Hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing and breathing

@jcbonne1 It might be worth asking your neurologist what the effect of the pinched nerves in your neck could be and where do you expect to have a deficit? I'm wondering if these are nerves that go to the salivary glands that could be causing issue. You also talked about what you think is a misdiagnosis on an imaging report. You may want to ask your neurologist about that too. Sure, mistakes can be made, but it would be worth checking into it with someone who can give you a medical opinion. Potentially, a mass sitting on your trachea could be in the thyroid which is on the front of it. Nodules are common with thyroid disease and I have them with Hashimotos which created multiple benign nodules and that was confirmed as non cancerous by a needle biopsy.

You also mention rib, spine and shoulder blade pain. I have had similar pain from thoracic outlet syndrome that causes tight muscle and fascia from my jaw through my chest, shoulder blades and down to my hips. I also did have a spine problem in my neck contributing to all of that and shoulder blade pain is also common with a cervical spine issue. The fascia can get overly tight all through your body and it is a net that extends through everything. A neurologist may be able to diagnose TOS also, and usually the specialists in this are thoracic surgeons. TOS can be more common in spine patients when a spine injury was involved or it could be related to physical build or repetitive stress.

Physical therapy with myofascial release is my treatment method for TOS. TOS can also cause a tight jaw and that is connected to the neck. I wonder if that could be related to the issues with your salivary glands. Do you have neck pain and tightness, and tightness in your jaw or a misalignment like TMJ? You can have choking sensations in your neck from a spine problem, and there is a bone that sits in front of the spine called the hyoid that is involved in swallowing. You could have muscle tightness around that. When I was having pain from a collapsed disc in my neck, it often felt like a choking sensation. Spine issues cause muscle spasms that tend to pull on neighboring muscles.

Here is our discussion on Myofascial Release. A physical therapist who specializes in MFR might be able to assess and say if this is a physical problem.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988

Hello @cal1972, Welcome to Connect. I'm sure it must be distressing not knowing what's causing the hypersalivation and the swelling. There is another discussion on hypersalivation started by @jcbonne1. I'm tagging our moderator @ethanmcconkey to see if we should combine your discussion with the following discussion. @jenniferhunter my also have some thoughts to share with you.

> Groups > Brain & Nervous System > Hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing and breathing, nerve pain
-- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hypersalivation-difficulty-swallowing-and-breathing-nerve-pain/

Medical News Today has some information that may be helpful -- Everything you need to know about hypersalivation
-- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318728.php

If you are able, can you let us know the outcome of your upcoming Mayo appointment?

Hello everyone, I’m finally going to post about my health issue that I’ve been struggling with for 3 years. Out of nowhere, in 2015-16 I began hyper salivating. Initially it started off intermittently then progressed to nonstop salivating. It never really subsided but would be worse if I drank hot coffee, so I tried to lay off to avoid making it worse. The salivating has caused me a tremendous amount of frustration since it has affected my ability to speak to people, I have to constantly stop talking to swallow which has made me very self conscious. In my line of work, I have to interact with a lot of clients and I’ve found myself avoiding situations where I would be speaking to a group. As if the salivating was not enough of an issue, a few months after it started I began to notice a slight bump on the inside of my bottom lip. No big deal initially, I thought I must have bit my lip or something. It subsided for a while but then came back. Initially it was just my bottom lip but began to spread to my top lip. In the middle of 2016, the inside area of my lips became permanently swollen. It does not hurt at all, has no redness or signs of irritation. So I lived with the problems for quite a while, then my tongue also became slightly swollen. It didn’t just swell up immediately but was gradual, it never became so enlarged that it was an emergency issue but has remained permanent. So I went to a rheumatologist in 2018 hoping for a solution, he’s one of the best around and was very thorough. He ran all kinds of tests but had no idea what was causing the symptoms. He referred me to an allergist and he could not come up with any answers as well. So since last summer my face has begun to swell, mostly above my top lip under my nose and then out through my cheeks. I’ve never tried any meds because there has never been anyone who suggested any solution. I’m going to an appointment at Mayo next week but I’d like to know if anyone has ever experienced all these symptoms together. It’s very distressing and I’d appreciate any help or insight that can be offered. Thank you.

Hi @cal1972 I wanted to join @johnbishop in welcoming you to Connect. You may have noticed I moved your post to this existing discussion on hyper-salivation as John suggested. Simply click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification to get to your post.

That must be so frustrating to see your symptoms continually increase, while seeing new ones arise. Have you been given any treatment or suggestions to help with the hyper-salivation? @jcbonne1 may be able to offer suggestions and share their story.

As John mentioned, please let us know how your appointment at Mayo goes next week.