Not quite a lump in my throat...

May 13, 2008 8:33 PM

You know that feeling in your throat when you're about to burp? I'm getting that for extended periods of time, but without any eventual belching. Any ideas what it could be (and whether I should seek medical attention)?

There's no pain associated with the feeling, and I don't have any trouble swallowing or breathing. There's no swelling that I can feel with my hands, and no new bumps or lumps or hardnesses, just my plain old adam's apple. There's just... a sensation of pressure that sticks around for a few hours at a time, then subsides for a while. Eating and/or drinking (and carbonated beverages in particular) seem to have no effect one way or another.

As far as I know I'm in decent health for someone as out of shape as I am; a couple months ago I had some unexplained pains which -- after blood tests, a chest x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound -- were eventually ruled to be costochondritis, a diagnosis borne out by the fact that a week on anti-inflammatory drugs cleared it up (if I twist just the right way I can still provoke a moment or two of soreness, but I was told that's not unusual). Used to smoke, don't anymore. No allergies to food or household stuffs that I know of, and I'd expect an allergic reaction to be much more severe. No history of thyroid problems, and no family history of them either, as far as I know.

So I'm stumped. Anybody ever had something like this before and found out what it was?

posted by ubernostrum to health (11 comments total)

Oh, and no heartburn or acid reflux or anything of that sort, either. I can eat practically anything and not regret it later.
posted by ubernostrum at 8:35 PM on May 13

Do you have any anxiety? I have the same type of problem, and it's due to severe anxiety that causes me to feel like my throat is paralyzed or closing, but I have no problems eating or drinking. I take benzodiapenes, and it goes away nearly instantly.
posted by nursegracer at 8:46 PM on May 13

I occasionaly have the same feeling. I have no idea where it comes from and i didn't see a doctor, it usually happens only in summer in my case.
So i began to wonder if i was getting a mild allergic reaction from pollen. The thing started right when i started living in Japan where there's a lot of pollen in the air from spring to autumn.
posted by SageLeVoid at 8:50 PM on May 13

How are your ears? I occasionally get a tense feeling in my throat when my ears are itchy.
posted by phunniemee at 8:53 PM on May 13

I've been under a bit more stress lately than normal (got a book in final stages of prep for publication), but I've been through worse without any physical symptoms like this, and I wouldn't really describe it as "anxiety" anyway.

No ear troubles, either. It is the time of year for pollen, but I've been living in this area for two years and haven't had any trouble from seasonal allergies.
posted by ubernostrum at 8:59 PM on May 13

Don't rule out allergies. I went 38 years being the only person in the family not allergic to almost everything... it hit 6 months ago out of the blue. Your "almost but not quite burp" is pretty familiar, and it's something that goes away when I travel out of state and comes back when I return home and goes away if I wake up every 4 hours or so to take a decongestant and I double up on OTC daily allergy meds. oh, I lived in the same apartment for 10 years before getting allergies...

Is it worse in the mornings after sleeping?
posted by zengargoyle at 9:38 PM on May 13

Still might be acid reflux even if it doesn't feel like heartburn. I get that feeling occasionally and a Pepcid AC makes it better.
posted by Miastar at 11:06 PM on May 13

you don't describe exactly where the pain was at first, but a finding of costochodritis suggests rib margins. In generalised abdominal pain around that area one of the first things your physician would have ruled out is acid reflux possibly caused by hiatus hernia. Ergo the blood test and ultrasound.

If there is any relationship between the symptoms you orginally presented with and this current feeling, the doctor who physically examined you and has the actual test results is the person you need to explain this to. I know this sounds like a common metafilter cop-out, but seriously go and ask the (wo)man who knows your abdomen best.
posted by Wilder at 1:37 AM on May 14

and yes, I do think it warrants a visit to exactly that person but IANAD and YMCMFHOY.Y
(Your Medical Cover May Frighten the Hell Out of YOU)
posted by Wilder at 1:43 AM on May 14

It might be Laryngopharyngeal Reflux. There are no (often) food-related or heartburn issues with this version of reflux, because it's not affecting the stomach. I have it and when the acid is building up, that's how it feels (what you're describing). But I have no stomach issues or heartburn either. Never have.
posted by FlyByDay at 6:37 AM on May 14

So, for those of you playing along at home: this condition disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Then reappeared about a week ago, followed shortly thereafter by sore throat and then a nasty head cold.

Doctor's verdict: acid reflux, which most likely created a higher-than-usual vulnerability to infection. On to the little purple pill I go.
posted by ubernostrum at 8:38 AM on July 8