In October 2010 while eating I suddenly had intense searing pain in the left side of my mouth, on the inside in the corner at the root of my tongue. My throat swell up on that side to the size of an egg and was hard and painful to touch. This was the first time I ever had any problems. I went to A&E that day and later on saw a specialist there and also saw a Maxillofacial doctor at a dental hospital. I remember there being a vague mention of something showing up on the x-ray and being told that they located a stone blocking my submandibular gland that had to be removed. I found in my emails that there was an appointment scheduled on the 9th Dec 2010 to discuss management. Nothing was ever removed or done. This incident was followed by a very painful throat infection and cold the same month if that’s relevant. The sensation of the searing pain while eating would return regularly but without swelling. It was like a cramp or spasm in the back of my throat only on the left at the root of my tongue. I learned to live with it and accept that would happen once in a while although it was very painful. End of 2012 I had an Ultrasound scan on my throat and a 4mm nodule on my thyroid gland was found. I was told not to worry as these are quite common and can be re-scanned once in a while to make sure they aren’t growing. January of 2013 I started having the sensation that something was lodged in the left side of my throat that was making it difficult to swallow. My throat would be dry always. Onset of this would come and go suddenly and without any thoughts at the time but at worst times make me panic as I didn’t know what was causing it. It would stay for hours at a time. The feeling of pressure in that side of my throat became chronic and stayed after that. The left side started feeling completely different from the right and I could feel a constant nasal drip / congestion at the back of my left nostril . That was accompanied by extreme fatigue and the feeling that I had a foggy head. I found it hard to concentrate and memorize things and had nausea and a weird pressure in my head. I was under immense pressure at the time after the breakup of my long term relationship and demanding work so I thought these symptoms could be anxiety related. I went into Therapy for 16 sessions and also went to my dentist to get a different opinion. He thought it might be TMJ related and made me a mouthguard to sleep with at night. In May 2013 I flew to Australia and New Zealand to do Public Speaking in front of thousands of people on a big stage. My throat was bothering me a lot before I went and there was no pain or symptom free day in the weeks before I went. I was using my mouthguard for the first time and thought that it was making the soreness worse but wanted to give it a go. After doing my first talk abroad my throat was so sore and swollen and stiff in the area of the jaw joint and behind the ear as well as along the jawline that I felt sea-sick perhaps because of an infection or pressure on my inner ear. I think stress and fatigue aggravated it but it was actually sore like a wound. I had a temperature and was sick for 3 days with extreme dryness in the mouth. Then I got very dizzy and the vertigo stayed with me throughout my two weeks stay and two long haul flights and work which was a frightening experience. My neck felt hard and stiff behind the ear and I would have ear popping sensations and tinitus. I went to speak to my GP and was referred to the ENT at the Health Care centre to have a look in my throat. The endoscopy showed no growths or abnormalities apart from reddened vocal cords that I was told might be slightly inflamed. Since the summer nothing has changed. I have a foggy head, I’m tired, am clumsy, have fallen over and I have trouble concentrating as well as earache, pain in the throat and jaw and occasional tinitus and ear popping. Additionally for the first time in my life I have headaches on that side and the feeling there is pressure behind my left eye and brow. My left eye often starts twitching now and gets tired very easily so my vision is worse on that eye compared to the right one. My teeth and gums on the left feel numb and if I speak a lot or rush around I easily feel dizzy. My left shoulder is often sore now and I have had clicking and tingling in my left arm and hand. I know stress and depression can do crazy things to the human mind and body but I’m convinced that that doesn’t explain what is going on. I tried acupuncture, Yoga, Swimming and massages. I noticed that compared to nearly everyone else in the Yoga group I have no balance. I have also noticed that I often fall over just tripping over little holes in the road. I find it hard to have a long conversation and am sad that I feel so exhausted after normal activities. I bought HTP5 ( Serotonin) to help me elevate the foggy head and fatigue and get rid of some of the pain. That worked for a while until I found that I was getting uncontrollable sweating, hot flushes, nervousness and generally feeling I wasn’t myself. I have had extreme spurts of anger and tears and generally feeling fed up. As soon as I stopped taking it the pain in my head and jaw returned although my mind feels calm and clear and I don’t overheat any more. I don’t know what to do any more. I started wearing my mouthguard again. If it is TMJ it is affecting my interaction with my friends, my performance in my job and my energy levels. Sidenote This might be totally unrelated but worth mentioning that I have had lower back pain on the right side and in the hip quite frequently over the last few month with shooting pains into my right leg, especially after standing and walking for long hours. I also wanted to discuss not being able to hold my water when laughing or coughing sometimes which is very embarrassing. I m 30 and female