Dysphagia Puns

Who else here is suffering from Dysphagia? If so, how severe is it, and how do you cope? Bc I’m going to be honest… I’M AT MY WITS END! How the hell am I supposed to eat without being petrified of choking when I can’t even swallow my own saliva.

I’ve dealt with this symptom for years. It got tolerable for a while, but for some reason came back really badly last week and now I’m throat clearing during and after meals. I especially struggle with saliva, but it happens with water and solids as well. If I drink water, it’ll feel like it stays in my throat above my Adam’s apple — like I can feel the sensation of it. Most of the time I just feel the sensation of something, which I assume is saliva. It’ll also take multiple swallows, or my mind tells me to swallow multiple times for saliva. A lot of times I panic and feel like I can’t coordinate, but I feel like that could be constant anxiety causing that.

When I started having this issues, I went to multiple neurologists who ruled out a neuro cause. I’m just at my wits end. I’m starting PPIs per the recommendation of an ENT, pending a GI doc. My GI doc years ago diagnosed a hiatal hernia at 21 yo, but didn’t really make a big deal of it.

I’m just scared that this is going to get to the point where I choke and am on a feeding tube.

Hey just wondering for those who have had an endoscopy, my doctor has requested one for me due to difficulty swallowing and food getting stuck in my throat. I've also had stomach pain more recently but forgot to mention that to him, I did mention I've had bloating on and off for years and some indigestion issues.

He's written on the endoscopy request that the symptoms pertain to Dysphagia and reflux. I was just wondering with a standard endoscopy they check the esophagus, stomach and lower intestine as part of the procedure? So even though I forgot to mention stomach issues to the doc, that will still be checked throughout the endoscopy? I guess I can always mention it in person to the gastroenterologist.

Thanks.

Mine is a little different than most on here, caused by dental work and then followed by a broken jaw. Basically, I developed initial anxiety with eating when all the molars on one side were removed so I had to learn how to 1) eat only on one side AND 2) keep food from going to the other side, where there's no teeth to stop food from sliding right into my throat.

And then the worst happened - I broke my jaw. Even after it healed, the combination made eating so difficult and scary (because I actually did almost choke a few times) that I now have dysphagia. I had a barium swallow and had a doctor tell me I was crazy because it looked normal. I'm solid enough in myself that I know I'm not, and neither are you.

Things that help me, when I can painstakingly eat tiny pieces of food, and that's very limited:

1. Little devices like those with ADHD / Autism use that can both distract and occupy your mind while you're eating.

2. Change both the time and the place you eat. Your brain has probably forged certain pathways at this point. Change it up.

3. Always have a liquid nearby (unless liquid is a problem) to wash anything down.

4. Find ways to relax and keep yourself from the "dysphagia spirals" as I dubbed them. When I'm highly anxious or stressed, it's made worse, then I tell myself it'll get worse, never better, and it makes an already difficult task even more difficult.

5. Are you a morning person? Eat in the morning. Are you a night person? Eat at night. All standard meal times go out the window with dysphagia.

6. Don't feel obligated to eat in front of other people. You don't need to justify your own health.

7. Your brain is going to tell you lies. This is a fact.

8. Develop a mantra to chat to yourself in your head while you're eating. Mine is "trust your body, trust your body." The meaning of this is transparent; before we made it a conscious act, eating was subconscious. Your throat knows what it's doing, it's actually very hard to really choke, and you've probably almost-choked many times over the years, but your hyper-focus on it THIS time or when it started is why you're here.

Trust your body! You're not alone. Although, considering the wide lack of material supporting recovery from this, it can certainly feel that way.

So around 6 years ago, at the age of 21, I developed a panic attack one night over the ability to swallow — literally out of the blue to the point where it required an ED visit. It is pretty much Oropharyngeal, which had my fearing the absolute worst.

I ran the gamut with two neurologists and a GI doctor. From what I do recall, there was nothing neurologically wrong, as my greatest fear was ALS. GI scoped me and found hiatal hernia, but nothing else.

Fast forward to now and I’ve mostly been able to tolerate it. However, last week something exacerbated it to the point where I feel like it’s at its worst, almost like when this first started. I feel like I’m so hyper I vigilant when chewing that my swallowing coordination is off. I’m not even paying attention to my swallows and sometimes my tongue just feels “uneven” when I swallow, as if it is favoring one side at times. Lately I’ve also been noticing I’ve throat clearing more, something I genuinely did only on occasion, with a tickle in my throat. It almost feels like I struggle with saliva more, which has always been the case. Ironically, I can still gulp a full bottle of water without issue, but then once I finish it feels like something is wrong. A lot of times it feels like I just have to keep swallowing my saliva religiously or my saliva isn’t going down enough and getting caught in my throat/base of tongue.

Obviously it’s been 6 years and I have a very hard time believing it’s bulbar ALS now. However, I still feel this worst.

Could this be pseudodysphagia/phagophobia? I am a very anxious person who has had healthy anxiety, GAD and fairly certain to have OCD (though not formally diagnosed).

I also have ENT, GI and therapy appointments lined up for the next couple of months.

Hi all,

Glad there's a subreddit for this!

For years now, I will occasionally have pain swallowing solid foods (especially rice and especially if it's my first meal of the day). This past week, I've had two instances where I was eating a teriyaki bowl and experienced quite a bit of discomfort and pain during swallowing the first and sometimes second bites (and have to slowly drink water to get it down)

About a month+ ago, I slowly weaned myself off omeprazole (which did help the dysphagia but I don't want to be on it long term). I've also been having more asthma symptoms over the past year and a half (but I've been able to stop using inhalers altogether, though I still get some breathing issues, just not to an extreme)

After watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OufjV4UE2Oc this video about the topic, it seems my symptoms most closely match esophagael dysphagia (I have a mild case of eczema, I have still a bit of acid, liquid is not a problem to swallow,etc)

I'm trying to setup an appointment with a doctor but I don't have insurance and am trying to budget out accordingly. By the way, my father had the procedure where they put an inflatable tube down your esophagus to expand/clean it out and I suspect I may have the same issue.

the questions:

- Would it save money to request the procedure outright, or would it be the type of case where I have to make one visit for a consultation, then another for the procedure? Do doctors usually allow the consultation and procedure all in one visit if it turns out to be what's needed?

- One office I called told me the "scope" runs about $250-$500, but I'm also wondering, would it be best to do an endoscopy (a lot more expensive), or is it sufficient to use whatever "scope" they are talking about to diagnose the problem?

Thanks!

I called my GI doc as I haven't been able to get any food down, sometimes thick soups are a struggle, since Nov 18th. When I went in for an endo on the 1st of Dec, she asked if I had eczema or/and asthma, to which I replied yes, MILD eczema as a child and now, but no evidence of asthma. She suspected before the procedure based on my symptoms that it was EoE, but didn't name it. Just said "this is probably allergy related." During the endo it was noted that I had a small hiatial hernia, but otherwise no inflammation and everything looked fine. Just waiting on biopsy results to confirm EoE. I have no history of food allergens though. I called her today to ask more about potential getting a barium swallow done bc I'm still barely able to get 800k a day in, and she RXd me some Flovent to try and to call back if that's doesn't help with anything in a week, because again, I'm having issues even with grainy soups. Is it possible for dysphagia to be this present if I don't have any strictures or notable inflammation/ tightness? It all happens in the very upper end of my esophagus. Right after I swallow, I feel it in my throat and chest and I KNOW I'm not imagining it (been told it's possibly anxiety by my PCP).

I'm just scared and confused and if the GI told me what she suspected from the start, I may have tried to begin an elimination diet (as limited as I already am, only having liquids right now).

Feeling hopeless. Already started with avoiding dairy, guess I'll add gluten to the list while I try Flovent this week and go from there. I don't know.

I'm in my CF at a SNF and have a patient with ataxic CP who is on thickened liquids (per MBS from 9 months ago) and wants to work toward thin. I didn't learn much about this population in grad school and I'm feeling a bit lost with my therapy rationale. Everything I've found so far has been pediatric focused, with the exception of a couple articles I can't access that also didn't seem very clinically applicable. I'm wondering 1. has it been long enough that I should order a repeat MBS to see if anything has changed? 2. are swallowing exercises appropriate here (tailored based on past or new MBS findings). 3. what is the clinical significance of the ataxia? From my *limited* understanding, people with ataxic CP can increase muscle strength and tone, but how much does the ataxic incoordination affect the fine/precise movements of swallowing - will exercises be effective given this? I know we aren't supposed to go into patient specific diagnosis/treatment questions here so I hope this is broad enough to be okay!

Hello! I just joined because I have choked on my food three times in two days, one time having a really long coughing fit and it felt like something went down the wrong tube. Twice it was soup with very soft pieces of carrot, peas, mushrooms and noodles and once pasta with vegetables and pine nuts - I think it was the pine nuts specifically that I choked on. I have a disorder of the central nervous system with symptoms similar to MS and have constant numbness in my cheek and daily tingling and burning sensations in my lips, throat and chest. Occasionally my tongue has felt numb too. I feel like I have choked on food quite a few times recently and am wondering if this could be the first signs of dysphagia. Anyone with a similar medical history, I would love to hear your experience. How did it start for you? Were certain foods more problematic than others? Thank you!

I got a referral from the physician at independent living facility (ILF) regarding a pt with mod-severe aphasia who is newly (12/7/21) silently aspirating on thin liquids but only with a large bolus per MBSS. No significant past medical hx of hx of PNA. The MBSS recommendations included a mech soft diet with NTL d/t mod oropharyngeal dysphagia.

They don't really do altered diets at ILF. I trialed reg during eval and pt demonstrated adequate mastication, bolus formation, and timely pharyngeal swallow - no s/s of aspiration and all vital signs stable. I trialed both thin and NTL - pt required min VC to take small sips of thin and did not have any complaints regarding NTL but his wife/caregiver is totally against it.

I provided pt's wife edu regarding the pros and cons of NTL, general compensatory swallow strategies (alt bites/sips, etc.), oral care prior to po intake and especially before thin liquids, and benefits of provale cup to control sip size. She is on board with the cup. They only want tx twice a week. I plan on attempting direct tx via pharyngeal strengthening exercises if possible given cog-comm deficits, creating a home exercise program, and repeat MBSS in a few weeks.

Is there anything else you all can think of that could help this patient??

Like the text says. I’ve had multiple dilations in my life and about to have another soon. I hate struggling with eating. I’m tired of pushing air down my esophagus every time I eat. Sucks and is unpleasant.

Hi, in 2018 I got diagnosed with esophageal ulcer,I swallowed a pill of magnesium without water, its probably whats caused it , In january 2020, I got my first endoscopy, they found a salmon pink mucosa, they thought it was barret's esophagus but the biopsy said " No goblet cell ,monitor every 3 to 5 years

I have some strange symptom , I have mild dysphagia, I have some pain when I swallow and regurgitation, it's like something get blocked in the esophagus when swallowing, but I don't choke on food

Also When I touch the area between my ribcage (stomach / esophagus junction )" I feel a sharp pain located on my right ribcage

Is it a lymph node ? I don't feel any mass but the pain can be from a swollen lymph node ? so stage IV esophageal cancer ?

I don't have any weight loss or fatigue

I'm only 25 years old , my next endoscopy will be in march , i'm extremly afraid ,

How long it take for esophageal cancer to develop ? I'm only 25 I don't even have a girlfriend or my own house, i'm scarred

For the past few months Ive been experiencing tightness around my lower throat that comes and goes along with a feeling of food getting stuck. While having the feeling of stuck food other stuff still goes down but the feeling stays. Usually Ill wait until I have a big belly burp and try to keep my throat loose and whatever is stuck pops right up. Ive also noticed burping is hard sometimes.

Lastly, Ive noticed the right side of my throat (same side I had plueredesis and wedge resection on my lung done) is void of feeling on the inside. I currently have a sore throat and the right sode feels nothing. Same when I swallow cold things. Nothing on the right side has feeling.

Ive been to a few ENT docs and just had a swallow study and upper endoscopy done with everything looking good to them. The only issue seen was a mild inflammation of the stomach. Any idea on what my next step is?

Someone I know has the following dysphagia of not water, saliva (overall liquid). She rely on "ICE" as source of her hydration. She find things hard and is unable to manage her stress. She went to various medical professionals, massages and therapist; sometime it helps, sometime it worsen her condition.

I would like to ask for advice if anyone has "liquid" dysphagia . How do you deal with everything that is happening, how do you find the cause; if you did not, how are you living or managing your life and stress.

Thank you so much

A month ago I started noticing, that I feel when food passes through my esophagus. I don’t know if it always felt that way because I never thought about it, but now I can’t stop noticing it. Do you feel when you swallow and the food passes through? It’s not like the food gets stuck, I just feel it running down if that makes sense.

I had heartburn through my whole pregnancy and occasionally still get it. I don’t know if that can irritate my esophagus so that I feel the food passing through. I tried to google it, but can’t really find anything about how swallowing feels in a “normal” esophagus

Hi. I've been having trouble with dysphagia for the last month or so and I'm hoping someone can help guide me to a solution.

BACKSTORY:

On 11/20, I experienced trouble swallowing food and went to an ER. The event was initially traumatic as I even had trouble swallowing my saliva, but it eventually subsided as I waited when I was admitted. They performed CT scan and the results showed that there were some masses in my parapharyngeal area and suggested I see an ENT as the doc said it appearred to be a form of dysphagia.

They recommended a soft food and liquid diet which I adhered to, but over the days I was gradually able start eating solid foods again.

On 12/1 I had an appointment with an ENT. At this time, my swallowing appeared to be back to normal but naturally I still wanted to see what the issue was. The ENT performed an endoscopy and did not find anything alarming. She suggested that it may have been due to acid reflux, and prescribed me Prilosec for the acid reflux.

A few days ago, the issue returned. Not with enough severity for me to need to go to the ER, but enough that attempting to swallow solid foods is met with difficulty and I am sometimes afraid to try again. I do not think the issue was caused by acid reflux as I had been taking the medication but it did not solve the issue.

I've been sticking to meal replacement shakes, applesauce, and yogurt. Today I just tried to eat a banana but couldn't get past the first bite. I was able to swallow it but it still felt as though subsequent swallows would cause me to choke. It's also causing anxiety in the sense that I might not ever be able to eat food normally again for the rest of my life and I'm only 34 years old. It's hard to push the negative thoughts away but I'm trying the best I can.

QUESTION:

My question for advice is thus: Is it recommended for me to visit the same ENT that I saw before, or would it be better to see an entirely new ENT? I do not necessarily think that the first doctor did poorly. I simply would like to know which avenue is better to pursue to hopefully have this medical issue of mine solved.

Thank you so much for any assistance you can offer.

Other relevant info:

Location: United States, Florida

Age: 34

Sex: Male

Height: 5'4"

Weight: ~140 lbs

Diagnosed condition: Dysphagia

Prescription: Omeprazole 40 mg (had no effect after several days of use)

No drug use, no tobacco use, no drinking.

I'm suffering of dysphagia for 10 days now, didn't eat since lost 14lb already, I can drink water but sometimes I can't even swallow my saliva and my lungs start to hurt because some saliva get leaked into them, I can't eat anything without choking my only way to nurture myself is through glucose solution intravenously. and in order to get more macro nutritions I boil some vegetables and drink their water after filtering it and that's it anything thicker than that will make me choke. it happened out of sudden, went to the doctor and found out that I have advanced peptic ulcer in the esophagus because of acid reflux. I went to different doctors in different specialties they all said I should be able to eat normally even with my current condition but I can't. now I'm just assuming that I will be able to eat again when my esophagus heal did anyone had something like that? how did you treat it?

So I had covid, and two days ago I found myself having problems swallowing and always choking. My voice became hoarse. I also had problem coughing - I can no longer cough from deep inside the lungs, and the coughing sound is very hoarse and is like screaming. I developed runny nose earlier today.

I visited the doctor in emergency on the day I discover my swallowing problem, but he seems considering me just having a sore/swollen throat as a result of covid. He told me to go home and rest to see if the condition improves. But nothing has improved. I will visit again tomorrow. I’ll beg him to refer me to some throughout check (x ray, ct, whatever) and get me diagnosed. Good luck for me!

How do y’all cope with this illness both mentally and physically? How do you eat and drink (I’ve been starving for 2 days…) Will it ever go away? What checks and treatments are needed? How long does it take to recover? Are there anyone who also develop this because of covid?

Sincerely, a broken kid who just found here.

I’m 20. I’m still at school. I’m about to start my next semester after new year. I’m abroad alone. My parents are not with me; I havent told them about it yet. I just don’t want my life to end here.

Hi everyone! I’m a SLP grad student at University of the Pacific and I’m very interested in dysphagia because swallowing is something that people often take for granted. I have a completely anonymous survey (link below) that’s been approved by my university’s Institutional Review Board. I hope the research findings can benefit current and future patients with dysphagia. Thank you in advance and feel free to share with anyone who might be interested! Happy New Year 😊

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxx57EV7kWfMyhZqHSr_ZNn3m8b0amhgJ0VtSC_ruSd-o79A/viewform

Im 15M i have LPR and treating with diet only and losing weight my doc advised me that . So basically what happens is when i eat a hard food i need water to get it down, the feeling of something stuck in oesophagus now persists what happened yestrday was that i ate my food and i suddenly had forgetten what it felt like to be food stuck in my throat so i didnt feel it for a long time then suddenly i remembered " wait food wasnt stuck in my throat " and suddenly that feeling reappeared is this anxiety or am i having actual problem the feeling doesnt go away by drinking alot of water also and im still feeling writing this post .

My swallowing problem started at the beginning of the pandemic, around January 2020, but I've been eating solid foods for months now. The causes of my dysphagia were stress, a chronic pharyngitis due to an allergic reaction and also acid reflux. I cured the acid reflux and the allergy with medicine, but the feeling of the lump in the throat remained. I still have it now. I worked a lot to overcome my anxiety and fear of swallowing. I learned that my body is able to swallow and the idea that I can't swallow is only in my head. I couldn't swallow when I had pharyngitis, but the pharyngitis is gone now. I had to remind myself everyday that I'm no longer ill (I think the fear of swallowing and the lump in the throat is some sort of trauma) and to trust my body. I re-learned to eat again like a baby. I started with easy-to-eat foods and tried different flavors with curiosity. But MOST IMPORTANTLY I didn't feel guilty if I ate little. The important thing is to eat, no matter how little it is. Start small. First, try to swallow ONE TIME. Not a whole meal. Just one time and then try to repeat it everyday. You need to be calm and to trust your body. Now I eat solid foods everyday, even if the portions are small. I don't know what else to say. It is a hard journey, you need to do a lot of inner work and it takes time. Prioritize your happiness ^_^

Hi! Does anyone suffer with/ know anyone that suffers with dysphagia as a result of dementia? I am doing a college assignment on the subject and I have not been lucky getting responses from professionals in the field. If anyone can respond with insight that would be great, thanks!!

So uh, I have hEDS, was diagnosed a few months ago. This was due to a very bad flare-up where I was basically bed bound, it felt like I'd had a stroke. Anyway I've not entirely recovered but I'm mobile again!

So, of course I'm (still) gradually realising the many many other things it turns out are linked to EDS and weren't ever "moaning for attention" or "all in my head," and today I had the regular choking for no gorram reason. You know, you're happily sitting there, vibing, and then suddenly you're choking to the point of tears on your own saliva or some microscopic dust particle that's landed on the back of your throat and made it close up for no reason? I'm fairly sure it's dysphagia, as I also often choke on food, drinks, and have difficulty swallowing generally (I have literally never worked out how to swallow without also swallowing loads of air; and trust me I tried, because my kinda abusive stepmother would lose her mind at me for "gulping like a swine," etc, constantly growing up).

I'm also unexpectedly pregnant (10 weeks). So, today's choking was, well, more scary - it's actually been a couple of months since I last choked on air/saliva (possibly because I've been unable to really eat or drink most things because of aversions to basically everything and intense, unrelenting, constant nausea) which is an unusually long time for me.. But it reminded me this is USUALLY a weekly occurrence, and I'm already worried about the bean due to unexplained bleeding (they couldn't see any reason for it on an ultrasound, but the bean was at the time okay). Also.. it hurts down there now, to cough that hard, and makes me paranoid.. even tho I know I can't cough the bean out :')

My doctor has like a month waiting list just to get a TELEPHONE appointment, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips? I've read that there's swallowing exercises and stuff for dysphagia; has anyone had experience with these? Did they work? Can you recommend any?

Hi all, just wanted to report back my success with dysphagia. I've had it for about a week and a half now, due to a sports neck injury with symptoms consistent with severe whiplash (so TMJ and tinnitus on the side affected too). Awhile ago, I was watching Shang-Chi and something just suddenly *snapped back* lol, found myself being able to swallow water and all the different foods without difficulty again. I think it's a dislocated hyoid bone? Don't know if it'll last but I hope it does.

Cheers!

Just got my biopsy results back and my eosinophil count is 0. This absolutely blows my mind as I've had to be on a liquid diet the past couple months its been that bad.

I've thrown everything and the kitchen sink at it this flare up. Big 6 elimination diet, swallowed steroids, double dose PPI; so not entirely surprised I've beat it into remission.

Only issue is the dysphagia is still present. Anyone else have this happen? I'm at a loss now

My father is being checked for parkinson's. He said his first symptom was dysphagia 30 years ago.

Hi, I am doing a college assignment on dysphagia in relation to dementia. I have been reaching out to various organisations, as well as assisted living facilities, but no one has been in contact with me. If anyone has experience with dsyphagia in relation to dementia, or knows someone who does, I would love if you could reply with some insight! Any feedback is beyond appreciated. Thanks :)

Title. Will there be an increased risk of aspiration pneumonia due to this condition? I feel like the food I swallow is still in the chest. Please help, ty.

One moment, of one day, I’ll be able to finish a whole meal. The next day after that, I won’t be able to get a single bottle of ensure down. Or liquids. It fluctuates.

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 10 posts:

• "Ate a cheeseburger today!" by u/getslostinmusic
• "Anyone have dysphagia due to GERD?"
• "I discovered what’s causing my dysphagia!" by u/cerealmonogamiss
• "[Update] Food gets stuck at top of throat" by u/raisonsdetre
• "Cranial nerves involved in swallowing" by u/gaia_27
• "My dysphagia is almost gone!" by u/bluestarpinkmoon
• "Dysphagia from LPR (My Story/Vent Post)" by u/starlight44_
• "Update to last post - finally a diagnosis after many years. Eosinophilic esophagitis with schatzki rings. Hopefully now I can finally get some relief from this damn thing" by u/Ender3_
• "Anyone have dysphagia due to Acid Reflux/had success at recovering?" by u/ShlSh0
• "I need desperate help with dysphagia, I feel like I might die from this." by u/Jejeske

Hello !, thank you very much for inviting me, I have been suffering from dysphagia for one or two months (I cannot swallow large portions, only some very small ones, and I chew too much) that occurred during a period of intense stress, when I relaxed, it improved little by little and then I started taking omeprazole, in 5 days I was almost cured, I made the mistake of quitting and in 2 days my dysphagia completely returned, but now, I'm not sure if it is due to lpr or it could be candida, since I have a very white tongue.

when I drink liquids, I feel as if the upper esophageal sphincter does not open properly, I even have a very noisy swallowing, although it is only my perception something interesting is that if I take zinc lozenges my swallowing improves a little, the same happens with melatonin but I don't know why

I started omeprazole again and I have some questions:

Why do some people with lpr develop dysphagia and others don't?

How long should I wait to see improvement with omeprazole?

is it possible that a simple sore throat causes dysphagia?

Could it be a cricopharyngeal spasm?

What are your ideas for a product/invention that doesn´t exist yet that could help dysphagia patients improve their eating experience?

Hi, i really feel like I need to get this off my chest and see if anyone else is suffering with symptoms like mine and can also maybe place how much is mental vs physical?

My backstory is 32M, suspected reflux symptoms on and off since I was 20, I'm a slow eater who is conscious of chewing food very carefully. I also have an anxious personality and a shrink would defo say I have a history of social anxiety.

Diagnosed with Gerd 06/20 and a 2cm sliding hiatal hernia, via endoscope.

Since endoscope, and a stressful past year or two with my mum having leukemia, my swallowing has just bombed.

Meat, cheese and bread is just horrid, I just feel i need to chew it forever and then nervously swallow with no confidence of it going down. Sometimes it sticks and I have to gulp again to get it to go, but I get a panicky jolt like I'm about to choke but still able breathe.

I feel full really easy, and I need to do these small burps to clear pressure constantly. I get very minor esophageal chest pain (lower) and no sense of burning heart burn, and feel I present more as LPR rather than GERD.

I don't eat the same meals as my partner, I HATE social eating, i get even more anxious and it makes it worse. I am already dreading Christmas Dinner with family, as my coping mechanism is soft food with sauces to help get them down, and I can't easily control that.... the more anxious I get, the harder it is to eat... I then get more conscious that I'm eating slow, and then try to speed up and then bam, food doesn't go down right as I'm rushing and it sticks and freaks me out.

I shouldn't be freaking over my Xmas Dinner 2 weeks before !!!

I've got health anxiety kicking in, as my dad died of esophageal cancer at 48 so I don't think that helps things (alcoholic and 60 a day smoker). And as much as I try rationalise it statistically, I can't get it out of my head...

Literally 16 People in the UK under the age of 35 were diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2019, out of approx 8000 cases that year. I've had a clear endoscopy in the last 18 months - endoscopy procedures are 90-95% accurate at detecting EC... statistically the odds of having a missed EC tumour at my age are like millions to 1.

But still, it's consuming me... I feel like I'm going mental!

Well i guess its probably not odd for someone to experience what i have started to experience with my dysphagia. I'm happy to say having dysphagia since july of 2020 i'm slowly doing better. I can eat very certain solids now like most types of chicken and tuna. Bread seems to go down okay if toasted in some form too. thats about all the solids i can get down at this point though even then sometimes having issues.

So in one way its gotten better. At one point i couldnt eat anything solid at all so it might not be a huge improvement but its something.

However i started experiencing something today with swallowing i can't say ive personally experienced yet. I was more or less curious if anyone here experienced this though. So all day today ive had this issue where when i swallow i feel like near the very top of my throat its constricted if that makes any sense or like its tight. and it feels like my throat doesn't go through the full motion of swallowing. It almost does but I can tell something with that is off from what it normally is. It started last night when i was eating ice cream and has been the same way all day today. I can still get my liquids and liquified foods down fine just its harder to do.

Ive never experienced this with my dysphagia until today. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

Hi. I've been having trouble with dysphagia for the last month or so and I'm hoping someone can help guide me to a soluction.

BACKSTORY:

On 11/20, I experienced trouble swallowing food and went to an ER. The event was initially traumatic as I even had trouble swallowing my saliva, but it eventually subsided as I waited when I was admitted. They performed CT scan and the results showed that there were some masses in my parapharyngeal area and suggested I see an ENT as the doc said it appearred to be a form of dysphagia.

They recommended a soft food and liquid diet which I adhered to, but over the days I was gradually able start eating solid foods again.

On 12/1 I had an appointment with an ENT. At this time, my swallowing appeared to be back to normal but naturally I still wanted to see what the issue was. The ENT performed an endoscopy and did not find anything alarming. She suggested that it may have been due to acid reflux, and prescribed me Prilosec for the acid reflux.

A few days ago, the issue returned. Not with enough severity for me to need to go to the ER, but enough that attempting to swallow solid foods is met with difficulty and I am sometimes afraid to try again. I do not think the issue was caused by acid reflux as I had been taking the medication but it did not solve the issue.

I've been sticking to meal replacement shakes, applesauce, and yogurt. Today I just tried to eat a banana but couldn't get past the first bite. I was able to swallow it but it still felt as though subsequent swallows would cause me to choke. It's also causing anxiety in the sense that I might not ever be able to eat food normally again for the rest of my life and I'm only 34 years old. It's hard to push the negative thoughts away but I'm trying the best I can.

ETA:I should also mention that I have not experienced any pain at all, nor do I feel any swelling in my throat area from any of this. Everything feels totally normal until I attempt to swallow.

QUESTION:

My question for advice is thus: Is it recommended for me to visit the same ENT that I saw before, or would it be better to see an entirely new ENT? I do not necessarily think that the first doctor did poorly. I simply would like to know which avenue is better to pursue to hopefully have this medical issue of mine solved.

Thank you so much for any assistance you can offer.

Other relevant info:

Location: United States, Florida

Age: 34

Sex: Male

Height: 5'4"

Weight: ~140 lbs

Diagnosed condit

Hi. I've been having trouble with dysphagia for the last month or so and I'm hoping someone can help guide me to a solution.

BACKSTORY:

On 11/20, I experienced trouble swallowing food and went to an ER. The event was initially traumatic as I even had trouble swallowing my saliva, but it eventually subsided as I waited when I was admitted. They performed CT scan and the results showed that there were some masses in my parapharyngeal area and suggested I see an ENT as the doc said it appearred to be a form of dysphagia.

They recommended a soft food and liquid diet which I adhered to, but over the days I was gradually able start eating solid foods again.

On 12/1 I had an appointment with an ENT. At this time, my swallowing appeared to be back to normal but naturally I still wanted to see what the issue was. The ENT performed an endoscopy and did not find anything alarming. She suggested that it may have been due to acid reflux, and prescribed me Prilosec for the acid reflux.

A few days ago, the issue returned. Not with enough severity for me to need to go to the ER, but enough that attempting to swallow solid foods is met with difficulty and I am sometimes afraid to try again. I do not think the issue was caused by acid reflux as I had been taking the medication but it did not solve the issue.

I've been sticking to meal replacement shakes, applesauce, and yogurt. Today I just tried to eat a banana but couldn't get past the first bite. I was able to swallow it but it still felt as though subsequent swallows would cause me to choke. It's also causing anxiety in the sense that I might not ever be able to eat food normally again for the rest of my life and I'm only 34 years old. It's hard to push the negative thoughts away but I'm trying the best I can.

QUESTION:

My question for advice is thus: Is it recommended for me to visit the same ENT that I saw before, or would it be better to see an entirely new ENT? I do not necessarily think that the first doctor did poorly. I simply would like to know which avenue is better to pursue to hopefully have this medical issue of mine solved.

Thank you so much for any assistance you can offer.

Other relevant info:

Location: United States, Florida

Age: 34

Sex: Male

Height: 5'4"

Weight: ~140 lbs

Diagnosed condition: Dysphagia

Prescription: Omeprazole 40 mg (had no effect after several days of use)

No drug use, no tobacco use, no drinking.