Fear of Swallowing-Have I Gone Crazy..Anyone else?:( - Panic Disorders Message Board

panthers78 · 06-05-2007, 05:39 PM

Here is my situation
I am a 29 year old male, just turned 29 at the end of May. It happened one night in Mid April. I felt that a piece of my protein bar didn't go down right. Ever since then I have had trouble swallowing. I have been to an ENT who looked at me swallowing putting and applesauce under a scope and it went down fine. He thought I may have had acid reflux (which I disagree with since I don't have any symptoms). I had a barium swallow which turned out to be fine.

I went for a second doctor for a second opinion..she sent me for another test..I went for a CT scan of my neck..no problems.. Last Friday I had an endoscopy.there were no tumors or strictures. I have one more test on Thursday, a test where I am swallowing solids on a camera. However, so far,here seems to be nothing wrong with me..all of my tests came out fine

It feels like food is getting stuck, my throat tightens, and I can't breathe. I begin to cough since it feels like something is stuck there ( I never actually cough anything up) I am deeply fearful of choking now. I eat everything pureed and liquified. I even have a fear of swallowing pills now..something I didn't have at first ( I popped tons of vitamins). I was not fearful before I started feeling like stuff was getting stuck. I am not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg. I had a choking episode a couple of months back (popcorn kernel) but I am not sure if I really choked on that or if it was imagined choking again since I never coughed it up..

I am beginning to think this is all in my head...it has caused crying spells, numerous trips to the ER and to the doctors. Usually I am pretty level headed, but this has gotten to me. I am not sure what to do. I have become worried about going to grad school this fall with this going on. MBA's need to be able to eat in front of people, and right now I am spitting up food, etc..very embarrassing..Anyone else go through this? I am not sure what to do..I don't have much time. I wish I could go to an ER and just pig out..with all of those people around, I wouldn't worry about choking..if I did, they could fix it..

Mohawk122 · 06-06-2007, 11:09 AM

it sounds like it is definatly in your head....my sister went through the same exact thing when she was about 11 years old...she was eating popcorn and started feeling as if a piece got stuck in her throat then from that day forward went 6 months eating choc milk, and choc pudding, even when she would eat the choc pudding she would have to squish it around in her mouth for minutes for each spoon full! she wouldnt even drink orange juice with pulp and she lost lots of weight, she also wouldnt take pills so my mother bought a pill crusher and would crush the pills and mix them in with her choc milk. She was also taken to multiple drs and they took scopes and put them down her throat and found nothing. it sounds like all the tests you have gone through are the ones she went through as well. After all, one day her fear just went away and now shes fine. In the end it was all in her head...
im 21 and i am sort of experiencing the same thing right now, just not as severe, i dont chew my food very good so sometimes i can feel it going down, i feel like im about to choke or like my throat is closing up. However, i then say a word, any word and then i know that im fine because if i was choaking or if something was stuck in my throat i wouldnt be able to speak. pannicing only makes it worse. i know its in my head and it makes me feel better because i know there isnt somehting wrong with me physically. your mind is so powerful which im sure you have now realized but i dont think there is anything wrong with you. you just have to realize that the food you eat will not get stuck in your throat. it may help if you chew your food really good before swallowing and try not to tense your throat because that will make your throat feel tight and like it is closing in. also when you swallow food it goes down very slow, so if you dont chew ur food very good you can feel it go down very slowly. so if you dont already, chew your food very good!

just remember you can and will get through this!!!!!!!!

dustoffkid · 06-06-2007, 11:24 AM

The sensation of something not-quite-swallowed or stuck in the throat is about the most common symptom of reflux that there is. You said you had no symptoms, but that's a biggie, right there (even without heartburn. Some people have only this symptom that they can feel).

This doesn't address the anxiety, of course, and I am hoping that the other great people on this board will be able to help you. But I did think you should know that it's not all necessarily in your head.

Good luck.

ChanceFL · 06-14-2007, 11:19 PM

I have also experienced this due to anxiety. I once swallowed a piece of candy and felt like it was stuck for a week. Then another time I felt like I had something stuck in my throat for a month. I saw a doctor and he said he thought it was allergies. In hindsight, I think it was all anxiety.

However, I also have a thyroid condition and when you have an enlarged thyroid it can feel like something is stuck in your throat. If it doesn't go away, I would look into having your thyroid tested. It's just a simple blood test. Good luck!

panthers78 · 06-17-2007, 09:02 AM

Thanks for the responses. My swallowing has gotten better, but I am still not over the anxiety/panic that I have had over the last month. Having that choking feeling at every meal for about a month and coughing all of the time really did a number on my psyche. I am not sure what to do. I am gradually getting better, am able to eat small meals by myself (soup). They thought it was allergies. I have the same cells asthsma patients get in their lungs in my esophagus and they put me on singulair and it has helped, but i am still having trouble getting over this phobia