Difficulty swallowing food

[caregirlhere]

2 years ago my acid reflux worsened. That was followed by 2 throat infections and 2 courses of antibiotics. With the throat infection, i developed a food stuck in throat feeling and have had it ever since. It occurs with everything i eat, even smooth foods!

Last year i had an endoscopy and esophageal dilatation with no improvement in my symptoms.

This year i had a modified barium swallow which shows food getting stuck in my neck muscles. I wasn't given any further help from there.
I only weigh 41.2 kilos and am borderline hospital admission. I feel doctors are missing something. This just isn't right. My swallowing was good until that bad bout of reflux and throat infection.

Every time i eat (smooth foods), it feels lodged up in the right side of my throat. I also have a lot of mucus stuck down there that nothing shifts. If i take meds for it my throat drys out raw! I then get pain where the food feels stuck. Sometimes i get difficulty breathing with this too. Generally i can still swallow but something hard still feels stuck up there and causes me a lot of anxiety. Also i've noticed i get saliva pooling under the base of my tongue. The stuck feeling can be there even before i've eaten or drinken anything upon waking up in the morning!

I am very scared of becoming more ill and ending up in hospital and this problem is making me depressed too. I have been crying so much lately. No one here cares.

I will appreciate any responses from people who have experienced the same or a similar thing.
Thank you for reading.

[caregirlhere]

Thanks and i will!

[selmaS]

  Glad to hear u r getting help with a nutritionist as diet is very important with any health condition....

And I am sure since u can see a difference already this may be the route to take going forward and hopefully u will get those Drs to listen/

Keep us posted

[caregirlhere]

Oh, also the nutritionist said she used to have a patient with a similar situation to mine and in his case, the antibiotics for the infection caused his ongoing problem with difficulty swallowing.
I am going to talk with this woman further about this and get her to suggest how i should bring it up with the professionals i see as they aren't listening.

[caregirlhere]

I understand that. It's so true.

Some docs like to quickly label things as 'anxiety' or 'nothing'. It's been very hard for me to find anyone who cares enough to take more time and try to help me.
What the doc says goes for my family but i can feel it within myself that something is wrong. I won't stop until i get answers.

By the way, the nutritionist overseas was very helpful for me to IM with. I am slowly adding more nutritious foods to my diet and feel a little better in some small way for it.
Benecalorie is also a product that i have to try and find here but if i cannot, the nutritionist said she'll ship some over for me!
I am so thankful. If only professionals i physically go and see would help me like her.

[selmaS]

  No worries....and I was referring to ur not feeling cared for where u are.....all I can offer is the support here....so many with medical issues tend to have a lack of support especially when they do not have a DX so they can say it is this causing this or that....but until they know what it is u do not get support....it is an invisible illness...and when Drs do not support u, it seems no one else does either.

Hope u feel better soon.

[caregirlhere]

Hi SelmaS, thank you.

I have found people with similar issues to mine online. It's definitely a horrible feeling no one should have to experience.

Sorry, i didn't mean people wouldn't care here. I was referring to my family and professionals i see where i live. Support forums are what i love because the amount of support is amazing and it does help me in some sort of way.

I know there is a motility test but everyone has major struggles with it. I can imagine it would be awful to have a tube down your throat to the gut while your awake to measure the pressure and such of esophageal movements. I know i wouldn't let docs do it.

The barium swallow showed a little something up as i mentioned and the swallowing docs found it unusual.

I am in Australia but have been emailing a dysphagia nutritionist who's in America . We'll be talking properly tomorrow. She's going to help me work out what i should eat on a pureed diet and to what consistency at least. I am very thankful for her willingness to help.

How you mentioned silent reflux, this is exactly what i have thought i must have for months but everyone i see tell me this is nothing.
I have always hated taking antibiotics. I did ask one doc whether they could've done this to me but he said it's the reflux which i know is possible. I'll definitely look into the probiotics.

Thank you for your reply. :-)

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the GERD forum.

First, u r not alone, and plenty of people care.....I am so sorry u feel as tho no one does...this is a support forum...a place to share what we are going thru and support each other so they know others do care.

I wish I knew just what is going on with u so it could help, but I am afraid I do not.....

It sounds like a motility issue....along with possible silent reflux....then  you took antibiotics for an infection....antibiotics can cause more of a reflux issue....ask ur Drs about taking pro biotics...to replace the good bacteria and give ur digestive track the natural balance it needs to digest food properly.

  I hope u feel better soon.