Sensation of Food stuck in my throat

[tiredofnoanswers007]

I'm a 31 year old mother with Chron's Disease, and I come from a long family history of all sorts of autoimmune diseases.  For the past 6 months I've had the feeling that food is stuck in my throat.  I've been to my Gastro, who has run a battery of tests, scope, CT and barium swallow.  All have come back clear - the barium showed something pushing on my esophagus from the outside.  He's unable to explain what's happening, and now has referred me to another Gastro that specializes in swallowing.  I'm now experiencing this somewhat painful numbing feeling starting at my left cheekbone, down the left side of my throat and over top of my heart.  My voice goes hoarse sometimes and I have an excess of phlem that needs to be cleared from my throat.  I'm trying to find answers, or others who have or had the same symptoms.

[tiredofnoanswers007]

Thank you so much for responding!  The more I research, the more it looks like a thyroid disorder - I'll definately keep you posted.  My scope was totally clear, as was the CT, they checked chest and neck.  The barium is where it showed the "gland" pushing inward on the esophagus, and the motility test showed no muscle loss in the esophagus.  So now I'm waiting to see the new Gastro who specializes in swallowing.  Thanks again for your insight - it's greatly appreciated!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
It could be due to lingual thyroid.
“It presents as an asymptomatic nodular mass of the posterior lingual midline, usually less than a centimeter in size but sometimes reaching more than 4 cm. in size (Figure 1).  Larger lesions can interfere with swallowing and breathing, but most patients are unaware of the mass at the time of diagnosis, which is usually in the teenage or young adult years. Up to 70% of patients with lingual thyroid have hypothyroidism and 10% suffer from cretinism.” For more information, please read: http://www.*******************.com/BondBook/softtissue/lingthyroid.html#Clinical
“There are many different causes of swallowing difficulty.
Causes may include:
• A blockage due to:
o Cervical spine disease
o Emotional or anxiety disorder
o Esophageal webs
o Narrowings (strictures) due to radiation, chemicals, medications, or ulcers
o Schatzki's ring
o Tumors
o Zenker's diverticulum
• Nerve and muscle problems such as:
o Achalasia
o ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
o Esophageal spasm
o Huntington's disease
o Infections such as syphilis
o Myasthenia gravis
o Muscular dystrophy
o Multiple sclerosis
o Nutcracker esophagus
o Parkinson's disease
o Polymyositis
o Scleroderma
o Stroke
Refer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003115.htm
Hope this helps. I think you should discuss these possibilities with your doctor. A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!