Has anyone every experienced this choking feeling that makes you feel nauseated? It feels like having on a turtleneck that is way too tight. It is making me feel so nauseated and it is worse when I lay down. I have also found a lump right above my collarbone. What is that? All of this is coming at me so fast....I don't understand it. Everyday it seems like I wake up to a new symptom.

Yes! Are you post op or not so much? I have been complaining for weeks to my doctor/surgeon about this and they keep insisting that it's just anxiety. I swear I'm going to kick the next person who says this because I am NOT ANXIOUS! I work in the mental health field, I've had issues with anxiety in the past and this is not it!
Anyway, I went to PT today and she checked out my scalenes. Apparently I have a big honking knot right under where a adam's apple would be and it's pressing on my trachea causing that feeling. It's terrible. My surgeon left my scalenes in so they're just "hanging in the wind" atrophying and spasming. I'm so ******. Anyway, I can barely tolerate her manipulating my scalenes but I did feel a little better after she did. Heat also helps. Try massaging under the backside of your ear lobes gently and stretching the scalenes and apply heat. That made me feel a little better today though now they're starting to act up again.

I am postop and have been experiencing the choking feeling & nausea as well when I lay on my operative side so I can only comfortably?? lay on other side. It results in great fatigue the next day from restless sleep. I have great tightness at surgical site, which I believe is due to scar tissue/adhesions....had complications at 1st surgery and had to have 2 additional surgeries. It is not a typical case but I can say that I know what you might be experiencing. Hopefully you will find some answers.

Wishing you well
chloecasey

Thank the Lord someone else has this. I have not had surgery trying to get diagnosed. I am going to a neurologist Wednesday hopefully he can help. I called a thoracic surgeon and they will need me to have an emg and a cat scan before they can see me. They also told me that if I am having the vascular symptoms I will need to see a vascular surgeon.....GRRRRR! Because the thoracic surgeon takes out the ribs only. Maybe vascular can do both. I took my pain meds and I feel better. I don't want to rely on those. I am in the process of getting pt hopefully that will help. I have been doing some mild neck stretching. I have noticed that I sit with my neck leaning to the opposite side of the pain. I guess I do it unconsciously to relieve the pain/pressure in my throat. I do have the lump which I can only guess is a knot or a ganglion cyst. LOL I feel like my body is out of control with all of these weird symptoms. Glad to hear it isn't in my head. I am a very claustrophobic so the feeling of choking is a little freaky! Thank you very much!

I had those feelings when I had severe spasms and even after the spasms were resolved.

For me it was my top ribs had raised up from the spasms and didn't drop back down to the normal position.

An advanced PT guy did a rib mobilization maneuver on one side and it dropped 1/2 inch , so he did the other side and same for it.

It was an immediate relief for me.

MDs & surgeons don't really study this part of it so chiro or expert PT person is the way to go

My top ribs raised up a few times later but my chiro was able to fix it those times and the time span stretched out longer each time.

I have always had what I can only describe as morning sickness. No babies, just can't eat in the mornings ever since I was about 14. Now at 31, and i k ow about extra ribs at C7, and diagnosed with TOS- I have been noticing nausea just before I have a bad attack of spasms with the scalene. Particularly when the ribs raise up. It feels like a panic attack, so then when you actually panic on top of that its a pretty big ball of nastiness. I have started to track the symptoms to check this out. I think when we are numb but still in pain it might register as nausea?
Glad to know its not just me either.

I had same experience as Jo*mar. When my TOS was at its worse, I had that mild choking sensation which is very disturbing. Soft tissue work on the muscles and getting the ribs to descend eliminated it. I get such services from PTs or chiros.

Other things that can help include hot showers, diazepam and pulling down on the ribs with a towel or strap, often called "first rib mobilization".

Good luck.

I went to see my PCP for this today. She started out saying that it was a muscle spasm of my scalenes and wrote a prescription for baclofen. Then after realizing that I was breastfeeding cancelled the prescription and told me that it was anxiety and/or it was all in my head. That's fun. I love being told that it's fine that you feel like you're choking because your O2 sats are good. Yes I know that, but please fix this highly disturbing sensation that I'm being choked! I wish I could try some of these suggestions for mobilizing my first rib, however, I don't have them anymore!

Yes, I am finding the chiro helps. The muscle tension around it all is being slightly alleviated, so I am hoping to build n that week by week.
Still morning sickness as usual though!
Thanks. Where are you at with your situation now?
Anna

Okay so I went to PT on Friday.....I hadn't had the choking feeling in a few days. He was poking around in my neck and said my scalene's are very tight and so is my sternocleidomastoid. When he was poking the pain was horrible and I got the choking feeling and nauseated. He had me do neck stretches and some would produce the choking and nausea. There is a lump at the base of my sternocleidomastoid that when inflamed or over stretched presses on my trachea. I had to stop PT cause the nausea was so bad. It lasted for a few hours after I got home. When it is at it's worst I can feel it on the inside when I swallow. None of us are crazy!!!! Okay just kidding I am nuts but the whole choking thing is real Praise the LOrd my PT believes in me and feels I have tos.