Throat feels like it is closing up (allergy, my throat, cold)

[k9coach]

My throat feels like it is closing. This tends to happen after eating, but sometimes it happens when I haven't had a meal for hours. The feeling lasts for several hours and is accompanied by increased mucus in my throat and lungs. The feeling of my throat closing up is making me panic as it feels like I will not be able to breathe. However I am not actually experiencing difficulty breathing. So this must be an issue with my esophagus and not my trachea (windpipe).

My doctor thought it might have to do with some stomach issues or post nasal drip because:

I have been diagnosed with GERD.
I have had gastritis in the past.
My nose runs in cold weather - non-stop from October through April.

At the direction of my doctor, I have tried omeprizole and nasonex for this throat closing problem and these have not helped.

I have tried modifying my diet i.e. less dairy, less sugar, and this has not helped.

Any ideas of what could be going on?

[mm_mary73]

globus hystericus perhaps.....
Ask your healthcare provider about it.

[k9coach]

Wow very interesting. Seems that has connections with GERD as well. Maybe I need to see a gastroenterologist instead of my GP. I wonder how they'd definitively diagnose globus hystericus.

[ocpaul20]

My son had glandular fever and the herbalist said that this could happen with that. For my son, she also said lemon juice was effective in stopping the throat closing up in his case and he was over it very quickly - if that is what it was . What she gave him was pretty effective anyway.
I think Glandular fever = Epstein Barr virus or something I seem to remember?

Get along to the doctor and have it checked out.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by k9coach

Wow very interesting. Seems that has connections with GERD as well. Maybe I need to see a gastroenterologist instead of my GP. I wonder how they'd definitively diagnose globus hystericus.

Suggest a referral to gastroenterologist

[LakesideAnnie]

Originally Posted by k9coach

My throat feels like it is closing. This tends to happen after eating, but sometimes it happens when I haven't had a meal for hours. The feeling lasts for several hours and is accompanied by increased mucus in my throat and lungs. The feeling of my throat closing up is making me panic as it feels like I will not be able to breathe. However I am not actually experiencing difficulty breathing. So this must be an issue with my esophagus and not my trachea (windpipe).

...
Any ideas of what could be going on?

Nope. No idea what could be going on. I'm glad to read you're working with a doctor already. Just wanted to add one more item to the list of possibilities.

My son has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. He's probably had it for years and never knew any different; he's never known what a normal feeling throat would be like.

He called me from College one Sunday. "Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I'm headed out to find an Urgent Care. I tried to swallow some Barbeque and it's stuck in my throat. When I tried to swallow some tea to help it down, the tea just filled up in my throat and I nearly choked on it. I had to bend over and spit all the tea out. But the Barbeque is still in there." He couldn't swallow it down, nor could he cough it back up. He mentioned it seemed like a "hard swallow."

He was talking and breathing fine, so I didn't worry.

Until I got the next call... from the attending physician in the Emergency Room! They couldn't do anything for him but call in the Gastroenterologist that was on call that weekend. It would be an hour before the Gastro would be there.

My son's father and I hopped in the car to make the 3 hour drive to his college town (where, luckily, my son's oldest brother lives.)

My son had his procedure, went into recovery and was released to his big brother before we could make it to the hospital.

Speaking with the Gastro on the phone when the procedure was finished, he told me about the condition he observed and explained Eosinophilic Esophagitis; basically, it's an allergy to something that presents itself in the throat. The gastro took some samples for biopsy and referred my son to an allergist. When my son finally got an appointment with the allergist (school schedules caused the delay) they did a skin test and found he's allergic to SOY!

So now we read labels, looking for soy. My son was diagnosed in October. I remember standing in the middle of the bread aisle at Thanksgiving, nearly in tears because I couldn't find a bread that didn't contain Soy. (I did eventually find one over in the fresh baked breads section... but it seems as if Soy is in EVERYTHING!)

I hope you find the cause of your throat issues quickly. I'm sure it's scary when it occurs. Good Luck!

[timlee]

I sometimes have the similar feelings. It is likely by GERD. My solutions are not to lie downmost of the time, for example taking naps by sitting on a couch, and don't do anything that can distract digestion during and after meals. HTH!

[k9coach]

As an experiment, I skipped breakfast and lunch one day. My throat was fine. This tells me the problem is indeed connected to eating. As posters have suggested in this thread, it's looking like either something related to GERD or an allergy. I bet if I go to a gastroenterologist they'll tell me it's my GERD and if I go to an allergist they'll tell me I'm allergic to something..

[elan]

You might want to check this out too.

Esophageal Spasm Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by k9coach

As an experiment, I skipped breakfast and lunch one day. My throat was fine. This tells me the problem is indeed connected to eating. As posters have suggested in this thread, it's looking like either something related to GERD or an allergy. I bet if I go to a gastroenterologist they'll tell me it's my GERD and if I go to an allergist they'll tell me I'm allergic to something..

Not necessarily.
Do you have difficulty swallowing pills? Do you have headaches?
You should see the gastro; they will probably do an upper endoscope.
Depending on what your answer is with pills/headaches; they also may want a cervical MRI.

There are a few things that can cause this. It's process of elimination. You should keep a food diary & note when it happens.