Thanks for the link! I had been seeing a chiropractor for the neck tension and his office just hired a new myofascial specialist. She happened to be someone who had thyroid surgery and went through a lot of neck therapy herself, so she was well-versed in the complications and pains that can happen in the jaw, throat, and neck muscles. It’s taken 3-4 months at this point, to get everything broken up and loose enough to be able to work on the smaller muscles that have actually been the source of the problem.

In the process of this, I did make it to Mayo, as well. My ENT diagnosed me and referred me to a speech pathologist. She did recommend I continue with myofascial and was pleasantly surprised I had already started.

The key moment I remember that took me from swallowing only liquids to swallowing solids again was when the massage therapist was working on the scalene muscles near the thyroid that had somewhat fused together and prevented my hyoid from moving. I felt an audible “pop” and adjustment in my throat when it released and she was amazed at how it all just “broke up”. Since then, I’ve had more similar moments of release and am now where I am today.