“I'm undiagnosed with many symptoms?”
I have painful lumps or extra tissue at the back of my throat. It's localized pain, not an all-over sore throat. It is also very uncomfortable because I feel the lumps at times and have choking or gagging sensations. It is difficult to swallow. Sometimes the pain radiates to my ears. Dry mouth and throat. A lot of discomforts. This started in April but there was only one bump and no symptoms. I went to urgent care and they did a bunch of viral and bacterial tests which all came back negative. Just a few weeks ago I started to have the pain and uncomfortable symptoms and looked at the back of my throat to find new growths.
I have been to the ER a lot lately for this and other reasons which I will discuss in a minute. When they have looked at my throat they have said it doesn't look normal and that I should see an ENT specialist and have a biopsy done immediately. I have had a few ER doctors tell me this. One gave me a drink to numb my throat. And ordered me a steroid to stop the cell growth until I saw a specialist. Which I didn't end up taking because I got a UTI and had to start antibiotics instead.
I have seen two ENT specialists. One told me it was "cell growth" a large number of cells grouped together and that it was lymphoid hyperplasia. And that it is usually caused by chronic allergies since it has been there for months and prescribed me an allergy medication. I don't have any allergy symptoms and it doesn't relieve the pain and discomfort in my throat. He didn't want to do a biopsy on me.
The 2nd ENT doctor stuck a camera down my nose and throat and told me it wasn't lymphoid hyperplasia and was in my salivary glands and is extra tissue and usually caused by acid reflux and would explain my sore throat and prescribed me a pill. I have no symptoms of acid reflux and my sore throat is not all over. It is localized pain only 9n the lumps. He said he can't say it's not cancer because we would have to do a biopsy and send it to a lab to be sure but he doesn't want to do that yet and said for me to wait until 3 months to see him again to see if the lumps have gotten bigger or if anything changed. He wants to see if the acid reflux pill will work to take away the lumps or something.
This all is very frustrating to me because all these doctors have different opinions and I was dismissed by my primary doctor at first when ER doctors told me it was urgent that I need to get it biopsied. I am not sure what to do but I hate not having a clear answer and having to deal with these symptoms every day. I would also like to mention that I have been having breathing issues that I am not sure are related to or not but it feels like I am not getting enough air and have to take deep breaths and still don't have relief. It is a horrible problem. My last chest x-ray said that I have lung hyperinflation but they don't know the cause and told me to follow up with my doctor to do more tests.
Anyway, I have also been having weakness and extremely tired all the time and trouble sleeping at night with my breathing issues and night sweats and I don't think that would be related but I am adding it in here because it's things I really struggle with on a daily basis with no answers. I am going to drop pictures of my throat I had a tonsillectomy and an adenoidectomy when I was 7. These "cell growths" or extra tissues have just appeared and have gotten worse in these past 5 months and symptoms have started a few weeks ago. I know this was a long post but I just had a lot to add. Thank you for reading. I don't know what to do,
I have been to the ER a lot lately for this and other reasons which I will discuss in a minute. When they have looked at my throat they have said it doesn't look normal and that I should see an ENT specialist and have a biopsy done immediately. I have had a few ER doctors tell me this. One gave me a drink to numb my throat. And ordered me a steroid to stop the cell growth until I saw a specialist. Which I didn't end up taking because I got a UTI and had to start antibiotics instead.
I have seen two ENT specialists. One told me it was "cell growth" a large number of cells grouped together and that it was lymphoid hyperplasia. And that it is usually caused by chronic allergies since it has been there for months and prescribed me an allergy medication. I don't have any allergy symptoms and it doesn't relieve the pain and discomfort in my throat. He didn't want to do a biopsy on me.
The 2nd ENT doctor stuck a camera down my nose and throat and told me it wasn't lymphoid hyperplasia and was in my salivary glands and is extra tissue and usually caused by acid reflux and would explain my sore throat and prescribed me a pill. I have no symptoms of acid reflux and my sore throat is not all over. It is localized pain only 9n the lumps. He said he can't say it's not cancer because we would have to do a biopsy and send it to a lab to be sure but he doesn't want to do that yet and said for me to wait until 3 months to see him again to see if the lumps have gotten bigger or if anything changed. He wants to see if the acid reflux pill will work to take away the lumps or something.
This all is very frustrating to me because all these doctors have different opinions and I was dismissed by my primary doctor at first when ER doctors told me it was urgent that I need to get it biopsied. I am not sure what to do but I hate not having a clear answer and having to deal with these symptoms every day. I would also like to mention that I have been having breathing issues that I am not sure are related to or not but it feels like I am not getting enough air and have to take deep breaths and still don't have relief. It is a horrible problem. My last chest x-ray said that I have lung hyperinflation but they don't know the cause and told me to follow up with my doctor to do more tests.
Anyway, I have also been having weakness and extremely tired all the time and trouble sleeping at night with my breathing issues and night sweats and I don't think that would be related but I am adding it in here because it's things I really struggle with on a daily basis with no answers. I am going to drop pictures of my throat I had a tonsillectomy and an adenoidectomy when I was 7. These "cell growths" or extra tissues have just appeared and have gotten worse in these past 5 months and symptoms have started a few weeks ago. I know this was a long post but I just had a lot to add. Thank you for reading. I don't know what to do,
Female | 18 years old
Complaint duration: 5 months
2 Answers
I am very sorry that you have been dealing with this problem. I am glad to hear that you have been referred to ENT for their evaluation. It sounds like, based on what they told you, they did not feel it had a high likelihood of a very worrisome problem after listening to you, taking your history, and looking in your throat. For the majority of problems in the neck and back of the throat, the work-up is multi-pronged. Some patients will have had someone look directly at the problem with them deciding to biopsy/observe or get additional imaging while other patients will have first have imaging that doesn't answer the question with the patient being referred to ENT for direct evaluation. It sounds like you are on the first path which is very reasonable. It is also reasonable for you to ask them how long before you should see any improvement in symptoms. They should be able to provide you with that information, which can then open up the discussion for you to state whether or not your have had any change in your symptoms.
Lex Mitchell
Lex Mitchell
Sorry you have been suffering so much. There’s no doubt these are lymphoid patches or accessory tonsil tissue. They get large from some type of inflammation. The question is what could cause inflammation: infection, allergies, acid are common. Less common: autoimmune, hormonal, a biopsy would only conclude whether it’s inflammation or not. Rarely, tumors can manifest such as this. A trial of steroids may help. Then blood work and a biopsy
