Posted by sunshine on November 07, 19102 at 23:01:51:
In Reply to: Re: DIAZEPAM CURED THE LUMP IN MY THROAT!!! posted by CRAIG THULBORN on October 09, 19102 at 06:21:24:
: : Hello,
I have the same similiar symptoms. I have a lower neck and throat tightness with swelling which makes it uncomfortable to swallow. I also experience a slight anxiety from the tightness and a swelling of my face- sometimes along with dizziness and a feeling that i am not all there in my head (feels like sinus as well).
My doctor prescribed me:
lorazapam 1 mg. to take twice a day
temezapam 15 mg. to help with sleep
I take them and so far, unless I don't take them I have tightness and it doesn't go away. I am told just to take them to ease up on the muscles there. WHen I am not stressed at all, it remains the same and it seems I can't escape this. It is with me 24 hours a day since 1997. I started on a exercise program i thought of myself, which consists of running-walking-concentrating on my breaths and yoga. I also changed my diet to a raw food one with vitamins and it improved my tightness 20% Which seemed to open up that area and made it more bearable to live So far, I don't have the anxiety from a disorder, but I think my Dr. is confusing that with my type of anxiety- but really it is the tightness in my neck that brings it all about, other than that I feel fine. I was referred to a psy. this week and wonder what will happen.
I was wondering if hypnosis would help? Is there anyone who would give some insight on this? Or if there are other tests, medications, etc. that could be shared here with me and others. I having been searching for any answers to help me.
I sympathize with anyone who has this problem - it is like wearing a turtleneck so tight- you can't even take it off! ;(
It has affected my life so much I work only part time now, since it is so exhausting to my body- affecting such body functions as hot flashes and similiaritys to hypothyroidism which my tests have indicate normal for this, and I am not in menopauseal age yet.
Please share!
: :
: : Hi,
: : In an earlier posting, someone mentioned having a lump in their throat when they were very anxious, which wouldn't go away. In my response, I explained to her that I had a similar experience, which to me was so disturbing, that I wore myself out trying to fight it, til I developed a very severe depression. With the lump was a feeling of anguish and despair. After some research, I found out that this lump isn't always a psychological thing, and wanted to share this with others who might be suffering from this problem. This what I wrote her:
: : You didn't mention if you're on any medication. I want to share with you my experience with the lump in my throat. I used to get it from time to time when I was very anxious or sick, even as a kid, but it usually would go away. That's what another person at this site wrote about, called globus, or globus hystericus, which in Mosby's Medical Dictionary is described as follows: a transitory sensation of a lump in the throat that cannot be swallowed or coughed up, often accompanying emotional conflict or acute anxiety. The condition is thought to be caused by a functional disturbance of the ninth cranial nerve and spasm of the inferior constrictor muscle that encircles the lower part of the throat.
: : I got the lump in the throat you describe, that this time wouldn't go away, from an antidepressant (Elavil). It was first prescribed for me for severe anxiety and depression, quite a while back, before Prozac, Zoloft, and the new SSRI Antidepressants came out. The higher the dose, the worse it got. My doctor just ignored it for 5 months and kept increasing the Elavil, making my throat feel even tighter. It finally became so unbearable, and I became so obsessed with it, that I was really thinking of suicide, since no amount of relaxation exercises, will power, chewing gum, or focusing on other things helped. I even tried hypnosis. The only time I didn't feel it was when I slept, when my muscles were completely relaxed. I wore myself out trying to fight it on my own. My doctor finally changed my medicine to Nardil (An MAO Inhibitor - not for everyone - too many warnings about food and drug interaction).
: : It was great for me though, as I follow the warnings to a tee and have been on it for over 20 years. In addition to helping calm the severe anxiety, it actually made me feel a little high, at the higher dose on which he first started me, and reduced my phobic thinking, where I didn't feel quite as bad when I was around other people - not feeling as shy or inhibited. For the first time, I had hope I was going to be fine. It even helped me with my irritable bowel and my anorexia where I couldn't keep my food down. It also lowers the blood pressure, as a side effect, which is good for people who have hypertension. I started therapy too, and the comforting words from the doctor and the hope he gave me that I was going O.K. also helped (the placebo effect). Two months into taking the Nardil though, the lump in the throat came back. I became hysterical, until I started to do some reading and came accross the words: extra-pyramical reaction. It seems some medications cause this as a side effect (nervous spasms).
: : The PDR (Physician's Desk Reference Manual) also describes swelling of the glottis (the back of the throat), as one of the side effects with some antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs. Some medical conditions, by the way, can also cause this feeling, like an enlarged thyroid, some neurological disorders, food or other types of allergies, etc., and anxiety can make the symptoms worse. You should have all these checked out just to be sure. I started seeing a new doctor who added Ativan(Lorazepam), to the Nardil, and miraculously, the lump went away, since it helped my muscles to relax. Ask your doctor about it. Even though Ativan is an antianxiety drug, a Benzodiazepine, it seems to work as a muscle relaxant. Some other Benzodiazepines do the same thing. I know Valium does, but I'm not sure about Xanax, since I never took it, and haven't read about it. Without the Ativan though, I don't believe any amount of refocusing or will power would have helped.
: : From time to time, I still get the fear that the lump will come back, since it had become a phobia, and I start to panic. But then I get busy and think about other things, or refocus, and sure enough, it always goes away. Of course, still being a phobic personality, I always think "WHAT IF" the next time it doesn't go away?" I also found that slow, deep breathing from the diaphragm also helps with all types of anxiety. I never believed it would work when my doctor suggested it til I tried it. I was really surprised. Trying to relax through your fears and facing them instead of running away from them like we all tend to do gives you a feeling of control over them, whereas running away really does reinforce them. You should also have a good checkup to see if anything organic can cause what you're feeling.
: : I hope my advice helps. Good luck.
: : Suzy
: :
: : Following is an article written by an M.D. I just found on this site, who mentions treating patients for the "lump in the throat" with Valium, a good muscle relaxant, as I stated in my post. It's in the same family as Lorazepam/Ativan, the antianxiety medication which helped me relax my throat muscles or spasm:
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: :
: : Cricopharyngeal spasm
: : Information for patients with a lump in the throat sensation
: : Causes of a cricopharyngeal spasm
: : Symptoms of a cricopharyngeal spasm
: : Why did I get a cricopharyngeal spasm?
: : A management program
: : Benefits of managing cricopharyngeal spasm
: : Causes
: : This syndrome results from a spasm in the cricopharyngeus muscle. It is a self limiting disorder that will resolve on its own. The symptoms are so characteristic that as soon as a patient tells me they have a lump in the throat, I can describe all of their symptoms to them.
: : Symptoms
: : Lump in the throat sensation
: : feels like a golf ball, tennis ball ... is stuck in my throat
: : feels like my tie is too tight
: : my throat feels swollen
: : The symptoms can be mimicked by pushing on the cartilage in the neck just below the Adams apple.
: : The lump comes and goes depending on the day.
: : Symptoms are usually best in the AM and worse later in the day
: : Stress aggravates the symptoms.
: : Saliva is difficult to swallow yet food is easy to swallow.
: : Eating, in fact, often makes the tightness go away for a time.
: : The symptoms are similar to getting choked up at a wedding or a funeral.
: : Physiology 101
: : There are two valves in the esophagus or swallowing tube. The are normally contracted and they relax when you swallow so that food can pass through them going to the stomach. They then squeeze closed again to prevent regurgitation of the stomach contents. If the normal contraction becomes a spasm, like a charlie horse of the calf muscle, these symptoms start. Stress often makes these spasms much worse. Many people have experienced neck tightness when stressed and this is similar. Even if not caused by stress, stress will make the spasm much worse.top
: : A management program
: : An exam of the neck and throat is extemely important to eliminate serious problems. In fact, it enters most peoples minds that a lump in the throat might be a cancer. In practice, real lumps in the throat, such as a cancer are not felt. It is one of the reasons that a cancer can get so big before it is discovered. It probably is fortunate that we don't have great sensation in the throat as we would then feel every particle of food, with every meal as it travels down the throat. So lacking great sensation in the throat, problems are a little mysterious there.
: : Unfortunately, many physicians are not familiar with how symptomatic a cricopharyngeal spasm can be and I often see patients who have been extensively tested with Barium swallows, esophageal endoscopies, pH testing, CT scans, xrays, MRI scans and they all come back normal or possibly with some finding that is completely unrelated to the lump in the throat sensation. Really, just a good exam of the throat, voice box and neck is all that is necessary and it is sufficient as well. You should know the following:
: : Just knowing the tightness is not a sign of cancer frequently helps relieve the discomfort.
: : You will get better. Often improvement is over several weeks or even a few months, but occurs once one knows what the problem is.
: : Warm fluids should comfort the throat. Consider a cup of warm tea when the lump is bothersome.
: : If stress lets up, the symptoms improve. Think about what stress might be making this lump worse.
: : Muscle relaxants, such as valium, would be a good treatment, except for their addictive properties.
: : Medication
: : I sometimes dispense several valium (perhaps 4) as a test to prove the symptoms are from muscle spasms. I recommend taking one of the Valium on a weekend, when being alert is not important. When the lump occurs, one takes the Valium. Within an hour, there should be significant improvement in the lump sensation. If the symptoms improve after taking the muscle relaxant, then the symptoms are reasonably from a muscle spasm. Again, the knowledge that a muscle relaxant makes a lump disappear can help confirm that the cause of the lump is from a muscle and not an actual lump.
: : I have also tried injections with a local anesthetic, often with good, but temporary results. It does help to confirm in the patients mind, there is the possibility of relief.
: : If a local anesthetic injections helps, I have with inconsistent results injected botulinum toxin into the cricopharyngeus muscle, sometimes with prolonged relief.
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: : Benefits
: : The symptoms go away. top
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: :
: : Contact the author: James P. Thomas, MD
: : Updated 1 November 2001
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: I HAVE BEEN ON DIAZEPAM FOR SOME TIME WELL LETS SAY 2 HALF YEARS NOW WHICH I AM STARTING TO GET SCARED. AS IM SUFFERING WITH MUSCLE WEEKNESS I KNOW NOW I NEED HELP WITH IT. I SUFFER WITH DYSTONIA WHERE THE THROAT SPASMS AND GOES TIGHT ON ME I KNOW I NEED SOME THING TO CONTROLL THIS BUT WHAT DO YOU. PLZ HELP ANY ONE