Difficulty swallowing?

Benji49
Benji49 Posts: 419 Member
Do any of you get the feeling that you can't breathe and there is something stuck in your throat? I've been noticing for a few months now that even swallowing water is hard some days - it's like there is a obstruction but there isn't?

Anyone?

Replies

  • reedee94
    reedee94 Posts: 25 Member
    I got really frightened by this feeling when it first happened. It feels like someone is squeezing your windpipe from the inside and i feel the need to tip my head back to straighten the windpipe to try and relieve the lump feeling. I went to doctors had tests for other things but nothing found. It is now a constant that is bearable but wish it would go away. I describe it as the ms hug round my throat. It is akin to the ms hug you get round your middle. Panic makes it worse when I relax it is not as severe.
  • Benji49
    Benji49 Posts: 419 Member
    Thanks - that's pretty much what it feels like. Apparently being exhausted doesn't help either. I'll just keep an eye on things and document the weird stuff for my next apt with the neuro.
  • charliesgold
    charliesgold Posts: 235 Member
    I have a lot of trouble with choking and swallowing liquids. It helps a little to use a straw but mostly I have to take tiny tiny sips which is just aggravating.
  • bridgelene
    bridgelene Posts: 358 Member
    It's not a variation of the MS hug is it? :( That sounds higher than mine, but.....I had gone to the doctor and they couldn't find a good reason for mine (it was tightness and breathing for me).

    But. Tuck your chin to your chest when you swallow. It seems backwards at first, but it makes things safer and it (at least for me) has helped make the swallowing easier. Smaller amounts at once. Try not to be too distracted. It's scary....I occasionally get some swallowing problems -- choking on my own spit too regularly, and had to switch from a regular horsepill multivitamin to a gummy (not entirely happy about wasting a few of my calories on that, but I'd rather eat 1/4 less scoop of nutella than choke to death on a vitamin, lol). I also sometimes have trouble with other things, but not terribly often.

    Talk to your neuro. For some of us, it's a relapse and will go away once the relapse is done, and for some it sticks around longer term. In theory, the doc could do a swallow study (even if it's a "bedside" swallow study). And sometimes they will have one start seeing a SLP for therapy, which.....I've heard can really be helpful for some people.