Chronic Sore Throat or TMS

Hi everyone. Thanks for accepting me to this forum! Im still straddling the TMS/structural fence. Symptoms include chronic sore throat & mouth (particularly one side), trouble swallowing, Globus and vocal fatigue for 18 months.

It began during a busy period with the birth of our 3rd child pointing towards TMS. However, I was violently sick and vomiting the day before the onset of this pain in my throat making me think I damaged my throat causing Neuralgia.

I had a brief reprieve in symptoms for about 2 weeks a year ago but it returned as Globus with pain getting progressively worse. 2 laryngoscopys have showed no inflammation and I was given an LPR (silent reflux) diagnosis. A speech therapist things I have an irritable larynx.

Perhaps I need further testing to rule out a structural abnormality. Any thoughts? Thank you

 

I have the same symptoms, and I believe it's stress-related. I had globus so bad that I couldn't eat solid food and was 100% convinced it was some sinister structural issue. It wasn't. LPR is a very en vogue (over)diagnosis imo.

 

Hi @Idearealist, thanks for the reply!
I agree LPR is over diagnosed. I've read for reflux today read stomach ulcers of the 70's. Steve Ozanich Writes about Globus as a TMS manifestation on pgs63 and 346 GPD.

Structural damage is described in Wikipedia with surgery recommended. Horrific stuff. How did figure out it wasn't a structural issue?

 

Howdy Kellso...my throat pain was not to your level, but a year long sore throat was among my many symptoms before I learned about TMS. It was usually mild, but sometimes swollen enough to make it hard to swallow small vitamins. It went away pretty quickly once I started the program.

 

Thanks for the encouragement @ssxl4000. I think I need to rule out any structural problems first. My gut says it's muscle tension and learned pain.

There is a lady who posts on YouTube about TMS and muscle tension dysphonia , Liz bills. She recovered using a mixture of TMS therapy and speech therapy. Does this contradict Sarno who said cancel all physical forms of therapy?

 

I think it depends on your mindset. If you are doing therapy because you think you need it to heal, then it can hinder your healing. However, if you are of the mindset that you have been super careful of over exerting your neck/throat muscles and they are therefore now weak, then the therapy can help. What matters is if you truly believe a structural issue is causing the symptoms or not. I was twenty pounds underweight when I started feeling better from my problems, so some PT could have helped me as long as I looked at as a way to get my muscles back in shape and not something I needed for the pain to stop.

Reading your first post again, I noticed you said you had a short reprieve in symptoms and that a therapist said you have an irritable larynx. I think that is good evidence that the symptom is TMS. Structural pains usually do not come and go. I doubt you did something like yelling loud for a prolonged time or eating something crazy spicy that would explain why your reprieve ended. I used to go through a similar thing when dealing with irritable bowel syndrome. My doctor gave me the "we don't know why it happens, but your digestive system is just easily irritated" speech. I spent over a year tracking what I ate to figure out why I would bloat, get indigestion, constipation, etc. It was infuriating...one day a food would go down fine, the next it would make me feel sick. Or, I would have a bowel of oatmeal for breakfast that would give me indigestion, but a big burrito for dinner would go down fine. I never found a pattern explaining the symptoms until I realized they were connected to stress and years of conditioning, and the food I ate didn't actually matter.

Have you noticed any such inconsistencies with your symptoms? For example, maybe your throat not bothering you when you are relaxed and doing a hobby. They are great ways to confirm a TMS diagnosis.

 

You had me at 'Hello'.. (LOL)

My major ass-thumping TMS came right after the birth of my second, so that always gets my attention. Lot of turmoil and we almost lost him.... fear, guilt, anger....all repressed.

and that's sort of the giveaway.
My back Pain went away one time in the year and a half preceding my introduction to Sarno. I had a screaming 104* fever and was miserable. Laying around used to exacerbate my pain, BUT with all of those aches and pains to distract me, I no longer needed the back pain. That little week reprieve was also a huge clue.

Sarno always said to rule out real stuff (mostly cancer) so if they haven't done that you might want to

But, at first glance it is screaming of TMS.

 

Thanks for the words of support. I'm delighted you have over come your TMS, well done!

My symptoms are much worse during anxious periods. Strangely they are at they're most severe in the middle of the night and wake me up. The opposite is also true. Symptoms are not so severe when I'm relaxed.

From a structural POW my GP has just suggested laryngeal neuropathy i.e. an exposed nerve in my throat is hypersensitive and causing pain/symptoms. He's suggesting amitriptyline

Thanks baseball. Congrats on overcoming your TMS. I dream of writing my own success story here one day. I find Dan Buglio inspiring and the idea of everything being structurally sound very liberating. The birth of a child is indeed turbulent.

If this occured without the vomiting episode, I would 100% believe it's TMS.

 

I have chronic sore ugly looking throat,smelly mucus and breath and super painful. ENT told me I have silent reflux, I am planing to go back again for him to tell me if I have some other thing of if it has progress of if it’s cancer or something. I have done so much bloodwork test and they comeback clear

 

Rule out the physical Karim. A sore throat doesn't have to be the end of the world. I have had it for nearly 2 years now but I believe this is due to 'learned pain' and plain muscle Tension.

I've had a gastroscopy and 2 laryngoscopys which all came back clear. The ENT still diagnosed LPR! I have heard that more and more professionals don't believe in the silent reflux

 

Lpr silent reflux are the same thing

 

I ruled out the physical everything is fine

 

Have you fixed this issue yet?

 

How did you fix the throat stuff? Dealing with the same thing for about two years...it's horrible

 

In July 2021 I was on a cocktail of drugs for facial pain which I was told in was Trigeminal Neuralgia and began experiencing additional symptoms which were thought to be side effects of the pills, then possible LPR or maybe a viral response (pins and needles in my arms and legs, heaviness/numbness in my right arm/hand and right leg, trouble sleeping, shortness of breath while laying down, internal tremors, a swollen throat (not really sore), sinus pressure, occipital headaches, a low grade temp, globus sensation to the point of gagging, trouble swallowing and a hoarse voice. Now nearly a year later and after a home sleep study, a throat scope by ENT, nerve conduction study by Neurology, an upper Endo and 48 hour Bravo pH study by GI I have been deemed (mostly) normal. I may have mild central sleep apnea but it must be confirmed in a sleep lab which hasn’t been ordered. ENT saw mild vocal cord swelling. Neurology feels it is possible I had a virus in July that resulted in my brain stem/spine to become mildly inflamed and it kicked off my symptoms…which will most like just resolve on its own in a years time. ENT feels my symptoms are out of proportion with my clinical findings so laryngeal sensory neuropathy is suspected and they recommend a May referral. PPIs didn’t work (confirmed by pH test = no acid reflux episodes) Elimination diets and reintroduction of different foods didn’t reveal anything. GI feels non-acid reflux could be at play or esophageal muscle issues and they should be ruled out before neuropathy can be suspected. My stressor/frustration in July was definitely the cocktail of drugs that made me feel horrible and did nothing for my pain and the recommendation by the doctors was to take more of them. Today my stressor would be how our healthcare system works. What do you do when specialists don’t agree and most definitely don’t work together. My family is encouraging me to take Claritin as they think it’s just allergies. On the upside - this journey has been easier to bear knowing TMS is most likely the cause of the additional symptoms - just poor coping skills so my frustration turned into more physical symptoms. My facial pain is down to slight fullness/pressure. I still feel congested, feel like I have post nasal drip/swollen throat and my voice goes if I talk at any length - but there’s no structural damage seen.