Worried - throat, ear, headaches ect

rmc · medicine forum beginner Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 2

I'm a 23 yr old male and have had a lump feeling in my throat and pain
in my ear since at least last December so at least 7 months now. In the
past I used to drink and smoke heavily but cut back when things in my
life started going better... I had my gallbladder removed last March
and mentioned the pain to a doc I was seeing at the time for the
gallbladder surgery, he thought it was post nasal drip and didn't seem
to be too concerned.

Here are my symptoms
Funny Lump feeling in right hand side of throat, pain in right ear
(usually worse when I first wake up) funny clicking or popping noise in
that area of my throat when I wake up with my head in a certain
position, pain under my right armpit. Recently I've been getting
headaches on the right side of my head and have experienced pain in my
left hip/back. I've also had a hoarse voice the past couple of weeks. I
have no swollen lymph nodes and haven't coughed up any blood that I've
noticed.

I saw a doctor about a week and a half ago and he thought it could be
an ulcer with a trapped viral infection and prescribed anti-biotics. He
mentioned he saw a pink mass of tissue in my throat. I've taken the
anti-biotics for about 1 1 /2 weeks now with no improvement, if
anything the frequency of pain in my ear and throat have gotten worse.
The headaches being a new thing that has started to occur a few days
after seeing the doctor.

I'm kind of a hypochondriac so I always assume the worse, in this case
though I can't think of anything else it could be. I know 23 is a rare
age for what I'm thinking but I drank and smoked heavily and had
problems with my gallbladder causing me to vomit frequently in the
past. I will be seeing my doctor again after trying the antibiotics for
two weeks but wanted to ask on here for any advice, what other things
it could be or anything to help me clear my concerns. I appreciate any
feedback.

J · medicine forum addict Joined: 07 May 2005 Posts: 93

rmc wrote:

Larry · medicine forum Guru Wannabe Joined: 09 May 2005 Posts: 151

There's just no way of knowing what's going on without either a CT or
MRI here. One thing about cancer ... it tends to progress and therefore
the symptoms tend to get progressively worse. So if you've had the same
symptoms at the same "volume" for months, perhaps that is a good sign.
But nevertheless, if they don't resolve ... encourage your doc to do
further tests.

Larry E.

rmc wrote:

J · medicine forum addict Joined: 07 May 2005 Posts: 93

Larry wrote:

Steph · medicine forum Guru Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 504

"J" <colourful@invalid.anon> wrote in message
news:42B21C0C.C520DAD3@execulink.com...

Larry · medicine forum Guru Wannabe Joined: 09 May 2005 Posts: 151

A patient presents with distinct complaints/symptoms in the throat, ear,
right armpit, head, left hip, and back ... has a Hx of smoking and
drinking, and admits to being hypochondriatic ... and your
recommendation to r/o malignancy and set his mind at ease

1. Doesn't include some kind of CT or MRI?
2. Is completely focused on exams of his throat and stomach?

Sorry. I disagree. And I am not even a professional ... if it were me,
I'd insist on it.

Larry E.

Steph wrote:

Steph · medicine forum Guru Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 504

"Larry" <larry@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:jCKte.16874$l_2.6142@fe09.lga...

rmc · medicine forum beginner Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 2

The pain seems to have gone away, here's the thing though. The pain
will sometimes last a month then disappear for a a couple of days up to
a week. The last doctor I saw thought perhaps I had an ulcer with a
viral infection trapped inside , so he had my gargle antiobiotics for
two weeks. If an ulcer were to be healing could it cause increased pain
and headaches for a few days? The first doctor I saw, who thought I had
post nasal drip, misdiagnosed my gallstones as acid reflux so his
opinion didn't mean much to me.

Something new happened yesterday however. I've been experiencing a
burning sensation on my tounge and in my mouth as though it has been
burned. It seems to have lessened over the last couple of days but I
can't attribute it to eating or drinking anything too hot. I've started
to take zinc pills to see if perhaps I have a problem with acid reflux.
I think I can attribute the pain in my hip and back to a recent move I
made where I had to lift multiple heavy boxes.

I don't have medical insurance at the moment. For my gallbladder I had
to goto the ER just to get a diagnoses. So I think asking for an MRI or
CT scan I would be unable to pay for would be out of the question. I
think for now I will wait another couple of weeks and see what happens.

Something unrelated but another thing to cause more paranoia in a
hypocondriac such as myself... I recieved a random call on my cell
phone today (wrong number I assume) that I missed and upon calling back
the number to see who it was I'm greated by an automated response
saying its the National Cancer institute. Talk about a strange
coincidence...

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