Have you had a scan ? Maybe the problem is related to the nerve controling swallowing?

I've had the same problem....I go for a endoscopy next week....I cant swallow ne solids though....And it's getting worst....My mom thinks it's gerd, but i'm taking prevacid and it's not helping so y can't I swallow and it's not i'm too scared....

My mum has this, she cant swallow dry bread, docs said it was arthritis in the neck area, weird I know. :shock:

Hi keep going to the drs if you dont feel right then you need answers n ent im sure u saw have a scope done it could be anxity but demand answers

Hi I am new to this forum, but I also have trouble with my throat tightening up and all the time I have trouble swallowing been rushed to the hospital a few times cause of food stuck. They told me I have acid reflux and have dilated my throat at least 3 times, but the last 2 times I went in to get the scope the Dr. I had to change to because of insurance said that it didnt look like it needed to be dilated and didnt do it, I am still having touble swallowing and the tightness where I cant move without cutting my oxygen off. I am scared to death of this. This last time just yesterday I went and had the scope again and he once again didnt dilate it and then he said I had some strange lumps in my stomache and he took biopsy's of them and I am waiting to see what that is about. But I still cant swallow food, I have to drink pop or water to get it down, but I am not losing weight I gain weight. I dont understand cause I dont eat that much. Also, he told my husband that I should change to other Dr. And have some pressure test done? Does anyone know what that is? He didnt explain it and my husband said the Dr. Seemed in a hurry and said that I needed to find a new Dr. Cause he is retiring. So now I dont know what to think? Anyone know? thanks lisa

I have been to many different docotrs with different specialties to no avail. I have been to my general doctor, in which it was thought that I have sinus infections (aparently 9 in 9 months), my allergist says that I don't have allergies, but put me on two diferent nasal sprays (nasacort and astilin)and to my ent, wich has yet to look at my throat, but I have had a cat scan on my sinuses. None of this is helping me. I notice that when I eat at work (i am a school teacher) that I cannot swallow and chew my food so much (even tomato soup!). I feel like someone is strangling me. I have been diagnosed by my allergist and my general practioner with vcd, or vocal chord dysfunction, but no treatment options were given. The tightness in my throat does get worse during times of stress (taking care of 150 sixth grade children :lol: ) and when I look in the mirror lol. Just wondering if any of you have passed out with this tightness before...I did about 5 months ago, and it scared my kids and my husband to death. I just couldn't get my breath at all.
Let me know if any of you have had similar problems....

I have the same thing. It feels as if there is something in my throat but there is nothing there. I had this about 5 years ago and my doctor said it could be globus hystericus, which could be brought on by stress or acid reflux. I took prevacid for awhile and eventually it went away. It's back again and I suspect it's the same thing, but i'm going to see a doc. To be sure.
Good luck!

I dont if this will help anyone but I have something called globus and as other people have said it is acid reflux or stress related and it is gullet spasms that have caused it. I went to an ent specialist and he prescribed some kind of antacids (don't ask what they are a huge name). They were helpin for about a week and now it is back again. I don't know about anyone else this is not sore but it is all I can think about all day and I think it causes more stress!!

It started about a month an a half ago on a trip to texas from new jersey. While we were taking off about 5,000 feet in the air I felt my mouth dry and could not swallow. The flight attendant though I was having an allergy reaction to something so they gave me oxygen and benadryl. When I got to texas they though the samething so they gave me a pill treatment for a week but the following day the symptoms came back so I went back to the er. The doctor drew some blood and took urine especiment, put a scope down my throat and couldn't find anything so his diagnosis was viral pharyngitis. Came back that friday with the same symptoms to new jersey. The following tuesday went to my Dr. And he prescribed antibiotics. Thursday more antibiotic. Then he referred me to an otoryngology and they put a camera again with no findings. She prescribed pepcid ac. Also she refers me to the alergist and I am allergic to the regular stuff but nothing to triger this. A month and 3 weeks later im still having the symptoms. Sometime in the middle of the night I wake up gasping for air and most of the time can't swallow and my tongue feels like is twice the size with some pain on it.



Anybody can give me guidance as what can I do?


Thanks

A few years ago - in los angeles - I ordered a turkey breast sandwich on white bread and after one or two mouthfuls thought I was going to choke. With difficulty I bought a bottle of water and washed the stuck food down - it felt like I was swallowing a whale. The food was well masticated but I thought it was because it was dry that my difficulty in swallowing arose.

That was four years ago - I am now 60 years old and find that certain foods at certain times trigger the same reaction. It sure has curbed my appetite - and I know the immediate problem can be solved by hard swallowing of copious quantities of innocuous cool fluids like water or low fat milk or ice tea will wash the blockage down. It is always an extremely uncomfortable experience.

It's terrifying - as the postings attest. I don't suffer the problem with anything other than foods consumed with white bread - which makes me think I may have a wheat/gluten allergy. Oddly, I don't get it with pasta (a wet food) nor protein foods. I do have acid reflux and avoid foods which predictably trigger the condition. The puzzle is that some white breads are ok. Pita, wholewheat and wholemeal breads are fine.

It came out of nowhere in summer of 1986.I was at work on my lunch sitting in my new truck with windows open,listening to music on my tape deck and happy.
After I finished I felt a 'snap' that seemd to come from my throat and head at the same time,it was loud enough to startle me.A few seconds later I realized I was having trouble swallowing my pop and my throat became very tense on the left side.I was scared.I went back to work for almost an hour but it became tighter so left to go to my doctor who sent me right away to an ENT Specialist.He told me I was fine and needed my tonsills out.Being a chicken I opted for antibiotics but over 2 years I kept getting infections.I ended up bedridden for 2 weeks with a temp of 104 degrees.So I returned to ENT doc and he said tonsills MUST come out within days.They booked me in and I was terrified but it all went well.I started healing right away,I was about 25 so was pretty healthy.

Days later I realized the tension and difficulty swallowing was gone!.I was elated to say the least,I was so optimistic about life!!.A week later I was at a friend's home and had a few sips of Kahlua and 'wham' the tension and swallowing prob instantly returned!.WHY""?.I was so down..It has stayed ever since and has not eased off even for a second.I live with this 24 hours a day.

It gets tighter every few months.After living with this for 7 years my doctor prescribed Ativan pills,which calmed and helped me sleep.Years passed and I found I was forgetting things,so he put me on Clonazepam a similar type of medication but doesn't affect memory.Both helped me to relax somewhat,but now my problem is worse.It is so tight within my throat even when I'm totally calm that I can barely swallow.I never thought it would get to the stage where I can barely eat anything.That time is now upon me and I'm losing weight.I live in constant fear of choking on anything,even my Pariet antacid or Claritin pills which are small.
It's a mystery and now causes me more anxiety than it ever has!.

Note- last year I started spitting up soft white granule like bits.Went to doc to get them analyzed and he could not tell me what it was!!
I don't think I can continue livng in fear much longer!

Any ideas most welcome thanks for reading.

I have this same problem. Ive taken all of these same tests and they say they dont see anything and its ridiculous cuz something is wrong to make me not be able to swollow.
Ive always had throat problems my entire life and everytime i get sick i always get a sore throat. i havent had a flew with just a fever and throwing up for probably 15 years and im only 19. im always just having sore throats.. i dont know what to do.

HAS ANYONE WITH THIS PROBLEM FOUND A CURE OR WHAT IT IS???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????

when a damaged or under-active thyroid swells, resulting from an attempt to produce enough t3 and t4 hormones to keep up with pituitary commands (ths), this can cause great difficulty swallowing.

IMHO, this kind of problems are due mostly by anxiety issues. The muscles of the throat are very strong and in a stress situation these muscles can become very tightened.

For the last year i have had issues swallowing. It started as heartburn and has progressively gotten to the point where food gets caught in my throat and I often regurgitate it back up. The food is not digested and is not mixed with stomach acid... just slightly chewed. It happens while eating - not later.

It is clearly triggered by some foods (red meat, fried greasy things, dairy) but I have altered my diet and it will occur even with very mild things. Once it happens, i cannot even drink water - this comes back up too.

I no longer get heartburn, now it is the difficulty swallowing.

Sometimes eating EXTREMELY slowly works. Sometimes if I eat a little and almost clear the way... waiting about 15 minutes before starting again, then the meal goes down easier.

I have had a scope, barium swallow and a test to determine if food is moving too slwoly to my intestines. All the dr. can say is that I have lots of reflux. But I feel as though he doesn\'t fully understand the problem and is only hearing the hearburn part.

I had a very high stress job, which i quit. And have altered my diet to the best of my ability. I have lost 25 lbs as a result.

Any thoughts or similar cases please share what has worked!

Oh yeah, I was on prevacid early on that did nothing for this.

Jnenmia--

I have almost the exact problem. I went to the doctor again today, only for her to blow me off with "yea yea...take these esopho-relaxers" and what not. I've had an endoscopy and...nothing has turned up.

I spoke with friends about it...and we kind of concluded that I am pretty much creating the choking feeling myself...and am not allowing myself the food. I do put a lot of pressure around what I eat and feel guilty about how much I eat anyway...and am most likely just...throwing up (same as you...not mixed with stomach acid).

Has this ever occured in your thoughts? I am curious as I would love to find a solution.

please lookup cervical vertebraes! thebones in your neck! they can cuase all these symptoms, swallowing problems, swollen tongue, too little/much saliva etc... post nasal drip. I wonder where my swallowing problems come from.. I was thinking a roller coaster type ride I was on... 2 months later the swallowing problems and all kinds of problems.

jnenmia, it was so weird reading your post, as your symptoms are exactly like my fiance's. word for word. sometimes we think that certain foods, like meat, or spicy foods, are the trigger; but then other times he can eat those foods withour much trouble, and other times he eats 'safe' foods and has a reaction. he is waiting to have a barium swallow test done, but it's discouraging that doctors seem to have no clue what is causing your symptoms. the only thing that has helped is eating really slowly and really small bites.

right now he is having an episode and it started with burger. it has lasted way longer than usual, and as a result he hasn't eaten or drank anything for hours. we are considering going to the hospital to have them see the symptoms in action (a rarity for doctors' visits).

keep us posted on your situation.

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