Tight throat + slight throat pain

[AthosPrv]

I am a 30 year old male who lives a healthy lifestyle and drinks/smokes socially and no previous history of serious health issues.

I remember that this started around 3 months ago when one night my tonsils got very swollen and i had a hard time swallowing and also felt nauseated. At that time i did not visit a doctor and the swelling subsided after a few days.Since then i have had this feeling of tight throat on and off. Some times its more, others its less.

Around 3 weeks ago i visited an ENT who confirmed a swelling of my right tonsil and prescribed some anti-fungal and anti allergy pills. When i visited him again he noticed that the swelling got better but i mentioned that i had some pain on the right side of my throat, mostly when swallowing(slight pain). He prescribed antibiotics which didn't make much of a difference(I believe it was Fluconazole).

So, 3 months after, i have some sense of a tight throat and a little bit of throat pain that seems to get a little stronger at night and gets better during the day. Also, i have a constant feeling of needing to clear my throat from phlegm and i have had a runny nose since i can remember. Apart from that i have

1) no fever
2) no bumps outside my throat
3) no feeling of a lump in my throat when swallowing
4) i don't spit blood
5) no feeling of dizziness or fatique
6) no hoarse voice.
7) no ear pain.

When i check in the mirror i don't see my tonsils being swollen, hence my worry of it being something else.

I understand that i may be overreacting to think that this could be serious but when i called the ENT today and said the antibiotic didn't do anything, he mentioned that he believes its just stress and if i want to be 100% sure i should do an MRI.

I started thinking that this could be a form of cancer in its earliest stages. I don't consider myself to be a hypochondriac but its the first time in my life that a tight and sore throat has been going on for more than a few days or so.

I would appreciate any response from those who have faced a similar set of symptoms and what their opinion is.Also, i have scheduled a meeting with another ENT later today to get a second opinion.

[MYoungAtHeart]

When you sleep at night have you tried to run a humidifier which might help if you are a mouth breather and getting totally dried out in the mouth at night....

There are also some gums and mouth drops that will hydrate your mouth.  Have you seen a dentist who will confirm that you are or are not a mouth breather...They can tell very easily by the pulling back of the mouth gums away from your teeth and mouth breathing is actually a problem for many people.

It takes about 50 pairs of muscles and nerves to accomplish the simple act of swallowing, and a number of conditions can interfere with this process. These conditions generally fall into one of two categories: esophageal and oropharyngeal. Sometimes, however, the cause of dysphagia can't be identified.

One of the most common causes of swelling in this area is acid reflux coming up from the stomach and burning the posterior larynx. The acid reflux effectively causes an acid burn of the throat tissues resulting in swelling that feels like a golf ball is stuck in the throat.  Often the post-nasal drip patients feel is actually normal secretion from the nose and sinuses that backs up because of the tissue swelling in this area of the larynx.

I suffer from anxiety and when I was 30, I woke up one day to a tight throat which only got worse as time went on.  I tried everything I suggested to you and then came the day when I could no longer swallow.....I did not have insurance but went to the ER and a kindly doctor who had some time to spare talked to me about my life and my not being able to swallow ....He asked me what I could not swallow about my life anymore and what I would like to do to solve this Gob feeling.....I entered a support group and the more I talked and the more I changed in my life my swallowing problem went away almost immediately and has never come back since which has been 20 years.

I do wish you the very best and do think that a second opinion Med Doc could actually be the help you might need..

M

[Jerry_NJ]

Additional thought, you may be better results posting on:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Ear--Nose--Throat/show/70

[Jerry_NJ]

You're doing a better job than me at getting in to see an ENT.  I have too many doctors already - but I'm a senior and that goes with the mileage. In your case, age 30 makes cancer very unlikely, but worth asking the question to the ENT - surely they are expert at spotting throat cancer.  An Oncologist is expert at treatment, and in detecting the recurrence in people who he has treated with chemo (my wife is a close to me experience). The ENT is the right place to start I think.

Drinking, socially, I have no idea what that means to you but if it means you don't get drunk and bing drink the alcohol isn't a contributor to your problem, I believe.  But any smoking is damaging and given you throat condition I ask: "what does it take to get you to stop smoking completely and avoiding being in the presence of others who smoke".  That alone may improve your condition, lower your symptoms.

Good luck