Lump in Throat, desperate for help :/

[JOKOPOWER]

Well im new to this site, I just dont know where else to turn to anymore with this, im 19 years old, and have had anxiety for about 2 years off and on, recently, about two days after breaking up with my girlfriend of 3 years, i choked on a Special K bar I was eating one night, and since then have had the feeling of a lump in my throat for over a month now, it comes and goes with the intensity, its gotten bad enough to the point where ive gone to the ER, and they have done a CT Scan, but they said they were unable to find anything, and the results came back normal, ive seen my regular doctor about 2 times, and ive gone to an ENT, who said it mightve been Acid Reflux, tho he didnt preform any tests such as a barium swallow or endoscopy, and put me on omeprozole, 20mg, which ive taken for a month, and still no change, (Ive never had an issue with acid Reflux, in the past) now ive been able to eat Ice Cream, drink Tea, Water, and with some difficulty, soda, and ive eaten Pizza, sandwiches, burgers, and stuff along those lines, but I always have trouble swallowing it down, I take small bites, and chew as best I can before i swallow, and it always feels like it gets stuck right at the same spot, and I have to drink a ton of water, and cough a bit to get it to feel Okay, it doesnt actually make me cough, but I do to try and get the feeling to go away, It feels like the Lump is right behind my adams apple, and its to the point, where when I swallow, its totally different then a normal, relaxed swallow,   and I keep trying to cough it out, and clearing my throat, which hasnt done any good so far, ive been doing nothing but worrying about this lump, its gotten me to the point where i have trouble sleeping, I cant enjoy anything I do, because I always feel like I am going to choke, I am literally afraid to try to eat food...I would like an answer, or an opinion, as to if this could be something stuck, or if it is anxiety, and i should take steps to treat it that way, ive never had this as a symptom of anxiety before, but it has been scaring me so badly, if it was food stuck or cancer of some sort I assume they couldve seen it with the CT Scan? and would food stay stuck in your throat for over a month? it almost feels like a cough I just cant get out, but its changing how i chew, and how I swallow, i can tell im eating and swallowing differently, but again, idk if its just anxiety, or something more serious, if anyone has any answer, I would really greatly appreciate it with all my heart, because I cant take living like this anymore im fairly healthy, I work out about 3 times a week, i eat fairly healthy, (when I could eat) no smoking or drinking

[sassparella]

Look up globus hystericus it's an anxiety condition that feels like a lump in your throat. You've been examined by several doctors and had a CT so I would say it's unlikely that there is anything wrong with your throat but your anxiety could have been exacerbated by the break up, and choking on the bar could have moved the focus of anxiety to your throat. I'm not a doctor, however, but I can tell you that you can get a feeling like this from anxiety so it is possible that this  is what is causing your problem.

[JOKOPOWER]

it literally feels like a small solid lump, like having popcorn stuck in your throat, when i cough i can tell its there, and I cant get it out, no matter how hard i cough and try to hack it up, or swallow it down, doctors have felt my throat for lumps, and looked down my throat, (just with a light no endoscopy) and say they cant find a thing, now ive got a sore throat, idk if its because im trying so hard to get this out or what, if there was a piece of food stuck, would they have seen it on the CT Scan? or if there was a physical lump?

[london23]

its most likely anxiety, ive felt this lump in my throat when i was anxious, but ive also felt it walking because of my acid, i literally had to stuff on the pavement when i was walking home because i could not swallow and felt as if i would throw up..thats how high my gerd was that day

[trainwreck]

Your doctor would not perform an endoscopy or barium swallow if you had a negative ct scan.  I had a kidney stone literally as small as a grain of sand and a CT scan saw it.  If it found that, it would find a blockage in your throat. 

Swallowing is like breathing.  You do it naturally.  But once you start thinking about it, it becomes difficult. 

[JunoX]

This sounds like a case of globus hystericus. I have had two bouts if this in my life and it is horrible.

The first bout was when I was in middle school. I started feeling a lump in my throat that would not let up. It bothered me day and night. It was hard to eat. I continuously thought that this lump would choke me one day while eating so I started avoiding solid foods. I lost a ton of weight. The obsession with this lump was so bad that it sent me to the ER. I spent about two years obsessing about this in and off, mostly on. The more I worried, the worse it got. I had panic attacks over it. Then one day it was gone. It left as quickly as it had come. I never found out what it was though.

My next bout was a few years ago. It was terrible. The constant awful feeling of something stuck in your throat. Mines feels like a mass but sometimes it becomes very precise and sharp, like a bone or hard marble in my throat. Its worse when I lay down. It got so bad that I almost went to the ER because I couldn't take it anymore. I thought I would suffocate or my throat would explode. It even made me feel like gagging. Thanks to the internet though, I finally found out what this is. Its globus hystericus and it is a very common symptom of anxiety. It can happen suddenly and without warning. Basically, you dont have to feel anxious to get it.  You certainly don't have to be hysterical either, as the name describes. That's what makes it so hard to believe its anxiety driven, but it is. This time around I had it for a few months but because I knew what it was, I continued eating normal and didn't avoid food.

A few weeks ago, I felt it coming on again but it only lasted a few hours. There are throat exercises you can do to alleviate it and even get rid of it. Just research it online, like someone else suggested and you can read tips on getting rid of this most annoying feeling.

[JOKOPOWER]

Well the fact that a CT scan could find something that small, makes me feel alot better that there isnt actually a physical blockage in my throat...i have had a pretty bad cough that I just cant get rid of, and it feels as tho its in the same area as the lump feeling, its also been kind of sore the past few days, but idk if thats just from coughing so much, but I am assuming there isnt actually any physical lump or anything in my throat, if it wasnt found by the CT Scan

[JOKOPOWER]

could it be some sort of LPR because of the coughing ive had the past few days?

[livelaughlove]

You should go to a gastroenterologist and get an EGD with biopsy. I wonder if you have eosinophilic esophagitis, it is a type of food allergy. Have you ever had food allergy testing? With patients that have this, their allergy is usually to either chicken or beef, soy, and always some type of fruit. What happens is when you eat the food you are allergic to, the esophagus floods with eosinophils, making it narrow, then food gets stuck. If it is not this, Was the CT of your neck? that would check for thyroid nodules. Have you had your thyroid tested? THat would be your TSH, T4, thyroid autoantibodies. If it is none of the above, then yes, anxiety causes a "globus sensation". If you look all the way down your throat, there is this sphincter thing at the back of your tongue and sometimes food particles get stuck around there, especially if your mouth is dry. Do you have your tonsils still, and do you get white clumps in them? Tonsilloliths. That can bug you. That's from dry mouth also, bacteria builds up in tonsillar crypts. I would suggest you switch toothpaste to biotene. And also use a biotene mouthwash. Floss your teeth. And, you can buy a water pik from CVS or walmart or bedbath and beyond, one of those stores, to flush your tonsils out with. Create a healthy mouth flora. Good luck :)

[JOKOPOWER]

well ive never had any type of food allergy, and when ive been seen by the doctors, at least 3 of them checked my tonsils, and my thyroid was checked during the CT scan of my neck, and they also felt up and down my neck