CONSTANT LUMP IN THROAT

It could be from stress. It is said that lump throat sensation is a spasm of a muscle called cricopharyngeal. It is actually spasm of the valves in the esophagus, really hard to diagnose and doctors usually perform all the other tests and contribute the sensation to the acid reflux while it is not.

I have no idea who could diagnose this. I am planning on seeing my GP and ask for some anti spasm drugs, I think they are called muscle relaxants to see if they help and if she wants to prescribe these to me.

My symptoms get worse after drinking coffee with milk, I also feel as if there’s some phlegm and I do spit some out but the lump remains.

Yes, I agree.

Lump in throat in most of the cases is caused by stress that you are dealing on the daily basis.

In most of the cases, people are really scared and they believe that this is because of cancer. You should be scared and see immediately what is going on, but usually, it is because you are stressed and it is well known that stress can cause throat muscle to constrict or a lump in throat feeling. This feeling may be present when a person is holding back tears.

I had similar symptoms and of course, I went to see my doctor immediately. 

Everyone should do the same thing. 

I too have similar symptoms. I have suffered chronically ( daily with no relief ever) for over 3 years now. I believe it started with an infection in my chest and sinuses. This phlegm that was present during my illness has never really left my throat or my very back sinuses( my nose is not plugged or have excess mucus.. I have not been sick enough to need antibiotics since then but have found myself wishing I would get sick just in case the antibiotics would cure the symptoms. I swallow all day long to try and move the phegm...it causes air in my stomach, then burlping. This irritates my throat and has created thicker muscules under my jaw. I get headaches from swallowing(probably a combination of less oxegen and muscle constriction as I swallow). I find myself doing all kinds of things to get rid of the phlegm...I will cough, gag( which I think causes acid reflux) snort to get stuff out of my sinus ( like guys do all the time and then spit it out, only I CANNOT EVER spit it out! I have to snort it out of my sinus or my throat then gag and cough to get anything out and it is always yellow, but it seems to produce more the minute I expell anything. I do this ritually at night time. I snore so loudly at night that my husband can no longer sleep with me and it's aweful not to be able to sleep with the one you love! I miss him and vise versa, exept he does not miss the snoring which he says sounds like a chainsaw. This condition has affected my life in many aweful ways. One Doctor said I have acid reflux, another said I have mild to moderate sleep apnea, a specialist said there was nothing wrong with my sinuses that she could see, I've been put out so the specialist could look down my stomach( the mild acid reflux which I think I may be causing myself when I'm gagging out the phlegm) I am currently using a nasal steroid and have begun taking 20mg 1 time a day of Nexium ( which from what I read, may not be a high enough dose.) I am also doing a nasal wash. I also can hear a clicking/popping sounc when swallow sometimes.
Any advice would be nice.
Thanks, Carla

Hi
Have you been tested for tyroid problems? I also have this feeling of a constant lump in my throat but it is due to underactive thyroid. The tyroid gland becomes swollen and that is what you feel as a lump. It can become swollen if you have either an underactive thyroid or overactive thyroid. A simple blood test will check your thyroid function.

I have also had a lump sensation in my throat for about 2 years. I've went to a ENT doc about a year ago and I did a barium swallow and they didn't see anything wrong with my throat. The sensation is still there everyday and it is now going on two years. I'm getting worried that I have cancer or something I guess the only way to find out is to get an mri of that area, but if the sensation has lasted for two years wouldn't I know by now if it was cancerous by now? :-(

I am only 26 years old. I am a male. I am in PERFECT physical shape. I dont over indulge on food, I dont eat spicy foods and I follow the proper diet for GERD patients... BUT I CANT GET THIS DAMN LUMP OUT OF MY THROAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What do I do???? I would give all of the money that I have to get rid of the lump for just one day. Can someone please find a cure? I refuse to take any kind of medication. I would prefer natural methods. If so many people are suffering from this.. why havent doctors tried to find a cure?

Lee

I have just had an operation to tighten my esophagus called a fundoplication. I was young enough to make this worth while. It has cured the gastric esophagul reflux disease but the recovery has left me with symptoms of a lump in my throat when I eat the wrong food. The symptoms you have mentioned led me to having the operation in the first place, such as a constant cough which is caused by gastric acid sitting in the throat at night, attaching the throat and causing mucas to form to protect it. As a child I was told that I suffered from catarrh. The lump I feel now is a result of extreme indegestion. After the operation, while the surgery is still healing, the food I eat can compress the air in the stomach which has no escape and pushes back on my diaphram causing the esophagus and throat to spasm in response. I believe the nerves are set on edge and the pain sometimes travels all the way to my sinuses. You need to try and stop the indegestion. Sometime a gastroscope can't pick up the problem and you should have an esophagus manometry to test the reflex of your esophagus to see if there is a problem. Hope this helps and feel your pain as all you really want is to eat a good meal and relax after wards!

i have had something like you are describing for about 2.5 years now.
i have no idea what has brought it on and ive seen doctors plenty of times about it ....... all just seem to dismiss it.

its become a real problem as it was making me hack and gag regularly (ive even vomited a few times). the only relief ive found is just sucking on mints all day long to build up enough saliva to trick myself into thinking ive swolled it.

i gotta be honest this thing is killing me, there has to be a way to get it to go away.

cheers for listening

Yes The last 3or4 years keeps appearing in the text. I have suffered as many of you have and discovered that I have an allergy to something in Tap water and or thing made with tap water ie cheap juices.

Positive results by way of elimination have found an allergy that exsits to many people. What it is exactly Im yet to find out, but try changing over to Mineral water for 1 month , that means everything cooking, cleaning teeth etc I bet you will get rid of the problem...

I asked the Water company for a detailed anaylisis of what water goes through before it reaches the tap and was horrified by the amount of chemicals that are present, unlike mineral water which is supposed to be there. I also noted that in the last 4 years the last filtration that water goes through as it leaves the purification plant is an OZONE tank (Highly dangerous to humans) this is supposed to kill off any bacteria that remains, but at what cost to the recipient (us) does the absorbtion of ozone have? The water companies deny liability of any claims that tap water could be in the slightest contaminated, why because the share holders would loose too much income! Check it out yourselves, your body has early warning systems usually showing up as allergies to sustances.

Paul

maybe you're allergic to wheat. thats what happened to my boyfriend.

Great to see your entries all listed here, and to see that I'm not alone, my symptoms really exist and I really don't have a phobia of dentists :-)

I have had this problem for several years and also had it for a few years when younger. I eat healthily, don't smoke, don't drink and jog regularly. The GP last year recommended an acid inhibitor and attributed the problem to stomach ulcers. The acid inhibitors stopped me repeating and burping after meals but the gagging remained. It's especially bad in the morning. If I have to speak in public I have to always have a drink of water regularly and preferably softmints to chew on. Sometimes I dig my finger nails into my fingers to stop the imminent gagging if it is about to occur and I have no mints handy. I have these strategies to live with this but it is a pain!

This also makes a visit to the dentist very interesting XD
Basically I can open my mouth for 20 secs and she tries to rapidly dig around before I gag and clamp down on the dentist implements. In the end we both decide enough is enough. When it comes to fillings, we use nitrous gas which enables me to be treated.

Actually this now makes me think. My dentist is convinced this is a phobia of dentists (which it is not) but anyway, why would nitrous work? I'm now beginning to think down the lines of a muscle spasm. I met an acclaimed healer today who was able to dig his finger into my neck and pinpointed an extremely sensitive area and mentioned that the muscle is in constant spasm due to stress.

Perhaps this is also why sufferers sometimes have cosymptoms of ulcers or headaches - all stress-related illnesses.

I noticed that others mentioned muscle relaxants. I'll try them out and also some simple neck exercises, hot baths and massages. If I make any progress in any/all of these I'll post back up because it'll definitely mean that muscle tension is the big problem in my case, and maybe for others.

Best wishes to the rest of you all.

I just did a Google search because I have also had this problem for at least 4 years now. I have the sensation of a hard lump in my throat, just above where my neck meets up with my collar bone. I cannot even tell you how many doctors have shrugged their shoulders at this one. Sometimes my tonsils are covered in white, like I have strep throat, but the culture tests are always negative, and I don't really have a sore throat. I recently saw an FP for this, along with chronic chest pain and fatigue - he seems to think that although my blood tests for hypothyroidism always come back within the normal range, and two blood tests for Celiac disease were also negative, that I may have gluten intolerance (milder than Celiac) and slight hypothroidism. A saliva hormone test showed significant hypoadrenia, slightly low thyroid function, and an imbalance in female hormones. He had me take some additional tests that are more sensitive than blood for gluten intolerance, and we are awaiting the results. He believes the hypoadrenia is being caused by gluten intolerance, and that I should consider taking a low dose of thyroid medication, because although I'm in the low "normal" range, it obviously isn't "normal" for me if it is indeed helped by meds. A GI doctor told me that the slight acid reflux I have should not be causing this lump - he took a scope down my throat, and found a mild hiatal hernia, but said it isn't worth an operation - I take Prilosec OTC once every two days to keep the acid under control, but it has no effect on the lump.

has anyone tried steam therapy? or drinking more water... maybe extensive cardio exercise, anything to try and loosen up the phlegm and possibly strengthen the body's immune system?

i had a cold about a week ago and i got better except for the constant feeling of congestion, and the lump in throat sensation, so i googled lump in throat cough and found this lol..

so.. just wondering.

I have had this problem since about age 28. I'm now 38.

I have tons of allergies, year round, though no proven food allergies.

I live in a humid climate with lots of old buildings and am allergic to mold, which is ubiquitous.

My throat lump seems to sit on top of my adam's apple. it drives me insane, and ai spend most of my day trying to "pop" it. there is no relief form phlegm removal. it seems to be like something is permanently swollen, although past thyroid tests have all been negative.

all i can do is offer support and commiseration, since even in the world-class medical community of Boston, ma, no doctor will offer any words of wisdom.

i personally feel that there is a direct link between my allergies and the throat lump, because it is the worst when it rains, snows, when i am in the basement-level gym, etc. I have read that mold allergies are the hardest to control, at least via allergy shots.