I had that when I was 20
Long incoming probable self-diagnosis:
After 2 months of thorough googling and an exhaustive amount of thinking and over-thinking, the only thing that makes any sense is LPR (Silent Reflux).
Also, I want to thank you Caddy, because it was your suggestion that it could still be GERD that made me redouble my efforts and start (re)reading more about it.
I had already ruled out LPR - because I didn't really feel it matched my symptoms - and I obviously didn't understand the precise nature of what happens with LPR as opposed to GERD. Specifically how pepsin enzymes work - and how you can have a tingling and pressure sensation in the throat/larynx without any kind of regurgitation or bad taste (or so it would seem).
My own theory is currently that I've likely developed a hiatal hernia - because it would make a lot of sense. I recently started doing Squats when weight lifting and I've been wearing a belt for it. However, during some of the sets - I've often felt a very uncomfortable pressure on my abdomen because the belt put pressure in the wrong places - and I've lifted heavy weights with that pressure in the wrong places more than once.
It makes sense to me that this entire period of illness has been brought about by this hiatal hernia causing the LPR - because my initial symptoms were very much those of a common cold or flu - and it seems a very, very normal scenario for the onset of GERD/LPR.
Apparently, once your throat/larynx becomes inflamed due to an infection, it takes very little acid or further irritation to cause reflux symptoms in those areas.
So, while I've thought it was low Vitamin D that caused all my problems this whole time, that was likely a minor thing that I just discovered by accident.
I have a sneaking suspicion that everything comes down to this LPR - and though I'm not sure about the hernia, that just makes a lot of sense to me.
The good news is that I've been much better after severely adjusting my diet these past two days. I've made changes based on a variety of sources about what's best for reflux. Meaning, I eat smaller meals and I eat almost no fatty foods and I avoid high acidity and caffeine. I've also decided to NOT take any PPIs - because I don't like the idea of reducing stomach acid in that way, and I've started gurgling/drinking water with sodium bicarbonates to neutralise or reduce the Pepsins.
I still get the tingling sensation soon after waking up - but it's not very severe, and it's much, much less bothersome during the day. Last night after getting back from work - I was more or less 100% - and I'm already starting to feel that way now (~11:20 AM).
My guess is that while I've been telling myself that my symptoms were gone during the night (lying down) - there's still been some pepsin/acid at work in my throat, but since I don't get the bad taste or sore throat, it's probably pretty mild.
That, or it's simply a matter of taking a while to heal the damage - and I might not even be exposed to much anymore.
My great worry is, of course, that this problem will expand - and that I won't be able to get it under control. I don't really care about adjusting my diet - and I could live with that, no problem. I do hope it's a mild case and that I'm able to rebuild stuff and possibly rid myself of the potential hernia.
But one thing that's really scary is never getting rid of the symptoms and the tingling/pressure sensations - as well as the nasal congestion and heavy headedness that often follow.
Anyway, that's my current estimate on the status of my health
