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Having Trouble Swallowing...

I have this same thing. It used to happen with pieces of meat usually. Would get stuck and i could breath but any spit i produce i couldnt swallow and i would have to spit it out. One of three things would happen. Like you i'd have to cough it up. 2) it would go down on its own but might take 30 to 45 minutes. 3) I can sometimes force it down kind of pushing on my throat Ruth my fingers. Went to kaiser and they did some tests where they mix (barium???) with food and X-ray you as you eat and swallow to look and see if you have some sort of pocket in your throat. They said I was fine and chew More and eat slower. Fucking Kaiser. Really? Then why do I sometimes choke on water? And how about the time since that it happened while I was eating chips? Potatoe chips. I coughed it up as a soggy mess.

Sorry. Anyway good luck and hope they figure yours out.

Sorry for any errors. On iPad.
 
JackTheTripper said:
I have this same thing. It used to happen with pieces of meat usually. Would get stuck and i could breath but any spit i produce i couldnt swallow and i would have to spit it out. One of three things would happen. Like you i'd have to cough it up. 2) it would go down on its own but might take 30 to 45 minutes. 3) I can sometimes force it down kind of pushing on my throat Ruth my fingers. Went to kaiser and they did some tests where they mix (barium???) with food and X-ray you as you eat and swallow to look and see if you have some sort of pocket in your throat. They said I was fine and chew More and eat slower. Fucking Kaiser. Really? Then why do I sometimes choke on water? And how about the time since that it happened while I was eating chips? Potatoe chips. I coughed it up as a soggy mess.
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It sounds like they did a barium swallow (also know as barium esophogram or upper GI xray) looking for a Zenker's diverticulum and didn't see one. However, there are numerous other causes of your symptoms (or it's possible the zenker's was missed on the study). I would recommend going back and asking for further workup. They may want to do a modified barium swallow, which actually videos the barium (in different consistencies) as it goes down. Or an endoscopy may be warranted. Did you see someone in head and neck or GI, or your PCP?
 
PCP just referred me. Think it was head and neck. Believe I remember them saying something about also doing speech therapy.
 
KnifeySpoony said:
I could go on a similar rant about patients thinking that they know more than their doctors...
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the problem is sometimes they do, and the doc's just don't like to admit it.:teeth

now not directed at you as i wouldn't expect someone who deals with ear nose or throat to know everything about every obscure condition out there nor do i know you or have i ever met you that i know of. But if a patient hands you a small booklet of research that was published in the last 2 to 5 years on his condition and a doctor does not even take the time to look at it but instead goes to his or her resource material which is 15+ years old there is a problem there.
this is an ongoing problem with older doctors with the "i have seen it all mentality".:thumbdown
 
My riding buddy had that problem, then he said his clutch lever was too hard for him, then he was told he had ALS - sadly that was end of the story for him. :(
 
spddrcr said:
the problem is sometimes they do, and the doc's just don't like to admit it.:teeth

now not directed at you as i wouldn't expect someone who deals with ear nose or throat to know everything about every obscure condition out there nor do i know you or have i ever met you that i know of. But if a patient hands you a small booklet of research that was published in the last 2 to 5 years on his condition and a doctor does not even take the time to look at it but instead goes to his or her resource material which is 15+ years old there is a problem there.
this is an ongoing problem with older doctors with the "i have seen it all mentality".:thumbdown
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We learn things from our patients all the time. Any doc that would dismiss new research is pretty lame and needs to reconsider things. However, the majority of the time the information I get handed is printouts from quackery web pages with no relevance and/or no basis in reality. And usually patients don't like being told things that don't jive with their own personal belief system... What can we do?
 
So went to the local doc today, thinks it's Dysphagia (fancy word for having trouble swallowing?) and wants me to go see a gastroenterologist. Will be looking for one of those tomorrow
 
That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life; of COURSE it's dysphagia. That's like coming to him with your arm bent in the middle of the humerus, and he looks, mulls, and ponders, and finally declares that your arm may be broken. You need to get a doctor who isn't a moron.

Also look for a neurologist, you may be going there, next.
 
Dr. Evil said:
That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life; of COURSE it's dysphagia. That's like coming to him with your arm bent in the middle of the humerus, and he looks, mulls, and ponders, and finally declares that your arm may be broken. You need to get a doctor who isn't a moron.

Also look for a neurologist, you may be going there, next.
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Ya I was kinda disappointment with the 'treatment' as well, didn't examine me or anything just talked to me. Thing is I got off work early and saw the office on the side of the road which triggered my memory so I just pulled in and told em I wanted to see a doc. I'm happier this way though then her telling me something she doesn't know anything about and leading me on. Like I said, will be calling around tomorrow.

Seriously hope you're wrong about the neuro thing btw :(
 
Do you have hay fever, allergies, runny nose ? Post nasal drip (down the back of the throat) can cause these problems too.
 
Ehh I've got the same problem from radiation damage. If I watch what I eat and stay away from greasy food it's not a problem.
 
JesasaurusRex said:
So went to the local doc today, thinks it's Dysphagia (fancy word for having trouble swallowing?) and wants me to go see a gastroenterologist. Will be looking for one of those tomorrow
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Yeah, dysphagia is just the medial term for difficulty swallowing. It is your symptom/complaint, not really a diagnosis. There numerous types and causes for dysphagia. Kinda like you if you said the problem was dry mouth, the doctor would write down xerostomia.

Anyway, there was probably something in your history/physical that made them think a referral to GI was warranted.
 
KnifeySpoony said:
We learn things from our patients all the time. Any doc that would dismiss new research is pretty lame and needs to reconsider things. However, the majority of the time the information I get handed is printouts from quackery web pages with no relevance and/or no basis in reality. And usually patients don't like being told things that don't jive with their own personal belief system... What can we do?
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I've had many great docs in my day, most of which have been here in SF. What drives me bonkers are the docs that treat me like a child, right after I have had a long discussion with them about anatomy, physiology, etc. I've done my time doing cadaver work, I know my body parts, and how biology works in general. Yet they still turn around and forget what we just talked about, and start explaining the procedure to me like I'm a 6 year old.

ARGH.

I'm an asshole sysadmin/manager now, and I am not even that bad.
 
Valgar said:
I've had many great docs in my day, most of which have been here in SF. What drives me bonkers are the docs that treat me like a child, right after I have had a long discussion with them about anatomy, physiology, etc. I've done my time doing cadaver work, I know my body parts, and how biology works in general. Yet they still turn around and forget what we just talked about, and start explaining the procedure to me like I'm a 6 year old.

ARGH.

I'm an asshole sysadmin/manager now, and I am not even that bad.
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The reality is that 75% of people (made that number up) still don't understand it, even when explained at that level. I try to tailor my communication style based on the patient, but sometimes it's hard to please everyone. Also, many MDs have kinda set/rote explanations they give they have used for many years to describe a diagnosis/procedure/disease process. Using it on you may just be force of habit.
 
You think it's bad now, just wait til Portugal beats Germany on June 9th
 
KnifeySpoony said:
The reality is that 75% of people (made that number up) still don't understand it, even when explained at that level. I try to tailor my communication style based on the patient, but sometimes it's hard to please everyone. Also, many MDs have kinda set/rote explanations they give they have used for many years to describe a diagnosis/procedure/disease process. Using it on you may just be force of habit.
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Remember, 50% of everyone is below average...
 
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