Trying hard not to frighten myself.

[Ellie-Louise]

For a couple of weeks now I have been feeling as if I'm being garrotted slightly. There is a feeling of something in my throat near the back of my tongue. I'm also depressed at the moment which is proving hard to shake off. I don't know whether one has caused the other or visa versa.

So today I have been sitting here looking everything up, it seems that lots of people have the same problem as well. I have made my tongue 'tired' sticking it out to shine a torch down in an effort to check it out.

One of the websites I read had an amazing interactive video where you can have a good look at the inside of the body in the thyroid area by moving the video about. It is quite fascinating to actually see it and where it sits in your neck.

endocrineweb.com/conditions...

[Clutter]

Ellie-Louise,

Have you asked your GP to examine your throat to see whether there is any swelling? If s/he can feel swelling or lumps s/he ought to order an ultrasound scan to investigate. Google globus sensation which is a common cause of feeling swelling when there isn't any.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to Clutter]

No I haven't yet, he's ringing me on Thursday about the results of my knee X-ray so I thought I'd mention it then.

[Hidden]

Doctors tend to tell you as little as they can get away with so you need to familiarise with your condition so you can actually ask some relevant questions. I only discovered that I had a multinodular goitre from the surgeon who examined me leading up to an operation to remove the thing.

What you have gives me every impression it is a plain and simple goitre which are usually benign. Very few of them are cancerous. The normally accepted opinion of a goitre is that it is a huge swelling outwards of the neck, but that is not always so. Some, like mine, grow inwards giving a feeling just like you describe. You may start to suffer from fatigue and cannot bear any pressure to be made on your neck and you may tend to breathe shallower, making it necessary to take 2 breaths to say a single sentence and, after some months or even years, giving you a good chance of getting constant bouts of chest infections and pneumonia, deadly if you are of an advanced age.

You may or may not be able to detect a swelling in your neck by self examination or looking in a mirror. Perhaps look at mirror and a non-recent picture of yourself at same time. It takes an experienced person to examine visually inside your throat, but that person would probably simply refer you to a hospital for an examination by camera, a simple procedure these days.

If you have had the feeling for only a couple of weeks, there is nothing much to worry about. Trouble is the condition does not rectify itself and gets gradually worse and worse. Unless some drug can solve the problem (I know nothing about that possibility) you may eventually need an operation, but that scenario may take several years.

[Ellie-Louise]

Thank you.

[lucylocks]

Hi

I have a very similar sensation. I have had it for about two months now on and off.

Sometimes the feeling is on the right side of my throat, sometimes the left and other times right in the middle where the "clacker" is. I have not had it for a few days but today it is particularly bad.

Doctor said it is either anxiety or acid reflux and gave me tablets to reduce the acid but I have not taken them as when we are hypo. we have usually have low stomach acid. I had acid reflux when younger but this is a totally different feeling, I told the Doctor this but she just ignored me.

I asked her if is to do with my thyroid and she said no because if it was I would have the feeling all the time, but I am starting to wonder if it is infact thyroid related.

[Ellie-Louise]

Hi Lucy,

Mine feels as if it's more on the right side of my throat, it's odd but I feel as if I want to stretch my tongue backwards if that makes sense, it's very odd.

I'm actually wondering if it's anxiety myself too, because it started around the time I tried to swallow large tablets of chrondroitin glucosamine and I thought they were getting stuck. Then over the next few days we had a lot of strawberries and I wondered if I'd started being allergic to them apart from them supposed to be goitergans (sp?) I just can't for the life of me work out how to spell that word and I can't be bothered to look it up, but it comes and goes all the time, but never going completely, and sometimes there's a funny little pain in it, not sore but kind of telling you it's there.

I'm defo going to mention it to the doc when he rings me in the morning. I'll let you know what he says.

Kate

[lucylocks in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Hi Ellie-Louise,

I cannot pin point what starts mine off, last night when I was going to bed it just came on and I still had it this morning, lasted until mid afternoon, then just went.

I also have that funny little pain to it.

Please keep me posted as to what your Doctors says.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to lucylocks]

Hi Lucy,

The doctor has just rung me and I explained everything to him, about the tablets that were hard to get down, and the argument with my bff that had upset me.

He asked exactly what it felt like...does it feel like this/that etc. I told him I didn't know whether I was my thyroid or the fact that I got upset thinking about the problem with my friend but that that was pretty much resolved although still feel it inside whenever I think of it. Does it come and go etc?Yes, pretty much most of the time. I told him about the funny little pain, that I had tried 5-HTP but that it just sent me to sleep all the time and I didn't want that happening.

He suggested giving me a very mild sedative for 3 weeks that didn't send me drowsy, I accepted because I need to get rid of this problem. (My husband said he'd pick up the prescription this afternoon). I am to take only half a tablet a day and he made an appointment to see me 3 weeks today, then 3 weeks later he wants to do another blood test because any other medication taken reduces the effect of thyroxine. He told me it is probably Globus.

He's a lovely doctor who listens to you and acts in a caring, concerned way.

Kx

[lucylocks in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Hi Ellie-Louise,

It is good you have a lovely Doctor. I hope the mild sedative helps your throat.

I was only thinking yesterday whether to try some as I have a few mild diazepam at home from when my Doctor prescribed them when I had a very bad back and he gave me them to relax the muscles.

If it is Globus causing the throat problem then the tablets should help.

What are your thyroid levels like?

I am wondering if I am in fact under medicated.