I have 'lump in throat' symptoms similar
to those described in some of these posts,
but it doesn't seem serious enough yet to
see a physician. That said, I do have a
question. Let me explain my problem
better first.
Yesterday while eating (macaroni and
cheese, to be precise) I had a somewhat
common sensation, that of swallowing a bit
of food that hadn't been thoroughly enough
chewed. I do this a lot, because I have
a tendency to eat quickly to get it over
with and do whatever else I feel like
doing. Kind of stupid, I know, but it
happens. I've done it for years without
a problem.
This time, I took a drink to help wash it
down, but instead of the feeling going
away as it normally does, it stayed
partially. It was as if I had a piece of
food stuck roughly at the level of the
epiglotis. I panicked a bit, and took
another bite to try to push it down.
After doing this and drinking a huge
amount of water, I relaxed; the food
clearly wasn't lodged in my trachea or
blocking the esophagus. I could eat,
breathe, and speak with little or no
difficulty. I decided to ignore it in
the hopes that it would go away.
It's been about 24 hours now. I've
reviewed similar posts on this forum and
many others, and it seems to be a common
thing. I'm no longer panicking, but i'd
still like to be rid of it.
Eating, drinking, and just swallowing
helps. It feels as though the object
(i'm assuming there really is something
there, as I was eating when it started) is
forced down my throat and stops bothering
me as much, but if I try to swallow
several times to push it into my stomach,
I get a small pain low in the esophagus,
in the chest, really, as well as in my
back at the same elevation.
My question...Well, questions, are as
follows: if it is in fact a piece of food
stuck (somehow) in the esophagus, how can
I get rid of it? I can't visualize
what's going on here. How could some
piece of food be stuck, yet able to move
around, and not continue down with all my
other food? Why doesn't it interfere
with my eating?
I tried to induce vomiting last night, but
couldn't really bring myself to do it.
I'm not even sure if it would help. I've
tried eating and drinking thick
things...Which did nothing. If it's just
food and not some kind of disorder, won't
saliva eventually liquify it? That's my
hope. I'm doing some traveling tomorrow
and would rather not be on the road for 7
hours dealing with this. Any advice
would be appreciated.
|
drpepper0
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Aug 2005 Posts: 80
Posted: 03-23-06 13:02pm
Hey gunner... I have had the same
sensation. I've read that if it turns out
that it isnt food stuck..Then it is a
tense muscle. If you take a muscle
relaxer, and it makes it go away, then
viola. The more you think about it, the
worse it gets. Please update us on how
you are doing now.
All the best,
drpepper
|
Gunnerkelly
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Texas
Posted: 03-23-06 14:26pm
I kind of feel stupid about this,
considering the way it turned out. The
sensation I had started to fade about
three days after it began, and was gone
completely three or four days later. I
wondered what it had been, but eventually
decided that it was a burn. Why it took
me that long to realize it I don't know,
but i'm sure that's what it was now. The
food was hot, I recall that much; if it
had burned badly enough to make a blister,
that expanded tissue could easily feel
like a piece of food, i'm sure.
But anyway, it fixed itself. Nothing
really made it better...Those first three
days were pretty miserable. I'm going to
be a lot more careful next time I eat
something very hot.
|
sandyallen
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Posted: 03-23-06 17:21pm
Just try to remember and slow down and
chew more. I realize that it is easier
said than done. If this does continue,
you might check it out as their is such a
thing called a hiatlal hernia(sp), nothing
to get worried about though.
Good luck!
