Assessing Throat Symptoms Worries

[CursedLeprechaun]

What exactly are your symptoms?

This throat thing seems to cause me the most worry. I went to the neuro a few weeks ago due to throat issues. After a fairly thorough exam, he declared (for the third time in 9 months) that I had no sign of an NMD. A couple of days ago, a little neck flutter turned into major anxiety again.

I'm just trying to determine whether or not my symptoms are anything to be concerned about. Thanks.

 

[CandyM314]

I don't get any regular twitching on my throat but my issues are with swallowing

Feel as though food is getting stuck. I don't cough with swallowing and have no problems with liquids (especially the sort you mix with tonic ) ) but am very anxious about the whole thing. I feel as though my throat is irritated. On a really bad day, I believe I am aspirating

However, this all started really when I started taking Celexa for anxiety. I read one of the side-effects is post-nasal drip and am trying to be logical and believe this may be the cause

I'm pretty sure anxiety has a big part in this for me. I got over limb onset three months ago after a neuro told me there was no problem and so am now focussed on bulbar

Not sure if this is the sort of thing you were looking for?

 

[CursedLeprechaun]

That's exactly what I am looking for. I too got over limb onset months ago. Now my major malfunction has me dwelling on the worst of the worst.

I'm just trying to get a feel for the symptoms people have with their own throat issues.

Thanks for responding!

 

[BandersnatchF]

My biggest concern is a "click" when I swallow. It feels like (and probably is) cartilage rubbing against itself. I don't have any difficulty actually swallowing, and only rarely (once every week or two) have stuff go down the wrong pipe. That's pretty much the same rate as the general population. I also have an occasional bout with (perceived) lisping. Again, nobody else seems to notice it, and I'm guessing it's hypersensitivity more than any real problem. Then there's my tongue. When I stick it out and fan it, I have lots of fissures running lengthwise. My wife can't duplicate the manuever, so my guess is that the fissures are related to my ability to fan my tongue. In any case, the fact that I can do these things in the first place is a strong indicator that I don't have bulbar involvement. Besides, I've never noticed tongue twitches (knock on wood! )).

 

[CandyM314]

Here's a little test I do which sometimes calms my nerves

With bulbar, early swallowing issues tend to relate to inability to control foods and liquids during the first stage (can't remember what its called, think it's oropharyngeal or something) this is because of weak muscles

Take a glug of water and gargle, like a lot of people do when they clean their teeth. Can you hold the water? no problem then

 

[CursedLeprechaun]

I almost made myself vomit trying to do that! I definitely made my eyes tear up. Is depressing your tongue the same thing as sticking it out? I couldn't really see the roof of my mouth too well because my palette (?sp) is very high. I did see my uvula move.

After the gargling suggested by CandyM314, I couldn't take the chance of any co-workers hearing "AAAHHH AAAHHH" coming from the restroom.

 

[AlexAls23]

No offend here but all of this is speculation.

Garggling. Well i am pretty sure that also people with Bulbar ALS can do this some time during the first stages.

Once one wrote that another test is to drink through a straw some coke for example and then hold the straw with his lips and try pulling it out of the bottle (or was this over on braintalk)

And a person i really respect called Dan Hicks over at braintalk wrote that one could pull his tongue out measure its length. Do this once every week. If the length went down this would be a sign of shortening (shrinkage - i think i dont know how to spell it right) of the tongue.

And the uvula is another story. This is true that ALS ends paralyzing the uvula so that it doesnt rise symetrically, but first of all what is exactly symmetrically. There was a time i was testing my uvula 5 times a day until i went to a neuro and he explained it to me. If the uvula should be affected then symptoms like not being able to speak because of a weak voice and not being able to swallow would be very very profound. This is an endstage of B. Als.

The most important part is. Is there any weakness? Can one swallow without aspirating. Is the person slurring (and not lisping)?

~Yes i do lisp from time to time. And i hate it because i get the impression that this could be it. And i have also this weird clicking sound everytime i swallow. Tongue twitches? yes big times.

I first got something like a tremor in my neck which went away and the clicking sound came. Only after about a month i had the twitches in the tongue. It is now almost 6 Months.

The biggest issue here is something else!!!

As all of use know people with Limb onset sometime in the late stages do also get Bulbar involvement. Untill this time however they do get from time to time bulbar symptoms during there course. This is the reason why so many on the ALS board at braintalk for example point following thing out.

Limb weakness progresses relentlesy. However Bulbar symptoms come and go. Sometimes they get better and then again they are back again. This is for people having Limb onset and not Bulbar onset.

So forget about Bulbar ALS. It wouldnt present itself liek this. Limb onset could be considered for us because of the twitching. But then again if there is no weakness or one has a clean EMG then the possibilities are very low.

 

[AlexAls23]

Oh yes and concerning the clicking sound try typing in google the following ' "throat clicking" ' or was it ' "clicking throat" '. Well i cant remember but there are some things written about this i have read.

My neuro told me that he has never heard of this in connection with ALS.

 

[darric1]

I definitely think there are certainly some personality and mind types that cannot excpet this because they need a tangible and solid cause for this. I think I'm included in this group. Although I have excepted it as BFS and that it nothing sinsiter and probably anxiety related, it took me a while to do so because I am the type of person that needs a hard diagnosis with hard facts related to this.