swollen throat and feeling of shortness of breath

I have a sore throat, swelling that occurs intermittently every few hours that gives me a feeling of shortness of breath. I also have the sensation of something stuck in my throat. This has been going on for 4 weeks. My doctors have no idea what is causing it. I have been seen by and ENT he has no idea either. I have been on allergy(allegra d), steroids(prednisone) and antibiotics(celephexin ?) with no real help. The antibiotics may have helped some. The difficulty with this problem is it comes and goes in severity every few hours (8-12). It never actually goes away but becomes very intense and then less intense. I have also had thyroid blood work done, it came back normal. I go in for a ultrasound on my neck today. Any warm liquids make the reaction much worse. Since this problem started I have lost 30 pounds from my inability to eat regularly.

[National Jewish]

If the ultrasound does not reveal an anatomic cause you may need an MRI.  This may not be an anatomical problem.  Instead it may be a functional problem, perhaps related to nerve or muscle dysfunction.  A barium swallow study would be the test done to find this problem.

A weight loss of 30 pound is worrisome.  This suggests that your symptoms are not on the basis of anxiety or panic attacks, which otherwise would be a consideration.

[r3dhorse]

definetly sounds like an allergic reaction. i as well have allergic asthma and have been on inhaled steriods for a long time. first, thing you should probably do is narrow down the problem. make sure you not having a reaction to any of the drugs your taking. im assuming you don't smoke but if you do you might want to consider quiting. might want to see an allergist and do peak flow test which measures your breathing. another thing that comes to mind is acid reflux. acid reflux and can really do a number on your throat and even your sinuses. might want to try taking zantac or a good over the counter antiacid. of course consult a physician before trying anything durastic.

hope that helps,
r3dhorse

[inevitabletriumph]

I have had the axact same symptoms for the past 2-months. My throat has the feeling as though something is stuck in it, I have numbness in my tongue and lots of nasal drip. I intitially thought that it was a food allergy. I have not been able to associate a specific food with the irritation. I have also noticed that after intense excercise that the symptoms seem to increase and I end up with a sore throat.

I have been to several doctors with no success. I would be interested to hear how about your upcoming results. Thanks fro making the post. I have felt pretty allienated with this feeling and not knowing what is wrong.

[Godschild88]

My wife is suffering from the same symptoms. Her tounge goes numb. A feeling of gunk in her throat. She cant cough it up. It seems to be just in her throat. She has trouble breathing. Its getting very out of hand. Nothing seems to help break this junk in her throat. Predisone just gave her a very bad reaction. The only hting we are relying on is God to help us.

[DOGVILLE]

I just came back from an appointment with an ENT. I had the same symptoms of the feeling of something stuck in my throat and nasal drip. I tried drinking lots of fluids but that didn't seem to help. He asked me if it felt like a piece of bread was stuck back there and if I was always trying to clear my throat (which was true).   He examined me by first numbing my nose and then stuck an instument about 12 inches long down my nose to check out my throat. It was a strange feeling but he was very quick with it.  He said there was a lot of swelling in the back of my throat due to acid reflux. I do get heartburn once in a while but I didn't think it was that bad.  Anyways, he prescribed Nexium 40mg 1x/day and Ranitidine 300mg at bedtime. I'm to lay off fatty foods and nothing to eat after 7pm. I'm to do this for 30 days and go back to see him. It sounds like this might be what a couple of you have so maybe this will help.  Good luck!

[sh33ps3ki]

hi dogville....how is your throat condition now? i ask because i am suffering from the same symptoms.

[stef501]

A related discussion, trouble breathing, swallowing, and swollen nasal glands was started.

[breathagain]

A related discussion, any diagnosis for difficulty breathing swollen throat was started.