Weird Feeling in Throat/nasal Region and muscle spasms

[Toumrou]

I have had health anxiety for a few years but has laid dormant for most of it but just recently after watching a film about someone with a terminal illness and a documentary about assisted suicide for people who cannot do it themselves plus the the stress of exams has been building up as i am sitting my gcse's in the near future, it then came back in full force.I have been suffering from a number of symptoms for 3 weeks now from difficulty swallowing, dry throat, shortness of breath/tight chest, shaking/twitching hand and fingers and finally muscle spasms.I'm scared to death thinking i have contracted motor neurons disease despite having these symptoms come out of nowhere and only being 16 years of age.

I have seen the doctor and he tried to reassure me saying that i most certainly do not have it and i am just anxious but then why haven't my symptoms gone away??? my problem is now that i have weird feeling in my throat and still have muscle spasms every now and then in places in my body plus my fingers are still quite twitchy.I know i'm being silly but i cant help feeling this way and some useful advice about whether you think i have anxiety or something else and if you do think i have anxiety ways to relieve these symptoms i'm having.

I'm not experienced with anxiety and have no idea how long it lasts but any helpful feedback about my situation or your past experiences will make me awfully grateful.

thank you =)

[missey13]

I have experienced the swallowing issue and weird throat feeling too, which is quite scary but I truly believe is a symptom of anxiety. When we're anxious we are really tense without even realising it and causes a lot of physical symptoms which then we notice and think something is wrong and worry even more. I've started using audio books for relaxation and also breathing to get my body to relax. Also if you are focusing on the audio it distracts your mind and gives some relief from the thoughts x

[Toumrou in reply to missey13]

Thanks for the advice.I believe i have a free trial of audible and will take you up on your advice and listen to some audio books to relax, you don't know how much it reassures me to know i'm not the only one to experience such symptoms.

Thank you very much.😃

[Miniwheats]

Toumrou I had the shakes, twitches, spasms, breathing issues, heart palpitations, dizziness, internal vibration, visual disturbances...and the list goes on...it was all due to anxiety and it took about 4 months for the symptoms to go away. I had all kinds of tests that turned out normal, because I just refused to believe it could have all been due to anxiety. The tests? MRI, 2 week heart monitor, lung function test, sleep study, vestibular testing, and saw a neurologist, physiatrist, eye doctor, vestibular therapist, cardiologist... EVERYTHING normal! It wasn't until I started meditation focusing on deep breathing, and then started CBT with a therapist, that I finally started to calm down and noticed my symptoms disappearing one by one. You need to start doing short breathing meditations every day (try Ryan Taylor's "Breathe" and for a little escape from your fears and a much needed boost to your parasympathetic nervous system, try Jason Stephenson's "Peace" guided imagery meditation, both on YouTube). There is real science to back meditation's effectiveness against anxiety I just don't have room here to explain it all (maybe read some of my replies to others on this forum). And have a look at the website "Anxiety BC" with practical tools on how you can challenge your fearful thoughts (this is a major component of CBT). You will get better but in order to do so you MUST be able to convince yourself that it is all due to anxiety and not a feared medical condition. There are solid, physiological explanations behind what I went through and what you're going through (I did alot of reading on the subject). Once you truly believe, you will be able to ignore your symptoms and they will finally start to subside. When you pay attention and react fearfully to them, THAT'S when they gain steam and perpetuate. You have to completely disregard them in order to break the cycle! When a muscle twitches, think "yeah, whatever" and carry on with what you were doing. Dont give it the time of day. Why not do a little experiment for a couple weeks where you chalk all of this up to anxiety and see what happens. You won't be ignoring or giving up on your health but rather you will uncovering useful information for your doctor should you decide to follow up with him/her regarding your issues. If you don't feel any relief from your symptoms, this will be useful diagnostic information for your doctor. If you DO start feeling relief, then won't that be wonderful!! You will finally have the reassurance you need. And be assured that two weeks will make no difference to the progression of any sinister medical condition your mind has conjured up...so don't be scared that you will somehow make things worse for yourself. This type of "experiment", suggested by my therapist, is what finally cured me. It was such a load off my mind to be given permission to just stop monitoring and analyzing. Try it, you've got nothing to lose! Let it go for two weeks, then check in on yourself. You can do it! 😊

[Hidden in reply to Miniwheats]

Mark Williams is good for mindful meditations, he’s the professor of mindfulness at Oxford University. There’s an app too.

I hope my muscle twitches soon stop. I’ve noticed buzzing/vibrating in my right lower leg the last 24hrs too!

[Toumrou in reply to Miniwheats]

Thanks a lot for your advice, hearing that you have also gone through the same things is music to my ears and reassures me.I will take your advice and ignore any symptoms i may have and try to relax as i have found when i'm at school and concentrating i have very few symptoms so i'm hopeful.😃

Thanks a lot for your encouragement and advice

[Miniwheats in reply to Toumrou]

You're welcome! And you see...when you are distracted and focussing on something else like your schoolwork, the symptoms subside. That's exactly how it was for me even at the height of all my symptoms. That gives me even more reason to believe that your symptoms can be attributed to anxiety and nothing else. Good luck with the experiment and I hope to see another post from you in a couple weeks with good news 😊

[Hidden]

I saw my doctor last week fearing about MND as my dad was recently diagnosed. I have the muscle twitches, mainly in my legs. The doctor tried reassuring me that he thinks it’s just caused by anxiety.

The swallowing can most definitely be caused by anxiety. It can be called globus.

I’ve never heard of someone your age being diagnosed so I really feel that you do not have to worry about MND.

[Toumrou in reply to Hidden]

I'm sorry to hear about your father.

I know he cannot get better but i am sending you and all your family best wishes through your difficult time.

Thank you for the encouragement as well😃

[Hidden in reply to Toumrou]

Thankyou for your kind words