Throat issues... anyone else?

[sinead]

hi everyone,

i am REALLY hoping someone can help me with this... i have had fibro for 6 years & have seen many strange & painful symptoms come & go... for almost 3 YEARS i have had this "thing" going on ONLY with the right side of my throat...

* i keep trying to clear it but it feels tight & constricted on one side

* it feels clogged/stuck (when there is barely any mucous) i have a dry cough that will not clear it but sounds hollow & deep coming from the bad side only.

* when i breathe it sounds all whiny/wheezy like i am breathing through a tiny straw or something

* when i swallow sometimes it feels like i choke on saliva/food...

* my chest hurts on the same side

i have had a ton of tests including: x-rays, pulmonary CT scan, spirometer, allergy tests, etc.. etc.. etc... basically they just look at me & say we can't find anything! all pulmonary, allergy & asthma tests are negative.

this feels terrible!  i cant stand thinking this is with me for life. i am constantly clearing my throat (to no avail) and coughing (which does nothing). it varies in intensity but is there all the time.  this TOTALLY SUCKS & it hurts!  the left side of my throat feels TOTALLY FINE. its just the right side!

has anyone else had anything like this?
or have a clue what the hell it could be, or how to fix it?

thanks so very much :)

[sunshinestate]

I too have a "throat" issue.  I also have a thyroid issue.  If you haven't had that checked, I suggest you do.  I can't really imagine you haven't.  But, you might not.  Recently mine throat feels like it is restricted, or tight.  Also like there is something caught or stuck, a feeling like my pills were stuck.  It turns out I have a multinodular thyroid, with a cyst.  The later is recent news, of last week.  It will possible have to be removed.  Good luck.  Fibro seems to be a revolving door of constantly changing symptoms.

[idesofmarch]

I also have a throat issue and Fibromyalgia 7 yrs, hypothyroid over 3 years and sleep apnea over 5 years and I still snore which doesn't help the throat. Please have your thyroid checked and if you have a sleep partner ask if you snore or stop breathing alot at night.  Also look it up to see if you match any symptoms.  If you do bring the proof/paperwork to the doctor's w. you.  ENT for throat  ENDO for thyroid & A sleep clinic for sleep testing.  Good Luck

[jenn38018]

I have just started having some throat issues myself, but have had fibro for years.  My throat has been sore every day for the past three weeks, and my lymph nodes are sore in my throat and under my armpits.  I am also having neck problems.  Seems to all have started at the same time.  CFS has been suggested to me.  I will say that my mother has CREST Schleroderma, which is an autiommune disease, and she has major throat problems like you are talking about.  Have you noticed any changes in the texture of your skin or the inability for sores to heal on your skin?  Schleroderma effects your collagen production and eventually hardens or entombs your soft tissue organs.  The esophogus is usually the first thing to be effected.  You can have an upper scope done and also a biopsy to determine if your esophogus has been damaged.

[keblergirl]

hey i have the same thing even on the same side and i got tested for thyroid and it was neg of coarse as all the other tests  good luck to you!

[briso]

Hello Sinead, I have just read your question.  I have exactly the same problem and experience increased pain when talking. I have attended ENT clinic several times over the past 6 years and like you have not got any concrete answer except that the throat is a muslce like the rest of my body and it can be affected by fibromyalgia just the same.  I least i know it is not something more serious.  I have to accept that i will probaly have a sore throat, ear ache, tinitus, tmj,etc on the right side of my throat and face and will learn to manage it like the rest of my fibromyalgia pain.  I am getting referred to a speach therapist, apart from that i am not sure where to go from here or how to manage this problem, but i know i have to or let this problem win. good luck lynn.

[MegMcC]

Hi, I am posting this to all fibromyalgia and sore throat threads.  Please pass this info along to others who are suffering if it works for you!

I may have some info that will change your lives! I had chronic sore throats and fatigue for about a year and NO ONE could offer a solution. A friend had seen a special on Dupont and specifically Teflon risks. The nonstick cooking surfaces that are made of PTFE, when heated to 500 degrees (and sometimes MUCH lower than that if damaged) emit a vapor that I was constantly breathing and eating when I purchased a new set of T-Fal cookware about 10 years ago. Once I got rid of my nonstick pans...I felt like my life had been given back to me.

Lock up your nonsticks, see if this cures you! It is definitely worth a one month trial. Be careful when you go out to eat, there is no harm in checking with your regular restaurants/cafeterias to see if they are using nonstick cookware, most do not. Recently I had these symptoms from a slice of Pizza Hut Pizza, I called and they had just upgraded equipment and indeed were now using nonstick pans for running pizzas through the oven.

Once it is not a daily occurance, the reaction will be easy to recognize when you experience it. If this is the problem...you will know in the future.

For me, it starts with a sore throat 4-6 hours after I have been around "superheated" PTFE or when I have eaten something cooked on a PTFE surface that is maybe degraded or was preheated too fast. Head and neck and glands all feel swollen and sore and I really feel like I am coming down with a cold/flu. Extreme fatigue, stomach upset, sometimes intestinal upset, sleeplessness and general malase follow.

I recognize the signs now and just try to take it easy and really pour on the vitamins...this reaction can lower your immunities and allow you to actually "catch" a virus. If you are careful to take care of yourself once you notice the symptoms, generally the sore throat goes away in 48 hours.

My real advice, THROW OUT your nonsticks...tell your friends and family too. If you read up on it, you will find that there is not much information online, which is irresponsible of the medical community in my opinion.

GOOD LUCK!!! Please let me know who this works for! I am one of only a few who recognize that they are living with this particular allergy!

Oh, I have not found anything to stop the reaction when I do have it.  Steroids, relux meds, allergy meds, anti inflamitories....none made a difference, just had to wait out the 48 hours.