I had somewhat of the same ailments. It was hard for me to swallow sometimes and always felt like something was stuck in my throat. I went to my ENT doctor to get it checked out and found out that I have polyps on my throat. Had 2 surgeries for the removal of the polyps. 1 in 2014 and the other in 2015. So far so good. They didnt come back

Hi funny you said that I went to the doctor with the same thing felt like I was chocking on this strange lump type thing in my throat. I spoke to my doctor and I'm sure he thought I was crazy mine didn't hurt it was just uncomfortable it lasted about 4 weeks then disappeared it's happened twice and now gone. So I'm not sure what made it appear or disappear but it was just very strange I couldn't get an answer so I don't know just another strange thing that happens with our RD and all the horrid medications.

I will get this stiff feeling in the center of my throat as if it has hardened up and it is more difficult to swallow but it has not caused shortness of breath. I told my rheumatologist but he didn’t say anything about it. It’s sort of like when you get a lump in your throat when you are emotional except it feels much stiffer

I would talk to your Doctor and let him know all these things you're experiencing. Especially the sore throat. He will let you know if you should start the mxt or not. Good luck.

I have not experienced a sore throat or what you are describing related to that. I do tend to have issues with my heart, which is more related to PVCs ('skipped" beats), pain, and tachycardia. My resting heart rate is 120 without meds. I have not been told this has anything to do with RA.

What I CAN tell you is that higher doses of methotrexate gave me bad chest pains, which is a side effect. I would suggest asking your rheumatologist if methotrexate could aggravate the pain you are already having.