Some food cause to me have serious swallowing difficulty for five minutes. A few grains of rice has caused this problem. I cannot swallow food or fluid. After about five minutes of excessive saliva, I can again swallow and eat a eat all the rice I want in big mouthfulls. I am 65 and had this problem about five years ago. I'm 6'7" and weigh about 230. The problem disappeared for over four years then returned. Recently, I lost weight down to 190 and then regained to about 230. The problem has returned. The irritant is a relish made of field peas, corn, onions, vinegar, sugar, cilantro, and avacoda. I've not tried rice lately, but through the four years of remission, I had rice many times with no problem. I have RA and am diabetic. I take a big mouthfull of pills and vitamins every morning with no difficulty even without fluid. In the past, I developed a habit of swallowing a few grains of rice, waiting five minutes, then eating all I wanted. If you've drank a lot water too fast and get the feeling you have swallowed air, this is how I feel during the five minutes. I have on occasion stuck my very long finger down my throat to gag and there is no obstruction except saliva. Fifteen years ago, I took Orudis and it caused severe acid reflux which could have caused scarring, but I had not trouble until about five years ago. What kind of doctor could diagnose this? ENT, GI, Allergist?