Hello to whomever this may reach!
First and foremost, I thank you for taking the time to read through this. Also, I recognize the human body is more complicated than anything I could ever imagine; so my reaching out is purposed more to solicit some directional advice.
For almost twenty months now I have been struggling with something I would describe as a slow, but progressively worsening ailment in my neck and with my voice box--or what seems to be my voice box.
The origin of this problem can only be pinpointed to a shoulder dislocation I had in February of 2013; but perhaps this really isn't the cause!?! I can't be certain. So this really is a best guess especially since I didn't seek medical attention after my dislocation.
The month following my dislocation, I started to get a very stiff neck which was accompanied by a clicking sound (in my head, no one else can hear it) when turning my head to the right. This tightness and inability to rotate my head came with little pain, but the clicking itself bothered me enough that I'd try to engage alternative muscles when rotating my head right...but this did little and instead led to more tightness in my upper back, shoulders, and neck. Through my own massage, and some chiropractics, I was able to alleviate the tightness and get most of my full neck rotation back; but this took months, and the clicking never went away.
Come mid summer of 2013--approximately 5 to 6 months after my dislocation, I started to notice a tingling sensation only when speaking in the left side, more toward the tip of my tongue, as well as in my upper teeth left side. On a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being completely numb, I'd say the numbness was and still is really is only a 3 or 4. So not too bad, but completely noticeable. But this too progressed to the point where I started feeling pain in what I would describe as my left vocal fold -- or just down and to the left of my Adam's apple. At this point, massaging my sternocleidomastoid muscle offered some therapeutic releif, but nothing permanent.
Finally, my voice pain reached a point where I would become hoarse at the end of the day; and quite painful too! I even reached a point where talking was no fun, and only done out of necessity. Words articulation even became challenging to some degree; especially as anxiety kicked in.
The progressiveness of this ebbed and flowed for nearly a year behaving pretty consistently as I described above, until a couple months ago where the pain started to move in to my upper belly and chest causing tightness some, a bloated feeling, and at times shortness of breath like I'd expect from a mild panic attack.
Now, some back story--things that could be important and relevant
--During a twelve month period of time I went through a divorce, had a dear friend killed on his motorcycle minutes after I asked him to stay the night with me, and had my mother pass away. So I was VERY stressed and had a lot of anxiety in my life. After my divorce, I had months of diarrhea which I'd guess surely caused by stress. Today my bowl movements are regular.
--I saw a chiropractor five times after I presented with neck troubles. He claimed that my clicking was likely tendon related. He also issued a cervical curve X-ray that came back normal.
--After I started having troubles with my speech, I went to a primary care physician (8 months ago) who ordered voice therapy and shoulder therapy; since then, I still have not been because of the cost. And more than just the cost, I worry that I'll spend the money only to find out it doesn't help me.
--I sought out a second opinion three months ago, and this Dr. asked me to consider that I might have Spastic Dysphonia OR Muscle Tension Dysphonia. This Dr. also recommended voice therapy, but he did a little more for me. He scoped my vocal chords and said they looked healthy! He also put me on 6 weeks of prilosec in the event I was dealing with silent acid reflux. That six weeks came and went two weeks ago, and I have seen no improvement as a result of that treatment.
--Through all of the above, I discovered that I would get relief from drinking alcohol; a couple of beers each night, and my voice felt much better! Until the next morning of coarse, and even two beers seemed to aggravate any inflammation or whatever it was causing this pain. So in the morning, I'd top off with 800 mg of iBuprofen. Happy liver I am sure.
So where am I at today?
I cut back on the alcohol considerably when I started taking the prilosec, and I also cut back on coffee and spicy foods. I admittedly feel better overall, but the following still exists:
--Voice pain when speaking for lengthy periods of time
--Moments of anxiety that seem to come from no where, and cause the pain to be worse
--Quite a lot of gas (not burps, but the other end)
--Mild tenderness in my belly
--Radiating pain, almost throbbing, from deep in my next left and down from my Adam's apple.
--I bought Wobenzyme N two weeks ago, and am using this instead of iBuprofen. I have to say, I have felt the very best I have starting about a week ago. But make no mistake; I am not healed.
To end all that I have bored you with above, I simply would like to ask this:
Could I possibly be dealing with something neurological? Especially with my tongue being somewhat numb?
And if so, do I simply request that my doctor refer me to a neurologist?
Thank you and kind regards,
Alan