Posted 2/28/2017 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
For the last five months or so, I have had the feeling of something stuck in my throat. The right side of my neck is also somewhat swollen in the area of my carotid artery/lymph node, and my SCM muscle on that side is noticably larger. I have had a swallow study (normal) and have seen two ENTs, and the assumption is that it's GERD, but in regards to the external swelling, I have had various doctors say it's a swollen lymph node, swollen tonsil, and normal carotid artery. Thankfully that seems fairly unchanged over the last few months, so that's kind of reassuring that it's not getting any larger. I've been pretty frustrated at the lack of clear answers though and kind of a "just live with it" attitude from the doctors, and of course, there's the underlying fear that it's something more serious. I was scheduled for an endoscopy last week, but a few days before, I found out I'm pregnant, so the scope was cancelled. For the last few weeks, I have a constant feeling of something stuck in my throat, pain in the middle of my chest, and pain in between my shoulder blades. Pepcid is pretty much the only thing I am able to take right now, but I haven't noticed a huge difference. I know over the last few months, I have had periods of time that the pain/discomfort hasn't bothered me as much, but I can't figure out any obvious things that have made the difference. Also, changing my diet doesn't seem to have an effect either. I feel like I've developed a lot of anxiety about this over the last five months, and I think deep down, I'm afraid that they don't know for sure it's GERD and what if it's something else more serious. Are these normal symptoms for GERD, and has anyone had success with keeping it from escalating during pregnancy?
Thank you!
Emily