Hello and thanks in advance for answering my question.

I am a 22 year old male with no history of serious medical illnesses. I'm not overweight and I don't drink sodas or other sugar drinks. I don't have a history of smoking or drinking, I don't drink coffee or energy drinks, and I don't take any medications.

For the past two weeks, I've had some difficulty in swallowing food and I've had a persistent dry throat regardless of how much water I drink. Also, it constantly feels like there is mucus in the back of my throat that I can't seem to swallow.

About two days ago, I ate an apple (which I'm not allergic to) and started to feel some tightness in my breathing. This was the first time I've ever felt this tightness, so I went to Urgent Care in case my breathing became more labored. They did some blood work, x-rays of my lungs, an examination via stethoscope, and physical exam of the outside of my throat (by feeling along the outside of my neck). None of these revealed anything out of the ordinary. The doctor told me to take some Prilosec OTC and sent me home.

I had an appointment with another doctor the following day, where they found my blood pressure was higher than normal (I believe for the first time in my life). After I told this second doctor about the last two weeks, how I just come back to college and how I would only eat an Acai smoothie (which contains Organic Acai Puree, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Guarana Extract, Soy Lecithin, Citric Acid) and nothing else for dinner, he said my body may be having a negative reaction to the Guarana. I told him further that I ate this same smoothie in the past with no ill effects, but that now I was eating it almost every night for dinner and eating it without the accompaniment of any other food.

I also told him that I'm not an anxious person or get stressed out, and he said that it suggested that it may be the sudden overload of Guarana in my body that sped me up and was making me anxious. His diagnosis was that because I had both difficulty in breathing and difficulty in swallowing (whereas most people only have one), that my vocal cords were inflamed/swollen. He told me to take Prilosec OTC twice a day for one week and that my symptoms should subside.

Before I visited these doctors, most of my symptoms matched up with GERD, but none of the doctors I visited thought so (the first said he didn't know what was wrong--even when I asked him directly if this was a result of acid reflux, and the second said it was a result of Guarana-induced anxiety). It may help that there is no wheeziness in my breathing, my voice sounds about the same, I almost never feel my food coming back up, and I've never had heartburn.

It may also be of note that whenever I wake up, my breathing feels completely normal. Once I get up and go about my day, the slight tightness starts to set back in.

Ever since my first episode of this slight difficulty breathing, my breathing becomes more labored after I eat. Last night, it took about an hour for this more labored breathing to go away; this morning it took about 10 minutes (perhaps this is because the Prilosec is taking effect?).

My question: Based on my story, what is your professional opinion of what's wrong with my body? Is this indeed a Guarana-induced anxiety that will go away, or is it a sign of something more serious.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me figure out what's wrong.