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Help Please 3 months of trouble swallowing!
Hello all. I am new to this forum. I would like some help with a horrible feeling and problem I been having for 3+ months now. Since September I been having this feeling of something stuck in my throat and difficulty swallowing.
It all started in September. I ate a beef patie while over at my friend's house, I ate it really quickly because I was hungry and did not chew it very well. I feeled like it got stuck in my throat and the spices from it burned me somewhat from the feeling I remember. I dranked alot of water and I was horrible that night.
I think this is when the majority of the problems started, although before this happend I was already having very minor problems swallowing, sometimes I would have to clear my throat but was still able to swallow food ok and I would get the food come back up as well on many ocasions but did not think much of it, as a liquid.
After the beef patie incident, I could not swallow solid foods afterwards on the next day, my mom was really worried. I am 29 years old male by the way and I live with my mom and my sister and we have no health insurance. My mom started making blended vegetables for me to drink as a soup almost, mashed potatoes etc, squash etc.
If I tried to eat anything more solid I would feel like the food gets stuck after I swallowed it and I would get really scared and panic. I would have to drink alot of water afterwards. A week later we went to the emergency room. The doctor did a x-ray and said it came out clear and said oh it's probably a hair in your throat, I was so angry and just gave me a paper that said I had swallowing problems.
I went to 2 more emergency room visits on one ocasion they did a catscan of my throat and the doctor just said I had a thickening there and wrote me off saying I had swallowing problems and refered me to a ENT. I ended up going to a ent that allowed us to go to his clininc and that would bill later, since we have no insurance.
The ENT doctor put a tube down my nose and down my throat and said I had nothing wrong at all after 15 seconds of the tube being in there. I was sorta mad he reffered me to a gastroentologist--(( sorry if wrong spelling. ))
We ended up going to this doctor and paying him cash for the visits. He gave me prevacid after I explaining to him that I could not swallow solid foods. He also scheduled me for a barium swallow. The barium swallow came up as clear nothing wrong but showed signs of gerd from what the x-ray technician said. The doctor gave me a prescription for prevacid solutabs and told me to keep taking those, one a day.
I also got a endoscopy and that came out clear but he said my esophagus was inflamed and I had a bacteria called Pholry or something, ??? I'm not sure. He gave me some strong antibiotics but my heart started going really fast and I stopped taking them after 4 days, I had to take them for 10 days at least.
He told me to stop taking them and I have a appointment with him on the 21st of November now. The problem is now I still am having trouble swallowing, feeling of food gettign stuck in my throat and on top of this now my heart still beats fast now through the day, it slows down at times but goes fast again for now reason.
The fast heartbeats happens alot when I am in bed in my house all alone. I started to get anxiety attacks, I think it is. It's a feeling in my stomach, and a feeling in my heart area like pinching and needles, I called the ambulance once already and they did a AKE I think it's called heart test and they said everything was normal. I am freaking out now though I still am getting axiety attacks, fast heart beat and food getting stuck feeling in throat. Someone please help!!!.
On the 20th I'm seeing a general medicine doctor for the heart and axiety and the 21st going back to see the gastroentologist. Please anyone what is wrong with me? Anyone have had this? I am going crazy basically. My friends think it's in my head now. Please help!
Could this be a thyroid problem? I still feel the fast heartbeats that come all of a sudden, anxiety and trouble swallowing. Today I notice I have alot of phlem in my throat. producing alot of saliva and feel like my throat area below the adam apple is tender.
Sorry to make a huge post but I wanted to post as much information as possible, thank you.
It all started in September. I ate a beef patie while over at my friend's house, I ate it really quickly because I was hungry and did not chew it very well. I feeled like it got stuck in my throat and the spices from it burned me somewhat from the feeling I remember. I dranked alot of water and I was horrible that night.
I think this is when the majority of the problems started, although before this happend I was already having very minor problems swallowing, sometimes I would have to clear my throat but was still able to swallow food ok and I would get the food come back up as well on many ocasions but did not think much of it, as a liquid.
After the beef patie incident, I could not swallow solid foods afterwards on the next day, my mom was really worried. I am 29 years old male by the way and I live with my mom and my sister and we have no health insurance. My mom started making blended vegetables for me to drink as a soup almost, mashed potatoes etc, squash etc.
If I tried to eat anything more solid I would feel like the food gets stuck after I swallowed it and I would get really scared and panic. I would have to drink alot of water afterwards. A week later we went to the emergency room. The doctor did a x-ray and said it came out clear and said oh it's probably a hair in your throat, I was so angry and just gave me a paper that said I had swallowing problems.
I went to 2 more emergency room visits on one ocasion they did a catscan of my throat and the doctor just said I had a thickening there and wrote me off saying I had swallowing problems and refered me to a ENT. I ended up going to a ent that allowed us to go to his clininc and that would bill later, since we have no insurance.
The ENT doctor put a tube down my nose and down my throat and said I had nothing wrong at all after 15 seconds of the tube being in there. I was sorta mad he reffered me to a gastroentologist--(( sorry if wrong spelling. ))
We ended up going to this doctor and paying him cash for the visits. He gave me prevacid after I explaining to him that I could not swallow solid foods. He also scheduled me for a barium swallow. The barium swallow came up as clear nothing wrong but showed signs of gerd from what the x-ray technician said. The doctor gave me a prescription for prevacid solutabs and told me to keep taking those, one a day.
I also got a endoscopy and that came out clear but he said my esophagus was inflamed and I had a bacteria called Pholry or something, ??? I'm not sure. He gave me some strong antibiotics but my heart started going really fast and I stopped taking them after 4 days, I had to take them for 10 days at least.
He told me to stop taking them and I have a appointment with him on the 21st of November now. The problem is now I still am having trouble swallowing, feeling of food gettign stuck in my throat and on top of this now my heart still beats fast now through the day, it slows down at times but goes fast again for now reason.
The fast heartbeats happens alot when I am in bed in my house all alone. I started to get anxiety attacks, I think it is. It's a feeling in my stomach, and a feeling in my heart area like pinching and needles, I called the ambulance once already and they did a AKE I think it's called heart test and they said everything was normal. I am freaking out now though I still am getting axiety attacks, fast heart beat and food getting stuck feeling in throat. Someone please help!!!.
On the 20th I'm seeing a general medicine doctor for the heart and axiety and the 21st going back to see the gastroentologist. Please anyone what is wrong with me? Anyone have had this? I am going crazy basically. My friends think it's in my head now. Please help!
Could this be a thyroid problem? I still feel the fast heartbeats that come all of a sudden, anxiety and trouble swallowing. Today I notice I have alot of phlem in my throat. producing alot of saliva and feel like my throat area below the adam apple is tender.
Sorry to make a huge post but I wanted to post as much information as possible, thank you.
I was told mine was laryngeal pharynx reflux disease. basically over 75% of people have silent heartburn and acid reflux. they never know until it get into the upper airway area which has tissue much more sensitive than the esophagus. it irritates it and causes trouble swallowing. You must try Delixant 60mg time release capsules. It stops the production of some acid productions. take it once a day. It should help!!! some people take it for months or maybe years. after about a week or two, you should notice a difference but some people it takes up to 12 weeks to be complete normal again. hope this helps!!! you are not crazy, stressed out, and it is not "in your head". this is an actual problem and this med should help.
Of the many things that can cause trouble swallowing known as dysphagia, these two (silent reflux and anxiety) might be slightly harder to pinpoint. I think many users here pointed out both of them, but in the interest of making this page even easier to find during your search I'll add some more points to this.
I should add swallowing problems is indeed horrible and very scary and not something you can really bring up easily easily either. So if you feel kinda by yourself, you can rest assured you aren't the only one who is or has suffered from this. And there is a path to recovery so hang in there.
Look up silent reflux online, this is slightly different from GERD where you don't actually experience heartburn. To treat this, cut down on smoking, alcohol, coffee, chocolate, mints and most importantly late night eating or lie down a couple of hours after you eat. You might also want to take some sort of antacid tablets for a while to contain any acid reflux.
Another contributor which can exacerbate the problem is anxiety, so definitely following some strategies to reduce or eliminate anxiety such as meditation, working out, hanging out with family and friends will also significantly reduce the symptoms.
May also help to watch some some endoscopic evaluation videos of swallowing online to marvel and the magic of the human body executing this amazing function hundreds of times a day. This should also help with any anxiety you have with this whole process.
Eating spicy foods and foods with a strong taste, especially olives, can also help you naturally start swallowing if dysphagia got you forgetting how to swallow.
I wish you well.
tl;dr - if you're an otherwise healthy person are you're having swallowing problems look up silent reflux and/or GERD and try reducing or eliminating anxiety.
I should add swallowing problems is indeed horrible and very scary and not something you can really bring up easily easily either. So if you feel kinda by yourself, you can rest assured you aren't the only one who is or has suffered from this. And there is a path to recovery so hang in there.
Look up silent reflux online, this is slightly different from GERD where you don't actually experience heartburn. To treat this, cut down on smoking, alcohol, coffee, chocolate, mints and most importantly late night eating or lie down a couple of hours after you eat. You might also want to take some sort of antacid tablets for a while to contain any acid reflux.
Another contributor which can exacerbate the problem is anxiety, so definitely following some strategies to reduce or eliminate anxiety such as meditation, working out, hanging out with family and friends will also significantly reduce the symptoms.
May also help to watch some some endoscopic evaluation videos of swallowing online to marvel and the magic of the human body executing this amazing function hundreds of times a day. This should also help with any anxiety you have with this whole process.
Eating spicy foods and foods with a strong taste, especially olives, can also help you naturally start swallowing if dysphagia got you forgetting how to swallow.
I wish you well.
tl;dr - if you're an otherwise healthy person are you're having swallowing problems look up silent reflux and/or GERD and try reducing or eliminating anxiety.
I have been reading all these post and it is amazing how many people are and have experienced this problem. I experienced the feeling of something being stuck in my throat about five years ago. It was horrible and I remember being very scared. I went and had the scope with a camera dsown my throat and the doctor told me it was from acid reflux and there were ulcer spots from the acid reflux. She prescribed me Nexium because it heals the enflammed areas. I recently have started getting the same symptoms again. About 2 weeks ago I started having the feeling of something being stuck in my throat. It didn't scare me as bad this time being I experienced it before. Then the past week I got a new symptom that really freaked me out. I feel like I have to burp and am not able to burp. I have been taking prilosec OTC for the past 2 weeks and Nexium for the past almost week. The other day I threw up yellow stomach acid and I know I have acid reflux. I just really hate this feeling and I feel sorry for anyone that is experienceing this being it is not something easily dealt with. Anxiety will make it worse though and I understand it is not easy to not get upset or worried. I am feeling better just by knowuing there are so many other people with the same symptoms as myself and it is nothing serious. I have done so much research on these symptoms and almost every article come up as acid reflux or GERD. I hope you all feel better that has this horible feeling. I
To all the people who's suffering from feeling of choking, food that stucks in the back of the throat etc. Here's the answer... I've experienced that 2 yrs. ago. I couldn't eat, there's something stuck in the back of my throat, once I put something in my mouth i feel that I'm gonna choke even if i drink water. I went to all different doctors, specialist and went three times to ER in different locations. But still couldn't find anything and they told me that all my tests are ok. The doctor in ER told me that they couldn't help me anymore. So i decided to find out myself through prayer and browsing on the internet. I looked for all the symptoms that i have and found out that it was only Acid Reflux. The next day i went to my regular doctor and told her that I have Acid Reflux because she couldn't find an answer also of my problems. I asked her if she can prescribe me an Acid reducer and she prescribed an OMEPRAZOLE for 4 wks. You should take the pill first thing in the morning with i glass of water and don't eat anything for 1 hour. I took the medicine dedicatedly for 4 wks.and I became absolutely fine. So happy for the result, i can eat, i can drink with no problem. I really thanking our Father in Heaven for that new life. I hope and I pray that this will help. God bless us all.
Hi, I was looking for some answers to having difficulty swallowing when I came across this page. I read your problem and it's so freaky but my story is the same as this.. It happened the same way and right now it must be 3 months since I've had trouble swallowing.. I haven't been to the doctors yet but I was just wondering if you have found the answer to your problem and if you were able to swallow normally again... I keep thinking to myself that it would get better tomorrow but it's always the same.. Have you found out what the cause was? And, are you able to swallow again??
Go to a naturopath & have them do an iodine test. Lots of poeple are iodine deficient and that causes your throat to swell and difficult swallowing. And if you want to know go online & look up iodine deficiency and it will tell you about the iodine skin patch test. And first thing in the morning before you get out of bed take your temp anything below 96 is thyroid disfunction. My advise is to see a naturopath or an accupuncturist. They can help, you also might have fungal yeast overgrowth.
Believe me I know because I am going through the same thing as you are, And all the doctors want to do is put me on prozac which does not work. THey are there to push the prescription drugs ant to find a cure for you. Hope this information helps you.
Believe me I know because I am going through the same thing as you are, And all the doctors want to do is put me on prozac which does not work. THey are there to push the prescription drugs ant to find a cure for you. Hope this information helps you.
I also just wanted to ad that that I know stressing out about this problem seems easy to most of who who do not suffer from this but it is a lot harder from our perspective. Especially for those of us who are poor and cannot afford the medical bills. I know for me it just helps having someone to relate to. I know everyone saying to relax is exatly right but it is so hard some times. Especially with the panic attacks and you are alone. It is one of the worse feelings you can possibly have. I was jstu wondering jd78, have you been having any trouble sleeping , breathing , or had cases of Sleep paralysis. I woke up tonight because I wasn't breathing which casued Sleep paralysis which then gave me a panic attack. it was terrible.
You are not alone. I am experiencing the same things as you. I have trouble swallowing (sometimes even my saliva). Also sometimes when I eat, mosly things like chicken and rice but it happens witha variety of food, The food feels like it gets stuck and it is very painful to go down. I also get a lot of mucus in my mouth and throat. I have to gag my self until I regurgitate the food and eventually make enough room to swallow water. After a few gulps of water I feel fine but if I drink the water to early i choke on it. I also suffer from anxiety and have panic attacks. This has been getting alot worse lately and I can't sleep at night because I feel shortness of breath (like pressure from gas) It's 7:17 Am and I havea final at 9:30. I haven't slept all night and have been trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I think I may have LPR but I also think there is something else there. I noticed that caffiene does really really affect this problem and make it more severe. Let me know if you figure more out because I am a poor student and don't have any money or anyone to help me with medical bills. The most I can get is the sheap help from student health services but they dont seem to always know what they are talking about.
Well I went to the emergency room again, this time they did a chest/neck catscan. They thought at first that it was a sack that had formed in my throat that was keeping food there, but then they did a barium swallow x-ray and said no that this was not the case.
I went to see my new primary doctor the day afterwards today. They send me to the hospital and got my blood drawned in case of a thyroid dysease and I was prescribed some anxiety medicine along. Still taking my prevacid but today after burping food came up with acid out of my throat, starting to think I need a stronger anticid or something.
Going to see the gastro doc again tomorrow, wish me luck, thank you.
I went to see my new primary doctor the day afterwards today. They send me to the hospital and got my blood drawned in case of a thyroid dysease and I was prescribed some anxiety medicine along. Still taking my prevacid but today after burping food came up with acid out of my throat, starting to think I need a stronger anticid or something.
Going to see the gastro doc again tomorrow, wish me luck, thank you.
i been like this for almost 3 months now though, been taking the prevacid for almost 1 month. Still feel like food getting stuck in throat, and feel like my throat is inflamed and feels tender, it's getting hard to swallow even the blended food now, I just feel horrible. My mom does not know what else to feed me and I'm losing weight fast.
I think you are stressing out, having anxiety attacks (panic attacks) because of your situation, I agree that this may require some additonal healing time, as you have been poked & prodded in your throat by drs, they are libel, so if anything was seriously wrong with you they would take care of it, listen to them & take your medication, eat softer foods & it should subside, it does sound like you irritated your esphogus, since the symptoms started right after the beef patty incident, but the anxiety of your situation can cause the racing heartbeat, & even difficulty breathing, you need to do something to alleviate the anxiety. The constant stress can also cause your healing to take longer, since you are probably thinking about it all the time. Do things that calm you, exercise is a powerful stress reliever. I can imagine the difficulty in swallowing would be real anxiety provoking, but I think once you get rid of the panic, you have fought half the battle. Good Luck & I trust you will be ok....
wow that gave me 20 diseases, including general anxiety, panic attacks, gerd, possible thyroid, esophageal spasms, alergies, to name a few.
I'm really starting to think it's a problem with my thyroids for some reason now, although I will mention the Eosinophilic Esophagitis and if could be food allergy to the gastro doc. It's weird you would think they would see if it's that from a biopsy from my endoscopy thoughh. They never checked my blood for thyroid problems, might as well tell the doc I'm really concerned about that as well and mention it.
It's ok, it's interesting because you are experiencing similar things as I am. One day I can eat fine and the next I have trouble. I also have started taking protein shakes before I go to work and you may want to take some multivitamin (with food in your stomach) so you can stay healthy. That is what I have done. Oh also, I have taken those "Ensure" drinks. They give you some extra calories and they are really easy to swallow. (don't like the taste much though). My problems started in July but they were not very bothersome, at least not to make me worry, but since September I have had it worse. I stress out alot from work, school, marriage, between houses and well.....mostly work actually! So I know that stress can really make things worse and it definately can cause a less serious problem to seem like a greater problem.
Ask your doc to look for Eosinophilic Esophagitis. I have been choking on my food for over 2 years - it gets lodged and the pain for it to go down is intense so I end up making myself sick to get it out. Last year I had a biopsy and dilation and it showed gerd, but pathology missed the real demon. This time I had the dilation again and they biopsied the upper and lower esophagus. My doc asked me two questions.. do you have asthma? And I do. And do I have a food allergy? That we dont know yet, but both Gastro docs said they bet I do. Until I get the allergy tests complete, I to am taking 30mh Prevacid. Doc said more and more people are being diagnosed with this and that the choking on food and heartburn, etc are casebook. And there is a medication for it. I sympathize with you as I have anxiety attacks, too. Its your body - don't give up finding a correct diagnosis. Good luck to you at your appointments next week.
I'll try. I am taking the prevacid still. One a day. I taken it for almost 1 month now. It could be that and that my esophagus needs more time to heal I suppose, but it's just so weird. A couple of days ago I was able to eat a tv dinner with meat loaf in gravy with mashpotatoe with plenty of water, the day after that I ate a granola bar and I had the stuck in throat feeling again so back to blended foods now.
The sensation is just scary, sometimes I feel like my breathe is short as well. I wish it will go away soon, I did not ask for this and all my friends are going to celebrate christmas now and I still have this feeling. I hope the doctor can tell me what's wrong after I explain everything again from the top really slowly to him. Thank you for your responses by the way I really apreciate it.
I do have a hobby, I like playing video games to calm me down or just watch tv or talk with my few friends on the phone. I haven't gone out much maybe I should and walk a bit, just with all this feeling in my throat alot of times I just am not up for it. Thanks again.
The sensation is just scary, sometimes I feel like my breathe is short as well. I wish it will go away soon, I did not ask for this and all my friends are going to celebrate christmas now and I still have this feeling. I hope the doctor can tell me what's wrong after I explain everything again from the top really slowly to him. Thank you for your responses by the way I really apreciate it.
I do have a hobby, I like playing video games to calm me down or just watch tv or talk with my few friends on the phone. I haven't gone out much maybe I should and walk a bit, just with all this feeling in my throat alot of times I just am not up for it. Thanks again.
maybe, but my doc took a blood test on me, thought it was a thyroid problem and it came back negative. Better safe than sorry though. Do you still take the prevacid? They say it takes at least 8 weeks to heal an inflammed esophagus. And you may just be still having symptoms from that. I have to continue taking protonix; my doc wrote me a prescription for a year because she said my acid reflux will come back. My chest pains are gone, but i do still have trouble swallowing food at times. I'd stick to the foods that are easier for you to eat and write down the foods that you have a problem with and tell your doctor what they are and what you experience when eating them. Keep taking the prevacid. I am no doctor, but you have to try to not worry so much about it you will make yourself worse. I know from experience and my husband had experienced anxiety attacks in the past during a very stressful situation where he thought he was having a heart attack and felt like he couldn't breathe...Try doing something to keep your mind off of it to keep you relaxed, at least until you go see your doctor.
could it be a thyroid problem you think? I'm telling the doc to do some bloodwork for it when I go in on the 20th.
If I try to eat anything harder than blended foods, like meat I feel like it gets stuck there in my throat and just stays there. It's a gaging feeling mostly but if I do gag I cough and drink alot of water to try to push the food down.
It hurts a little I suppose but mostly the stuck feeling if the food is of a hard texture. I am taking prevacid solutabs 30 mgs. I stopped taking the antibiotics for H phlory the bactery I was told I had after the gastroentologist took a biopsy, because I though it was causing the fast heart beat.
The heart still beats fast though from time to time. I did had acid reflux problems but it went away with the prevacid, but still getting the stuck in throat feeling and phlem in back of throat at the moment, the feeling is right there as I type this, very unconfortable.
It hurts a little I suppose but mostly the stuck feeling if the food is of a hard texture. I am taking prevacid solutabs 30 mgs. I stopped taking the antibiotics for H phlory the bactery I was told I had after the gastroentologist took a biopsy, because I though it was causing the fast heart beat.
The heart still beats fast though from time to time. I did had acid reflux problems but it went away with the prevacid, but still getting the stuck in throat feeling and phlem in back of throat at the moment, the feeling is right there as I type this, very unconfortable.
Does it hurt you to swallow food or does it just feel like you want to gag? Do you have acid reflux problem? I ask cuz I have trouble with that sometimes. My doctor just prescribed me a med called protonix (for acid reflux, ulcers) and it works very well. Also, i have some sinus problems with drainage in the back of my throat which makes it tough for me to swallow food sometimes. You kind of have a similar problem to me, minus the extreme anxiety, though I stress out about it and that itself makes it hard for me to eat anything. Do you have any hobbies or something to do that can keep your mind off of it?
The problem is mainly with not being able to swallow now it's really taken a toll on me. I Just to weight 150 lbs and now I'm down to 130lbs and still losing weight. Really worried yes.
Sounds like you are getting really stressed about this. Try some relaxation techniques maybe. I have had a similar problem with swallowing food and though there are other conditions present, I feel that sometimes it's due to stress. Sometimes when I get stressed it makes it hard for me to eat. Try to look up stress management on the internet and seriously do some of the things they say. It may help, and if it doesn't then there may be something else bothering you that they haven't figured out yet. Well at least you are going to the doctor so I would tell him/her, on the 20th, everything your're experiencing. They did alot of tests on you already, so at least it is good that you can rule out some serious conditions. It will get better.
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