anxiety??

[lifegoezon]

Hi,
I have been having an extremely tight feeling in my throat for about  
7 months now. It comes on as if someone is "stepping on" or "squeezing" my esophagus....as though the wind is knocked right out of me. It happens at all different times...but mostly when I'm talking to someone or just being sedentary. I did experience panic attacks about 7 years ago but went to therapy and learned to deal with the family issues i ignored as a child and young adult. I am 27 and just quit smoking three months ago.When I was 21 I was put on prevacid for acid reflux and took it for one year. After that my symptoms were fine up until this past year/ My doctor then put me on protonix to see if that would help the somewhat "spasms" in my esophagus. Within 2 weeks the symptoms were reduced, i actully didn't have any for about 3 weeks, but it has been 8 weeks now (on the protonix) and they are coming back. He thinks i also have IBS.I have no problem swallowing food or drink. It's when I'm not eating or drinking that i feel like something is stuck on my throat. I have had plenty of panic attacks in the past, but that included palpitations and hyperventilating. This problem i have now comes and goes as it pleases whether i am stressed or not. I smoked for 11 years..i hope i have not severely damaged myself. I had an echocardiogram to rule out any cardiac issues or the chance that my Mitral valve prolapse had gotten worse...it's actually better...i don't need to be medicated before the dentist anymore. The technician said she saw lung interference and saw some scarring. I called the doctor the next day and he said they are not supposed to tell the patient anything and when my doc looked at the results he said there was no scarring. Any thoughts? Living like this is driving me crazy. I work out (cardio) at least 3 times a week and only twice have I expereinced this suffocating feeling during that. Thank you!

[slient whisper]

thankyou for reply back to me scaredy cat 1. I will to try to vist the site you mention.I hope you find the answer you are looking for too. Happy holidays to  you all. I understand holiday are roug for alot of us , just wishing u all a nice one. I keep you all in my thoughts and prays.



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[scaredycat1]

hey silent whisper,

the meds will help but do take time if you can bear it, try going to healingwell.com there are chats there and it is a really good site.

[slient whisper]

Hi there. I am new to this site but willing to give anything a chance..... I think.When  will there be  a cure for panic attacks   that seem to last  along time? I try breath with them and I try to tell myself I be ok  but at time it  doesnt seem like it. I ofetn feel like I am going dye or  that I will be admit in a  suicdeward and never get out .I been try alot medcations but ever time I trry a new one my anixty get high with each one and they tell me stay on it at least 2 weeks  but I cant stand feel scared 24/7 a week.I even try search for chat group online but no luck. I wish i never felt alone in this area . can someone please try to help me. I am mother 4 childern and my youngest is 10 months old and  I need help . Thanks
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[lifegoezon]

Thank you for your post. However, if i lose any more weight...I am 92 lbs....I will surely disapper! I am seeking therapy and so far it seems to be the only thing taking somewhat of the edge off! Thanks all!

[caregiver222]

As I said, I can't be exactly sure what is wrong with you. I do know that the body can respond to "antigens" or non-self substances in a wide range of ways. And that when certain sensor sites are activates thje body senses "danger of survival" and this triggers anxiety and a host of psychological symptoms. These "sensor points" are on the face and in the airway and trachea. It only takes a little bit of damage in these areas for the body to sense it is "in danger". The phenomenal amount of trouble that can caused by a teensey weensey bit of regurgitated hydrochloric acid cannot be underestimated. This is common amongst "floor dwellers" and people who sleep on futons and watch television late at night. They snack while lying down. For a number of reasons the muscular sphinchter that holds the acid in the stomach weakens and the acid leaks up and you are in the same situation as a soldier who had been gassed during WWI. You have suffered a serious chemical injury. Worst yet you end up with an inflamed surface, which in turn, couples with a depressed immune system can cause serious fungal, bacterial and viral infections of the sinus and lung. Most of all, this acid can trigger symptoms of shortness of breath and frightening air hunger. All this trouble from a little acid reflux! There could be other reasons for your problems, but this is a good start. Exercise, get your weight down, and there is lots of good advice out there on the net.  :)

[lifegoezon]

Did you also feel like u couldn't get a breath in or out?

[Pum]

I had what sounds like the exact same thing.  It was due to anxiety.  It is called globus hystericus.  You trust your doctor to rule out other things.
it went away after taking an anti-depressant for 3 months and I've never had it again.

[lifegoezon]

Thank you for your opinion. I am going back to see the doctor and will definately mention what you have said. He likes to tell me it's "all in my head", but i know that its not. I have quit smoking and that did reduce it...its been 3 months so far and counting. But what does eventually happen? Will my symptoms get worse and worse until i finally am completely unable to breathe??? I soon will need a trnaquilizer too!!

[caregiver222]

First of all, it is impossible for anyone to porovide an accurate and comoplete diagnosis via the internet. Secondarily I encourage you to visit and consult with your family physician and the specialists he advices you to see. Nevertheless, you jave a "constellation of symptoms". My credentials are unimportant excespt insofar I have an ability to "connect the dots", and have worked in the medical field since Christ was a corporal. There are many possibilities as to what is going on. Lets go through some of my reasoning. The scarring is most likely caused by acid reflux. While the stomach is designed to tolerate a wide range of PH neither the trachea, nor the esophagus, nor the alveoli in the lung. We also k ow from clinical experience that any stimuli that "threatens life" cauyses anxiety and panic attacks. It's wired in the "Lizard brain" we all have. Hypoxia is one such state. There are a series of concentic muscular rings that contain the acid within the stomach, regardless of the position of the body. For a variety of reasons these muscles can lose function or atrophy. When that happens there is leakage of hydrochloric acid upwards into the mouth, around the valecula and into the trachea which leads to the lungs. There is a surgical, a pharmaceutical and a naturopathic solution to this problem. I gave you the naturopathic one. It is difficult for people to believe that minor lifestyle changes can often have demonstrably significant effects on mortality. You have already been diagnosed with gastric reflux and provided with medications. Sometimes the damege is so bad only surgery can correct it - and sometimes that fails. The first thing to do when you have a headache is to stop hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. You could also have a helibactor pylori infection, which often goes with this condition. Dietary treatment should be square one, and that should insure that the acid that flows upward causing the scaring is reduced. Now the scaring could be from smoking, but my gut feeling is that is not so. There is a rule called "Okums Razor" that states one should look for the simplist explanation. Your symptoms are consistent with serious gastro esophageal reflux disease. I would be a fool to suggest I could provide you with an exact diagnosis via this information group, and I am not soliciting anyone for services. Just giving input. I encourage you to bounce my suggestions off your M.D. Two heads are always better than one. Probably you have a great deal of inflammation, and that should be "cooled down" by three days of prednisone, that nasty cancer causing drug. There are a lot of naturopathic foods that would held, including aloe vera and slippery elm. There is not a great deal you can do about scar tissue. Think about giving up smoking and using a nicotine patch. If you research the annals of recent issues of the magazine "Nature" you will discover that nicotine aids in wound healing and nicotine patches are being tested to aide in recivery after bowel resection. The Indians know that when they put a plug of tobacco on an arrow wound. Good luck.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I think you have to continue to explore the physical causes the way you have been, that is, by taking charge.  It still sounds like anxiety, and having been in therapy for early family problems does not mean you are not having some contemporary conflict that needs to be explored.  The metaphor you use to describe the feeling may be a clue...so think about who in your life right now might be stepping on your life, or squeezing you too tight. Consider a therapist or try the masteringmylife.com program to explore what is going on in your life.

[lifegoezon]

Thank you for your input. However, what are your credentials? Are you a doctor? Just surprised you could diagnose me thru writing. Have you expereinced this same problem?

[caregiver222]

You are going to have to learn never to eat and then lie down. You should not eat within two hours of falling asleep and NO snacks when lying down.  There are protocols available on the net that you can search as a dietary program for acid reflux syndrome. You have a serious problem that may lend itself to very simple treatment. It  may not at this point, but it's worth a try.