Trouble Swallowing, excessive burping, chest pain and pressure, help!

[Athora80]

I am waiting for a referral to a Gastroenterologist from my GP at the moment but my condition seems to be getting worse. For the past few years I know I haven't been able to swallow like a "normal" person. I would mention to my husband how I can't chug drinks, even water and I have always been a slow eater.

A little over a month ago I had an incident where I was eating a tuna sandwich and my throat felt tight, like the food wasn't going anywhere and it hurt. I would sometimes get this feeling with dairy products (dairy allergy) but it never got bad so I kept eating...the food still was not moving and I drank some water to get it to go down. I felt like I was choking and I threw up what I ate and was relieved of choking, but shook up of course. Since then I would get a feeling like my throat was irritated or I had something stuck in it, where my esophagus meets my collar bone area (where all this is occuring) It happened again a few weeks ago at a restaurant but not as bad. Saw a GP and she thought it might be the dairy allergy giving me GERD, which is irritating my esophagus...that or I was having allergic reactions. Well I haven't had any dairy for a week now, been on Prilosec for 3 days and now I am having pain in my esophagus that goes down into my chest, like the food is getting stuck there too. Or when I am eating I feel like I'm gonna throw up, but because the food isn't going down fast enough.

Other symptoms are :excessive burping....almost allll the time, even while eating and swallowing (which is not a fun experience). Painful swallowing sometimes, chest pressure and ache (feels like food is stuck there). My throat makes gurgling noises sometimes, even if I'm not eating or drinking and sometimes when I am drinking water.

I am leaning towards the Schatzki's Ring or esophageal web or stricture. It's driving me nuts, and I want to see the doc asap. I have a 6 month old son who needs his mother happy and not constantly worrying about this and about eating. Anyone have similar symptoms?

[Dlg13]

I just read a blog about Achalasia.  For those who have no resolution ask your doctors about it.

[pettyfan67]

Don't let this go...You could end up with Barrett's Esophagus like me.
I've had all these symptoms and had my throat stretched as well.

All of you please have your B12 checked...B12 deficiency is a #1 cause of heartburn. Have a B12 w/Folate test, Methylmalonic Acid Serum Test & an Instrinic Factor test done. B12 deficiency can kill.

Don't take PPi's or tums etc. Find out the root cause.

[redurchin]

Hi Katie, I too have difficulty swallowing, no answers.  I am wondering if you have found any and whether are conditions are similar.  My doctor wasn't taking me seriously so I told her I was going to go to Quebec and pay for my own MRI.  She ordered it and it showed thickening of my epiglottis and narrowing of my valleculae.  The thickening of my epiglottis is on the left side which happens to be where my discomfort is but they still say it's just a coincidence.  Not giving up.  I too have had to regurgitate food at bed time and brought up to undigested pieces of spaghetti.  I have also regurgitated a small amount of water with a larger amount of frothy saliva.  It's all very gross.  I am searching the internet for answers.  

[Ansafatima]

Hi evryone, i have had similar problem since 10 years. I am 25 now. This happens in cycles and i get relieved in between and it again comes back after few years. But now this is occuring very frequently, i have two kids and this problem is causing me ending up depressed. I consulted an ent for this , had endoscopy and he said its due to reflux that i an not able to swallow food easily and have got mucus at back of my throat due to it. He precribed me gaviscon. I took gaviscon and few days after i was feeling all good. I stopped gaviscon and now after few momths its again back. This time i am feeling extreme chest pain early morning. Pain increases with movement. Did anyone had such pain, if yes is it related to the reflux? Also please advise me what should i do. Who is a better person to consult about this and what treatment did you all found helpfull??
Also the very painfull question i have is, " weather this problem goes away for good or not"?

[katiermejia]

I have a throat problem doctors haven't figured it out yet I'm so miserable I would give anything to go back to normal I been having thi s since last year in summer time its been Almost a year I wish  doctor can find what's wrong its hard to swallow meat,feels like when I do eat it stays there and feels like I'm drowning same with fluids ,have Weight loss And hard to burp get pains in chest as well on fire and throwing up five min after I eat its not getting any better just worse :-(

[Ktasco]

I have neen having the same prob have u found out anything yet

[Athora80]

Well, I had an endoscopy last Friday and it turns out I have reflux esophagitis and chronic gastritis. They took biopsies which apparently are routine and they are testing me for H pylori. My throat problems have improved a bit, although I still have to chew well and eat slowly because it still feels inflamed. The weird thing is that I rarely feel the reflux so perhaps it's silent or only while I sleep?

I had a baby 7 months ago and while I was pregnant was the last time I remember having bad heartburn. I am one to do things the natural way and I HATE doctors and drugs. So I am not too keen on taking the prilosec which is making me bloated among other things. And after reading about the rebound effect and the damage it can cause I think I'm going to stop taking it and try the natural route. I figure that the years of eating dairy (which I am allergic too) has taken a toll on me and my body is saying "enough is enough".

I have cut out dairy completely, am taking probiotics, Manuka honey and changing over to a healing sort of diet for a while. I would rather not slap a band-aid on it, I want to figure out the root of the cause and heal myself.

What's odd is I never have stomach pain, rarely I ever have pain and the throat pain is mostly gone as of now...but I do burp alot still....it's annoying!

[AAABhelp]

Hi Athora , Did u get over this? I am having this problem for 6 months now. Please tell me how did u get out of it

[maclomer]

Especially in the morning, I wake up and when I swallow it's uncomfortable, as if I were swallowing against a back pressure from my stomach. Sometimes I have a chest pain along the path of my esophagus and I have a tenderness/tension/dull pain in my abdomen - in the centre, just below the xyphoid notch (rib cage centre). I had all these symptoms before (18 years ago) and the problem disappeared by itself. Much later I had a gastroscopy and they stretched my esophagus, saying there was a Schatzky ring there and a small hiatal hernia too! I've been taking 20 mg Prilosec daily for years (for heartburn) which is said not to be the best, long term.
A few days ago the nasty symptoms returned (that's why I'm here) - usually an endoscopy will sort out what's what and it's likely none of us has anything serious and once we know that, it usually gets better because we tend to keep focusing on it.

[mrsjt50]

I have had gerd for 15 years. I choke when I eat too. It got to the point, same as you. I had to have my esophagus streached two times now due to scare tissue. If you have gerd, milk does cause acid and will make the pain worse, but I dont think dairy intolorance would have any other effect that would cause the problem other than intestinal issues. There are a lot of foods that I dont eat due to it causing extra acid. With gerd, the acid backs up and errodes the esophagus, thus, causing scar tissue, narrowing the path for food to go down. I belch all the time! With prilosec, also try Gaviscon liquid. It really helps me. I used prilosec, I have pretty much tried them all. On dexilant now. I would ask your gp for a referal to see a GI. They will do a scope to see what is going on. They can tell you if its gerd, or anything else. Good luck.