swollen throat, but not sore throat.. Any thoughts?

Hi everybody!

I have had a sore throat every single day for over a decade now, all part of ME/CFS. But-- recently, I have not had any more soreness than usual. However, my throat is getting very swollen. I am able to swallow and breathe, though it it starting to scare me. I am not experiencing anxiety attacks or anything, but it almost feels like my throat is 'squeezing' itself from being so swelled up. I can't figure it out. I am completely housebound so it is very hard for me to go to the Dr.

I am geting nervous. Any thoughts?

He or she may be able to answer your question but it may be important to have it looked at. My daughter got a virus which caused her throat to swell and it got to the point she had to get to the ER. They told her she was very close to dying. Not trying to scare you but this could be serious.

Love, Mikie

Thanks guys! I actually had a Dr come to my house today and told him my concerns. He seemed puzzled, but did not even examine my throat! He knows verrryyy little about me/cfs....

Siiiigghhhh...

Any other thoughts would still be appreciated.

Hi guys,

Well, my swollen throat mostly went away, but now it is back and as 'full' as ever. God, it always seems that it happens during a weekend, when I cannot see a Dr very easily. (I was lucky to find a Dr to come to my house before!! It is a visiting housecall Dr in Northern California.)

But now I am back to a very swollen throat. I tried leaving the house today for a 10-miunute car ride and I almost fainted from it. I am just so weak and leaving the house must be avoided at aaalll costs.. Unless I HAVE to leave. This is getting discouraging.

I read on a couple different websites that it could be a slight lymph node infection. The natural remedy for this is 1 tsp of sea salt and 1 tsp of baking soda in a small glass of water. .. I don't know though... If I leave the house to go see a DR and I am to weak to sit up or talk, I fear what will happen to me. If I become hospitalized, I will be in a constant state of overstimulation and I will just get worse and worse... I hope I don't sound too paranoid. This is just the reality that I face when leaving the house at all.

Just a thought, but here's an idea anyway. If you can, have your doctor do a liver panel. I have what is called NASH (non-alcoholic steato hepatitis) and Portal Hypertension. When the portal vein gets clogged, the blood seeks other ways to pump to the heart and lungs. So it creates new veins. They can go either "north" or "south". When they spread northward, they can cause what are called "varices" in your throat. And they can cause you to feel like your throat is closing up or swollen, because they're taking up room. If your liver panel is in the good range, you still might want to consider doing a liver detox. In the meantime, I drink organic lemon juice and water, like a morning beverage and it seems to help.

Soft hugs,
Stacey

happycfs - I just read on Andrew Weil's website today that a B2 (riboflavin) deficiency can cause a sore and/or swollen throat. It can also cause anemia (you mention weakness). I was actually looking for a connection between B2 deficiency and blurred vision (googled "riboflavin blurred vision") and came across the Weil's website so you might look it up.

The chronic sore throat you've had for 10 years can also be due to a pantothenic acid deficiency - pantothenic acid is crucial for adrenal health and a deficiency can cause chronic sore throats. If you are deficient in pantothenic acid, it also causes weakness. If your adrenals are weak, you will feel weak.

I just read on Weil's site that B2 is also very important for adrenal health (which was new information for me). You could be deficient in B2 and pantothenic acid, or maybe one or neither, but definitely worth checking out.

I used to have chronic sore throats, not all the time, but every time I got tired or stressed, and then I learned about the pantothenic acid/adrenal connection, and started addressing adrenal issues and it got better. (although I have a sore throat right now, I think brought on by a very stressful weak with a plumbing backup and all sorts of stuff)

So you might try supplementing with these vitamins - you should probably take a good B complex as well.

When my adrenals were weak, my chiropractor gave me an adrenal glandular (Drenatrophin PMG by Standard Process - there are severeal good products out there) and that helped too, in addition to the pantothenic acid and a good B complex.

My chiro did muscle testing which pinpointed my adrenals, and it was very accurate. My energy picked up noticeably after starting the supplements.

Good luck -

Mary

Wow, thank you for this information! I will look very very seriously into this. Everything is written out so thoughtfully and honestly, and I actually have been thinking that I may have adrenal fatigue because of other symptoms. I am now going to be on a hunt to find out more about my adrenals and such.

I appreciate this so much!!! Thank you!!

One more thing - there is a test called Adrenal Stress Index Test which will measure your cortisol levels throughout the day and evening - it's a saliva test and can give you very good information. Any doctor can order it, although unfortunately most regular docs probably won't, but you can ask. Also naturopaths should know about it.

I was helped the most by my chiropractor who does muscle testing. He's the first one who found my weak adrenals in the mid-1990s. If you want to find a practitioner who does muscle testing, you can go to the Standard Process website (Standard Process is the company which makes Drenatrophin for adrenals) and call customer service and they'll give you the names of practitioners in your area who use their products. You can also just call chiros in your area and ask if they do it.

Do a search on this board too - there are lots of posts about adrenals.

Good luck! I hope you get some help soon-

Best wishes,

Mary

Happycfs, I totally understand what you are saying! I hate leaving the house for any reason now. I have had CFS and Fibro and other fun things for the past 18 years. I have totally become home bound. It's hard to explain to people how you feel I just do not feel safe when I am not at home. I do get over stimulated and I ended up in the Hospital last time I went to the DMV. (dept of motor Vehicles in CA) I would see if it wasn't an allergy to meds or like the doc said swollen lymph nodes. Try ice packs are maybe eating popsicles to reduce swelling. Benadryl wouldn't hurt...they use that in most sleep meds. Just make sure you do not take sleep meds while you take it. Wishing you well..

I am really suffering from a very swollen and now sore throat tonight. Yuck. Thank you again for all the input everyone!