Dysphagia?

[concernedcasslaf]

Hi. I am currently undiagnosed. I was wondering if Oropharyngeal dysphagia is possible if I only intermittently have a feeling of difficulty initiating a swallow. (This has been happening intermittently for 2 yrs) It only randomly happens when swallowing saliva. I have never choked on liquids or solids. I do have a lot of anxiety due to many other neurological symptoms...to which I have had all the testing (mri of brain and neck) bloodwork, been to the neurologist who says there is nothing wrong with me...so my question is would this be true dysphagia or the beginning of it? Or something else, like globus sensation ( as I also have that feeling of something in my throat) Could it be some kind of muscle disease?

Please help!

[supermum_ms]

Um...... I feel compelled to point out that your Q is a bit of a 'foot in mouth' moment from my perspective, considering what i told you about my self lol anyhoo to answer your question......

Q1: if this is ms, would having dysphagia as an onset symptom mean it makes for a poor prognosis?

A: The most important part of your question is... "If this is MS"

It would be highly unusual for Dysphagia to be a presenting or early sx of MS, in general it's more frequently seen in late stages, though it can happen any time, it isn't one of the common presenting sx's. Stats on Dysphagia are 30-40% of pwMS experience Dysphagia and generally MSers who have difficulty swallowing, also have speech disorders too.

Q2: Would the disease be more severe?

A: "MS can cause dysphagia if there is damage to any part of the brain that controls swallowing, or damage to the connections between the brain and the spinal cord (the ‘brainstem’).3 "

http://www.msaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/essentials-swallowingdifficulty.pdf

There are way too many variable factors for anyone to determine what will exactly happen to an MSer down the road........

Your thinking about prognosis and severity.....your focus is light years ahead of where it should be, there isn't any clinical or test evidence to suggest that you actually do have Dysphagia, your assuming more than what is evident and jumping to worse case scenarios, way before MS is even on your list.

I'm definitely advice you to take a step back for a moment!

Cheers.............JJ

[concernedcasslaf]

Thank you for replying. I really hope this can be caused from anxiety. But with all my symptoms I highly doubt it. I have an appt with my gp soon, hopefully doing some further testing.

[concernedcasslaf]

Thanks! Another question, if this is ms, would having dysphagia as an onset symptom mean it makes or a poor prognosis? Would the disease be more severe?

[essdipity]

Another possibility is that this is a result of your anxiety and just goes hand in hand with it. Anxiety is well-known for causing 'lump in throat' and similar physical issues. Have you checked this out? I suggest having the anxiety treated, possibly medicated, and see whether this problem abates. That'd be a good thing, don't you think?

The diagnostic process is a hard one for many of us, and can take years of frustration. I've been through those 'wars' myself and I do understand. So that's why I think dealing with or at least investigating what is *not* MS will help clear away some issues and make things easier.

Good luck in your diagnostic journey.

ess

[supermum_ms]

Dysphagia is just the technical term meaning difficulty swallowing, I honestly don't believe situation specific swallowing issues with only saliva, could be neurological caused but since you mention "also have that feeling of something in my throat" it's more likely one of the other causes eg GERD, Thyroid issues etc etc. than the neurological or muscular causes. see below to get some of the alternative ideas.....  

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tc/difficulty-swallowing-dysphagia-overview

Personally, i have a lot of difficulty speaking (started in 09) and when that's really playing up, I also have trouble moving solids around so I can chew and get it where it needs to be so I can swallow, chocking sometimes happens but for me it really depends on the solid i'm trying to swallow eg steak, rice etc. I can't really remember having difficulty with any liquids, though my son frequently chokes whilst drinking liquids, why i've no true idea but I suspect it's more to do with 'doing without thinking' and highly doubt it's anything to have any concerns about.

My issues are muscular and from what i've learnt, i really don't think what you experience is anything like what generally happen's if it was but as i said, that feeling of having something in your throat could be a clue to the answer to what it is, so it might be a good idea to speak to my GP to find out what it is.

Cheers.........JJ