Anyone suffer from Throat Spasms.
I was in Hospital on Friday.
I was eating and couldn't swallow.
Had breathing difficulties which is scary.
Still get it.
I have Functional Movement Disorder which can cause it.
Doctor say's it's something I have to
live with.
Any tips on dealing with it?
Thank you
Kim xx
I have it happen every few weeks now, the first time hospital and l couldn't breathe , l have the same thing told to me live with it very hard first day l suck ice second day custard then soup , living is not fun it is hard ,stay positive and chin up it will get a bit easier as it happens more often sorry to say, good luck.
Hi. I started having quite severe spasms in my throat only while eating out, only ever once at home. I have gagged many times taking tablets, with the swallow reflex not working.
My doctor was quite unperturbed, fortunately, and put two other symptoms together that I raised in the same visit, and came with with an over-active Sympathetic Nervous System.
He didn't even bother with doing a blood test, but started me on Physiotens , which is not available in the US, but seems to be available everywhere else, including Australia, where I live.
I started out with 400mg once a day. The effect was really weird and amazing, all rolled into one. After 20 minutes, it was like a spiderweb crawling down my neck and shoulder and out into my arm. Then the most amazing peace and calm took over my whole body. The silence was deafening!!! I loved it! I felt like I was 40 years younger, like a teenager again. I felt alive and well! A miracle!!!
Unfortunately, that lasted around 6 hours and 15 minutes, then it would wear off and I would be even worse than before...or perhaps the contrast was just so incredible. Oh, my, I was jittery, my BP went sky high again (even though I was on a high dose of Blood Pressure meds), and once again I could feel every tiny square millimetre of my body again. Just awful. When I went back, he suggested taking 200mg twice a day, but I was still having the awful swings and withdrawals. So I suggested 200mg 4 times a day.
I now take it every 5.5 hours around the clock, with my body even waking up at the correct time to take it, so no withdrawals. That's roughly 5 times a day, varying depending on what time I woke up during the night.
Whenever I saw another doctor because mine wasn't there, they would try to get me back to only taking 3 x 200mg a day, because that's the safe limit that doctors are allowed to prescribe. To take 5 a day, they have to get special permission from our Federal Government, which the other doctors refused to do.
Eventually, after crying for 2 weeks about the latest effort, he said that he would fix the problem...he substituted 2 of the doses with 1/2 tablet of Clonidine, morning and night. So now I take 3 x 200mg Physiotens and 2 x 50mcg Clonidine, alternating around the clock.
So, now no more throat spasms, my body is so much more calm than it used to be, I get lots less seizures and other functional movements, and my life is so much better. Oh, and it also stopped most of my uncontrollable crying for no valid reason (i.e. not clinically depression, just anxiety).
The Sympathetic Nervous System is part of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), which controls several hormones including Adrenaline. Too much adrenaline leads to Adrenal overload, overwhelm and eventually meltdown...which is where I was at.
I still have a very lazy diaphragm which forgets to work on a regular basis, but I have taught my chest and shoulder muscles to do my breathing instead, so it's not too much of a problem. ...except after bending over, my lungs will start heaving, trying to get enough air in. I have to put my hands onto my upper abdomen and 're-train' the abdomen to go out for an in breath and in for an out breath. After two or three cycles, they suddenly remember and I'm ok again.
This is a really weird disorder and it baffles the best of the medical professionals. I've seen a number of other people with an ANS imbalance, not necessarily the same as mine, and I know of at least one other person who has tried Physiotens with good success. It's worth mentioning Physiotens and Clonidine to your doctor.
see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxon...
Have you joined the fndhope Facebook group yet? It's worth joining to get more info from other people with the same disorder.
Cheers
Vivienne
I also have fnd, and have had swallowing issues where the throat would spasm and would cause anything I are or drank to stick, and be so painful until I would throw it up, or eventually go down. This would happen with everything, all day every day. I am in the US, and my Dr. Gave me baclofen, which seemed to help a lot. It helped to relax the muscles. After months of taking it, I now only have it happen here and there, and I don't have to take it any more. Its a horrible thing to go through, I am so sorry that it is happening to you. Oh as far as the breathing goes, you might want to see if they can give you an inhailer with albuterol. That has been my breathing savior when I have issues. Best of luck, I hope you can find some help!!!😀
Thank you all so kindly for your
helpful replies.
I'm at the GP tomorrow.
I wish you all the very best.
Lots of love.
Kim xx
Kim, I just realized it wasn't baclofen, it was diltiazem that helped me so much with swallowing. Best of luck. Hope they can help you.
Hi there!
I believe that is taken Orally
for Heart Issues.
My Husband is taking the Ointment for a Chronic Fissure tear down below.
He has an Irregular Heartbeat
so he had to make sure.
It's taken by mouth for Angina
and other Heart issues.
Who advised you to take
it for Throat issues?
Was it your GP?
Thank you.
Xx
I am having problems myself at moment food sticking in throat, spasms whilst eating or drinking, and also during siezures, I have FND and FMD, at moment I have had a video fluoroscopy , the camera put up nose to look at throat and waiting for an endoscopy to look at stomach as they are not sure if this is neurological cause or something wrong with my throat/osophegus/stomach . as I have 30+ siezures every day I have to have a general anaesthetic for this endoscopy so am apprehensive to have it done. I will be interested in anyone elses experiences of this problem.
the only thing I have been told to do at moment to help is to eat what they call a Fork Mashable Diet, so if the food cant be mashed u cant eat it but even soft things will cause me problems , water can cause my throat to spsm loll
I just remembered something that helps me swallow when it seems that stuff gets stuck or whatever...I slowly turn my head left and right while swallowing.
I don't know why that works but it seems to disrupt whatever is stopped me from swallowing properly. I would be interested to see if anyone else finds this helpful. Thanks
Have you thought about Laryngeal Dystonia?
Bending over may cause problems with the breathing, you may find it more comfortable if you come into a semi squat position, try not to bend over from the waist, always bend from the hips.
Do some research regarding the Pisa Syndrome./
I hope this info is useful.
Hey Kim, So the Diltiazem is meant for the heart, however like so many other medications, they have multiple uses. This one if I remember right, helps with smooth muscles, (don't quote me on that though, its been a while). Anyways, my surgeon had me try it to see if it would help. See my whole muscle thing happened after I had stomach surgery to help what we thought was the cause of my beginning symptoms of voice loss. They thought it might be due to acid reflux. So we fixed my stomach, and immediately after I started having swallowing problems. I couldn't really eat or drink anything for a week. They finally had to put me on a feeding tube to get something in me. This medication was the only thing that seemed to help relax those muscles enough to get regular food down and keep I from sticking so much. I now don't have to take it, but every now and then I still have problems here and there. As far as the breathing goes, I have found a nebulizer and albuterol (using a mask) have helped to get me going again. I do the mask, because I can't get enough air in to deeply inhale a regular one. I hope this info helps. Never hurts to try different things to see if it helps. Best of luck to you. Cheryl
Hi Cheryl!
Thank you so much for your
reply to me.
So sorry to hear about
your symptoms.
I've upped my Baclofen
from 15mg to 20 a day.
It has eased up a bit.
Time will tell I guess.
Please keep in contact.
Do you have a mobile?
My Husband Tony texts
for me because my condition
effects my hands.
Please e mail it if you wish.
Tony's email is:
Jones781@hotmail.co.uk
Best Wishes.
Hope to hear from you.
Xx
Functional Sensory Symptoms
Please do not accept your FND diagnosis without a fight 
functional myoclonus 
Doctors Passing the Buck 
