swallowing
Posted , 27 users are following.
Hi all,
I have had this issue for a few months now. Basically my throat as in the larnyx, adams, apple, thyroid area outside of the throat seems to swell up and became extremely painful to swallow, so this is other throat rather then inside the throat like a sore throat. Anyway, this seemed to flare up and I was having clicking and cracking in my throat when swallowing. One day I was eating some bread and there was loud crack when I swallowed, after that swalloing was extremely painful, and it was difficult to get food down, this was all still outer throat, from reading I think it would probably be the thyroid cartilage and larynx that were swollen and somehow causing these issues. I could deal with the pain but then one morning I woke up and my throat now what felt like the inside of my throat had gone completely numb, literally like I had sucked on a numbing throat sweet. It also feels like my swallow mechinism is somehow not working correctly, like I can swallow but there is no sensation and it feels like the normal movement of the throat cartilidge is now somehow stuck and not moving freely when I swallow.
Anyway I went to the doctors who brushed it off as nothing the first couple of times, then I saw a different doctor and explained what had happened and he refered me to the ENT specialist. I have seen the ENT specialist and he has diagnosed me with silent Reflux, basically acid reflux but without the heartburn etc. I dont think I agree with this diagnosis and want to get to the bottom of the numb malfuctioning swallow as the numb sensation is so strange and horrible it is driving me mad with anxiety.
I do not really have any symptoms of slient reflux/acid reflux. The way these issues started all on my outer throat would not match acid reflux either, as well as the fact my throat went numb so suddenly. Maybe it isnt numb and it is just that my swollow mechanism is not working correctly but it sure feels numb. It literally feels like nothing happens when I swallow, there is no recognition or sensation when I swallow unless I get a click noise which i assume is the swollen cartilge getting caught somehow. The area is still swollen from top of neck/throat to the bottom. As I have been diagnosed with reflux doctors will just now fob me off without any sort of solution. I am taking the medication for this so called silent reflux I have just to see if there is any change but there has been none so far. If it is silent reflux how would I even no if medication is working as I have no symptoms like heartburn, sort throat, voice issues or anything.
Anyway sorry for such a long post, has anyone else experienced something like this? Does anyone have any idea what it could be and what I can do about it?
Thanks
2 likes, 40 replies
trent52394 Recoverandheal
Posted
Janeeyre trent52394
Posted
kathern75253 Recoverandheal
Posted
Hi, I'm glad I saw this post. Not sure if anyone will respond but I'm also having the same problems. Started 2 months ago, I was going to sleep and all of a sudden I got up real fast because my throat felt like it closed up. I couldn't swallow, and had no sensation. I went to the hospital and the doctor said it's reflux which made no sense at all. He prescribed me zantac which didn't help. I am still suffering from these problems. It takes me about 3 tries to actually swallow, the bottom of my neck swells up when this happens. I'm constantly clearing my throat cause it feels like something is stuck like a hair. I start to get anxiety, and it's starting to get really annoying now. I went to an ENT and he also said reflux which upset me so he set up an appointment for me to get a X-ray of my throat. I'm freaking out cause I think it's cancer,. Everytime I smoke it gets worse to where I can't feel anything and I start freaking out cause it feels like I can't swallow. like my muscles are not working. Has anyone got any answers?
Janeeyre kathern75253
Posted
You may have globus. This is a quote from Wikpedia and the reason the doctors suspected acid reflux: "Causes of globus. The "lump in the throat" sensation that characterizes globus pharyngis is often caused by inflammation of one or more parts of the throat, such as the larynx or hypopharynx, due to cricopharyngeal spasm, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), laryngopharyngeal reflux or esophageal versatility."
?But I don't blame you for being skeptical about the reflux and you are on the correct path in getting an x-ray of the throat. If you read here long enough, you will see that there are a number of very annoying problems and sensations in the throat reported by posters that most probably have nothing to do with cancer, The best of luck and please come back to let us know how the xray turned out.
s37001 Recoverandheal
Posted
Hi folks, hopefully you've all found help with you're swallowing issues. I would take a guess as a fitness instructor that if your scans are all coming back clear, the issue may be muscular specifically in the strap muscles within the throat and the sternocleidomastoid muscles which go from the back of the head and down the side of your neck to your sternum. If you have bad posture or have weak back muscles there will be more stress on the neck and may subsequently cause tension and inflammation in the neck and throat.
I had a sore throat for 2 weeks when swallowing in the same manner as you guys and I noticed that when I massaged my neck/throat or did some neck stretches the pain subsided for a while. I'm not a GP of course but if you YouTube some neck exercises and stretching techniques you might hopefully find it helpful.
diane73605 Recoverandheal
Posted
so how did ya get on in end did u find out the problem ?
diane73605 Recoverandheal
Posted
did any1 get any answers ?
Coreysc313 Recoverandheal
Posted
I seen its been 4 years since you posted this issue with your throat issues. I just started to get the exact same feelings recently and was wondering if you ever got it figured out?