This is a bit of a long story.
Last year I had been feeling very fatigued and I chalked it up to leading a very active and busy lifestyle. I told my gynecologist around October that I was pretty miserable, so she suggested that we check my thyroid. It turned out that I had hypothyroidism. This struck me as unusual - I have no family or personal history of thyroid issues, I'm 28, normal weight/BMI, and reasonably healthy (I have migraines and Tourette's...but I eat my veggies, drink nothing but water, and try to exercise regularly).
It got me thinking that perhaps I had some type of autoimmune disorder or, when considered with other symptoms like muscular fasciculations, something like MS. I was dismissed by my neurologist as crazy. My primary care physician did all the typical blood panels - CBC, sed rate, liver/kidney function, you name it. They were all fine. I gave it a rest for a month or so...until I started feeling even worse. Around the end of January I started feeling like I had the flu all the time. Some days it would be worse than others: body aches, crippling fatigue, fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, etc.
The most concerning aspect was pain in my salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual). It started to feel very much like there was something on the left side of my throat. I began choking more frequently (which I've done for a while, but now I really choke constantly), I had difficulty breathing, I developed a persistent dry cough, and now I have constant pain in my chest. Sometimes it is sharp and radiates to the area beneath my shoulder blade, but for the most part it is dull and constant. While my neck/throat area feels less swollen...all those symptoms persist. I can't even have a glass of ginger ale without hurting my parotid glands. According to my doctor, my salivary glands aren't swollen - and I would agree for the most part. I have noticed a mild change in my jawline, but I have no hard masses. My new primary care physician (since the last one suggested I simply had "repressed childhood trauma") ordered an ultrasound of my thyroid because it was enlarged, but that doesn't appear to be causing the issue.
I'd write it all off as stress and anxiety - but I'm more capable of handling those things than I have ever been in my life. I'm a deeply logical individual, and logic tells me there is something wrong. I'm concerned about esophageal cancer as I have had issues with acid reflux for years. I realize that other, more benign esophageal conditions could be the cause, but I have no idea what tests to request next. And I am definitely starting to doubt myself. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or similar experiences that might help?