Hi,I've had SD for 49 years at least. Yes, I was almost 11 when I first had the overwhelming symptoms, but it took me until I was 45 to discover I probably had SD and another year to get any doctor to take me seriously (this after many years of doctors telling me I had emotional/mental proglems!)
Yes, not only have I had tightening of the chest, but also of my jaw, neck, of course vocal chords & abdomin. In short, any part of the body you would use for pushing forth sound. Part of this came from incessant panic attacks and hyperventilating, which were not as dramatic as what most people think. There would be times when I'd wake up with broken pieces of teeth in my mouth. The harder I tried to produce sound, the worse it got. I used to carry a paper bag in my purse to breathe into for the hyperventilation, so I could redistribute the oxygen and carbon dioxide. Relaxation techniques are very important here, but I would caution anyone against hypnosis. Since botox didn't work for me, I suffered along, losing jobs and having a very difficult social life, until my neurologist, at his wits end, decided to try me on Baclofen (a muscle relaxer used for MS, Parkinsons patients and horrible spasms that para and quadraplegics get. Paxil helped with depression and panic attacks, but all have side effects. If anyone wants to discuss any of this further with me, I'm always available. The main thing is, realize that your most powerful advocate is GOD, who made your body. I went through some voice therapy that helped me with breathing, relaxing with a very talented carying therapist, and this, too, helped.
