Difficulty Swallowing -- Doctors Can't Find Anything (Page 2)

I have a similar problem. I'm 17 years old! I should not be having this sudden forgetfulness... I mean, something so involuntary like swallowing should not be a problem. I've even found myself trying to cover up my swallowing problem in front of my boyfriend of 6 months. This problem hasn't been going on that long, and I keep feeling since it hasn't been that long it will go away. Just today, I told Dan (my boyfriend) that I'm all better, because his worry for my condition was getting intense. The last thing I want is for my condition to upset him, or for that to be all he thinks about. We went to a japanese restaurant yesterday and I couldn't get down the soggy carrot pieces, or even the noodles hidden beneath. It tastes so good, I just wanted to take the chopsticks and throw them against the wall, use my hands to pick up a pile of seasoned noodles, and dig in. But no, I can never do that again. At least... not if this doesn't go away!
I know exactly how you feel, and my mom is making me wait it out because, quite frankly- our health insurance isn't that great either. But I wanted you to know the feelings you experience are true for me, too. I want so much to be a part of society again. Cook outs this summer, and even going out with my boyfriend more and more. Any excuse to take me out, he does. Our anniversary was disastrous for me, and I didn't want him to know I couldn't eat the food he'd prepared for me. Shrimp and vodka sauce over spaghetti piled high... UGHHHHH I wanted to shoot myself when I put it into the garbage when he got up to use the bathroom. I want a cheeseburger, with fries and a milkshake. I want to get up and be able to go to school ready to learn... Instead of SKIPPING BREAKFAST, and drinking measly sips of juice. I want to cry... I want to sob... When I think of the possibility that this will go on for some odd 20, 30 years! These other stories are scaring the s*** out of me. I'm a healthy teenager, I've been a dancer for 10 years, and my recital is next week. I'm finding myself weaker and weaker, and I wish I knew what was wrong with me, or if there is anyway my condition can be treated. I do not wish to faint on stage. I do not wish for this to persist. And I do not wish to be sectioned off from society any longer.

Please, anyone, anyone... Help me!

-Alison.

I have a mentally handicapped daughter and this happens to her. Her father is a "chimo" "chester".I was wondering if any of you had past sexual abuse. She collapses..(passes out) hitting her head ect. so now I can even leave her for a moment. she had to see him in 2008 and this is when these symptoms started

Alison- I have the exact same problem as you...and I feel the same way... I just want to be NORMAL!! and fit in!! i feel like my whole life is being taken up by my stupid throat problems!!...please reply I really would love to talk to someone about this....(o btw im 16 and my name is Allison)

Hi Josh, You are not alone on this very lonely road. I too have been struggling with severe swallowing problems for the past 2 1/2 years. It's amazing to read your words because I feel like I'm listening to myself. My problems became so severe after I had a number of laryngo spasms due to the fact that liquid would go down the wrong way and trigger the laryngo spasm (the bodies natural defence against drowning) The spasm alone felt like someone was strangling me to death. Anyway after that cluster of spasms, what became difficult swallowing turned into me being unable to swallow pretty much at all. I lost tons of weight, could not look at myself in the mirror and was quickley starving to death. At that point I needed to do something drastic, and that was a peg tube. Once I was able to get nutrition into myself and keep myself well hydrated, I was able to start attacking what this was all about. After 2 1/2 years I can't tell you that I have come up with many answers, but I've learned many things and I feel that I am on a healing road. There are ways to get around the insurance thing. You need to have a few basic tests to rule out some obvious fixable problems. These are out patient tests. Hospitals cannot refuse services based on the absence of insurance. I would love to speak with you further on all of this. Just hang in there. Maybe the few of us that are in this hell right now in our lives can be a support and encouragement for each other. Deb

Since I just posted a question related to swallowing, I want to say that I am going to try a chiropractor because it is a logical place to start. Maybe it would help you? Action is called for.

I've had the same problem for about 2 months now if not longer. I can swallow my food but sometimes i feel like it gets stuck. I seems like my throat is swollen and i have a lump in my throat. That causes me to feel like i can't swallow. I don't know what it is or why it happens. I just know it has me very worried. If anyone has real answers about this I'd love to know what it is.

Its good to no im not alone, iv had this for 2 mnths now, and am starting to become really concerned, the food gettin stuck has caused me to choke n fall resultin in concussion! none of my family or friends seem to understand me... almost as if they fink im fakin it! i would do anything to b able to eat a roast dinner right now! every chew is a thought of 'when do i need to panic'! water seems to go down fine... but saliva is a nightmare! if anyone manages to get some answers please let me know! or if anyone would like to share syptoms plz feel free to write me.

have you had your thyroid checked? I had a friend who ended up having graves disease- her symptom- difficulty swallowing.

Don't know if this will help anyone, but my 16 yo boy has had severe and life threatning food, drug and environmental allergies since birth. For 8 years he was on NG feeds(tube down nose) then a gastrastomy(feeding tube in tummy.) He ate next to nothing. We eventually found a diet that would sustain life but not that interesting to maintain appetite. In the past three years my son has had difficulty swallowing food with that stuck in the chest feeling, and now in the throat. He is now scheduled for his fourth endoscopy and biopsy. He was diagnosed with a recently found disorder which has no cure. It is called Eosinaphilic Eosophigitis(sp)This was diagnosed by a gastroenterologist. It can be triggered by foods and even pollens. It is very common in people who have allergies, atopic eczema etc. There are different forms of this condition attacking different parts of the body. It is often mistaken as GERD, and symptoms can include, a feeling of food being stuck, stomach upset, heartburn and in my sons case all the above + diarrhea. This may not be what is troubling anyone here, but all I can say is just don't give up. My son has many complications and will probably end up back on parental feeding with a special formula. They are trialing steroids, but with little effect. Though in milder cases, steroids offer some respite from symptoms. I hope you all find some relief for your condition!

Hi, I can associate with a lot of the symptoms mentioned so far, liquids are generally fine but solid food is a game of russian roulette, i started getting hiccups when i ate about 8 years ago, only occasionally at first then all the time....drinking would help the swallowing mechanism at first but now drinking either flushes the food down or triggers a regurgitation response....after a horrendous incident in a restaurant(in short 50 unsympathetic strangers watching me wretch uncontrollably) i now feel totally terrified of eating out...its a social killer.....My Doctors are also puzzled, i am healthy in every other way and after endoscopy, barium swallow and manometry(pressure) tests they cannot find any abnormality??? at first when the symptoms went from moderate to pretty much every meal i was worried about cancer being the cause, at least the tests ruled that out but i am no nearer to finding a solution and the Doctors seem to have given up....the gastric specialist's last comment was come back in 5 years and if the condition is worse they will evaluate whether surgery could help!! if it gets any worse i will be living solely on a liquid diet. The only way i can manage the symptoms at the moment is to take a mouthful of liquid with each small bite of food, i can get through 3 pints of water with a meal and it pretty much ruins any pleasure in eating. Annoyingly all the tests i have undergone required me to have fasted beforehand so the clinicians have never witnessed what i go through when i eat....i feel like going back with a chicken sandwich and hacking bits of it up all over their desk to show them first hand rather than trying to explain it in words.

If nothing else, seeing that other people are suffering with the same condition helps me to feel less isolated even if it doesn't offer any answers.

After reading that i'm not the only one who has been let down by their medical practitioners, i intend to go back and ask for a second opinion. Thanks everyone for posting and giving me a moral boost.
Steve uk

I have a similar thing and I too noticed it started about 18months ago with hiccups. Nearly every meal brough the hiccups on.I have been having trouble with my throat and swallowing ever since. I also noticed that if I yawned, I couldnt swallow properly straight afterwards. and have to wait a while then swallow again. I've had MRI scan. CT scan. a live swallowing x-ray, camera up and down throat and apart from a small cyst, nothing. I would probably agree with my specialist that it could be all in my mind if it wasn't for the pain that I get in my back between my shoulder blades everytime I eat food! Somedays I feel like just giving up, constantly not being able to swallow gets me down.

have you guys been tested for helicobacter pylori? i had this same problem for about 4 years before it got so bad that i finally decided to go into debt over it. (no insurance) it started when i was 27 and progressively got worse until last year i took my regular doctors advice and went to an gastroenterologist. they did an upper endoscopy and biopsied my throat and stomach and also dilated my esophageal sphincter i think its called. anyway, they found H. pylori in my stomach biopsy. its a bacteria that was only discovered in the 90s and is the cause for nearly all ulcers and stomach cancers. many people have it and many don't have symptoms. in my case it was causing acid reflux which caused erosions in my esophagus and a mild hiatal hernia which caused my problems. after being treated for the H. pylori in April 09 i have been symptom free and able to eat again and have gained almost 25 pounds. supposedly its hard to catch (transmitted primarily in fecal material) but has been found in dental plaque. i believe i caught this from an ex girlfriend. after maybe a month together i started having hearburn really bad often. then the heartburn completely went away and i started having problems choking on food and occasionally asthma type attacks. it only got worse from there. i understand there are a lot of doctors out there who either don't know this bacteria or consider H. pylori to be normal gut flora and refuse to eradicate it. if that's your doctor, then find a different one. being rid of it has totally changed my life back to normal. the treatment requires a lot of antibiotics and something to reduce the stomach acid so the antibiotics can get to the bug which lives inside the stomach lining. antibiotics alone WILL NOT WORK. in my case it was Omeprazole Clarithromycin and Amoxicillin for 2 weeks i think it was. i hope this helps at least one of you and good luck, my heart goes out to you all who are suffering with this

This could be an allergy to wheat or the gluten in wheat. I know from elimination diet. Stop anything with wheat or gluten in it and preservatives. No pop, any alcohol. no sugar. for 2 weeks to a month & see how you feel. Guaranteed its allergic reaction to one of these. Oh don't eat bread made with yeast.Try an anti inflamitory diet. Don't use milk or milk products such as ice cream coffee cream. Butter & eggs are ok. use old fashoned oatmeal for cereal use stevia to sweeten it.

I came across this blog a few months ago (12/09) when I was having the same problems with swallowing as everyone else on here. I thought I was losing my mind since I never had problems swallowing before and everything physical with me was okay (endoscopy was fine,swallowing study was fine). I had seen an E.N.T. doctor as well as a gastreontologist. Nothing. I ended up seeing a general practioner and discussed my situation with him since I was getting worried that I wasn't really eating and had lost 10 lbs in a month. He sensed that I was fairly anxious (due to working full time and being a single mom to a small child). He thought that my "problem" was part acid reflux related as well as psychosomatic.

Anyways, bottom line is I started on omeprazole (prilosec) as well as celexa (anti-anxiety medicine) and within 6 weeks I started feeling better and slowly was able to start eating normally again. I don't know if anyone has the same 'root' of problem but I thought I would share what helped me. Hopefully it will help you.

~Carolyn

Welcome Carolyn and to all of you,
its important to get this issues out. I witnessed an attack when we girls went out with an old friend. She also doesn;t know what is causing this and she is very thin. Any information or updates are needed on this issue.
Have you been checked for VCD Vocal Cord Dysfunction, i often feel like i am being strangled, and you will have an intense wheeze. I was told by my GI and ENT that GERD or heartburn caused damage to the vocal cords, that causes me to choke on spittle, which is minor compared to your suffering.. Stay strong. keep a diary. of things that happen, what triggers you and if u find a cause let us know. god bless and hang in Wanda

I've got the same problem and maybe an answer for some... My throat feels like someone has their thumb pressed against it, or like I'm being choked. Quite often I spit thick white mucus. Morning time is the best, no pain at all,I'm relaxed...nothing in my stomach. Been to the throat specialists did the endoscope, drank fluids did upper gi test, still nothing.

Dr.'s put me on Nexium, little purple pill that controlls amount of acid your stomach produces also changes ph so it doesnt burn as much...masking it damage is still being done. Im 46, I cycle 10k a day, workout 30 min a day. I have a problem with taking meds exspecialy long term. (not gonna do it) With nexium long term effects are yet to be determined!!

Then I saw lower throat specilist, he explained that the esophagus has 4 nerve points from top to bottom. Theres a thing called "global sensation" which means you could have a problem in one area of the esophagus but feel like its in another. He said he helps people with this all the time.

Basically he said the sphincter muscle between the stomach and the esophagus is week and letting acids back up my throat. It's called GERD. "Gastroesophageal reflux disease" The sensation is actually my stomach acids burning my lower esophagus but feeling like its something choking me. Sometimes the back of my throat & tounge feel swollen. This made sense to me, and with knowing what the problem was, I was kinda relieved. (I was thinking alot more sever than stomach acid), with that came less stress...and less pain in my throat (stress is a big factor) .

I was told there's a procedure they do called "laproscopic anti-reflux surgery". (overnight) its where they loop your upper stomach around your esophagus and stitch it. It strengthens you sphincter muscle no longer allowing acids to go up your throat. This is a simple procedure, they only make 2, 1/2" incisions one for cam & other for instuments.

I going to do it, cause I cant continue like this!! I dont fit in anywhere, I'm so preoccupied with my condition and wheather or not Im gonna be ok, that I just cant do the social thing! I dont like to talk too much, sometimes feels like im forcing my words out or food down!!

-Bob from Bracebridge-

I really need some help:

I have not been able to swallow properly for about a year now. It started then, and it was awful. I couldn't swallow anything, not even saliva, I had to run to the bathroom to spit out food or even drink because I just couldn't swallow. It felt as if I were going to choke or inhale instead of swallow, or gag on it and i would get into a complete panic and refuse to eat, I am underweight anyway and of course my parents were terrified about anorexia. After about two months of suffering, it became more barable, and I could just about manage as long as I wasn't eating around anyone else. Now it's come back, and it's much worse. I can't even swallow my saliva because my throat goes into a spasm.
I've also fainted 5 times in the past year, and I can't stop yawning and keep having terrible headaches, not that theyre terrible because of the pain, because it feels like theres lots of pressure. I've been to see my doctor about my fainting, and he wanted to take a blood test, but I have trypanophobia, and the nurse couldn't come anywhere near me with the needle, I was advised to take valium, but my parents and I decided not to, so I didn't have the blood test.
I've googled all of my symptoms, and they all point to a tumor. I'm very concerned now, and have been typing for a while (as you can see, WOW) but this is just how concerned I am.
PLEASE HELP (if you are still listening [: ) x

Jelliebabe,
Please have the blood work done, this is threatening your life, 1 Valium will make you sleepy, and it will be over with. Please seek the help you need, u must do the tests or things could get worse. keep a diary every day of whats going on with you physically and mentally, ever test ALL of you go threw can help someone else. Be strong and talk to your parents & your doctors. Don't panic over what you read on line, that's worse for you ok Make sure you drink as much water as you can, a week before blood work.. take care, be strong!! u can do it!
Wanda

Thank you so much for your reply wanda, if i get the offer of a blood test.. im gunna do it
I do have a trick that i have recently discovered for the sufferers out there, when you need to swallow, touch the tip of your nose, even if its like touching it with the back of your hand like when you get the little itches. It main of the time works for me, relax, and give it a try. hope i helped x

jelliebabe,
I am proud of you!! let me know how you do
Wanda