Hi guys. I'm a 24-year-old otherwise very healthy male. I eat all natural/organic foods, exercise regularly, don't smoke cigarettes or drink more than a couple beers here and there, have never suffered from anxiety or depression, etc. However, I've been experiencing this same problem (dysphagia) for nearly 2 years now!
It started in July 2007. One day, when I started to eat, I was horrified to discover that I had somehow "forgotten" how to swallow! I chewed my food, but it just didn't go anywhere. The swallowing reflex didn't kick in. I'd never had to tell myself to swallow before, just like I don't have to tell my heart to beat or tell myself to breath. I had always just put food in my mouth, started chewing, and down it went. But now I was sitting there with a mouthful of half-chewed food and no idea what to do with it! I tried to force myself to swallow it. Big mistake. Food seemed to go everywhere--my sinuses, my ears, my lungs--but not down the normal route to my stomach. Thus began my miseries..
Since then, I've lost more than 30 pounds, dropping from a healthy 185-190 to a sickly 155 (I'm 6'3"). Every meal is a chore, taking at least twice as long as it used to and followed by 30 mins to an hour of me hacking, coughing, snorting, and spitting to try to rid myself of the extremely uncomfortable feeling of having food in my ears, sinuses, throat, and lungs. I have to chew meticulously and swallow deliberately in an awkward and unnatural way. Sometimes it feels like I get it right and the food goes down normally, but many mouthfuls of every meal end up going down wrong or not going anywhere at all because I'm unnable to tell my swallowing muscles how to coordinate properly. And for me, in contrast to what you said, Chad, liquids are often even worse than solid food. I have a hard time even drinking enough water to stay properly hydrated because it feels like I'm swallowing straight into my lungs. And I haven't been able to enjoy a beer in so long!
As you mentioned, Chad, the problem has spread to every area of my life, not just my eating habits. Physically, psychologically, and emotionally, I'm exhausted. There is a surge of fear/dread/anxiety every time I even think about eating, which causes me to eat much less food and much less often than I always had my whole life before this began. This in turn causes me to feel hungry, under-nourished, and weak all the time, and a constant feeling of frustration. I also feel depressed every time I look at myself in the mirror or see a photo of myself. I literally look like I'm dying, like I'm wasting away. I look at pictures of how healthy and built I used to be and want to cry. I see people eating and drinking and feel envy, sadness, and sometimes even anger. It's such a simple, effortless thing for everyone else. No one even thinks about swallowing, they just do it, like breathing. I obviously am not actually mad at people for being able to eat and drink normally, I just feel overwhelmed sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I'm on the brink of losing it. I never used to feel like this.
Going out to dinner, which was always a favorite activity of my girlfriend and I, is no longer fun because I know people can tell I'm struggling while I eat, and I know I'm going to constantly have to run to the bathroom and snort and hack and spit every time a bite goes down wrong, which makes me feel disgusting and humiliated. And at home, my poor girlfriend has to constantly deal with me making these horrible noises and hocking up food and phlegm during and after every meal.
I'm really starting to feel like I can't take this anymore. I've called and written e-mails to several doctors in my area, but no one seems interested in helping me since I don't have health insurance. There is even an "Institute for Voice and Swallowing" run by the medical university where I live, but they wouldn't even talk to me about my problem without a referal from a doctor, which I can't get since I don't have insurance. I even wrote a long e-mail to the Holistic Center here where they practice hypnotherapy, asking if they would be interested in helping me pro bono or even using me as an experiment, but I received no reply.
I have a strong feeling that there is some sort of psychological root to my problem, almost like if I could just stop thinking about it, it would go away. But I can't not think about it! I have so many negative feelings and memories associated with eating now, I can't see or even think about food without also thinking about my problem. And if it is a phsychosomatic issue, where did it come from in the first place? It took me completely by surprise. I never even dreamed I would ever "forget" how to swallow...
I really don't know what to do. If anyone can, PLEASE HELP!
Joshua