Trouble swallowing?

Was this anyone's first symptom? Also, did you have trouble with liquids and solids?

My first symptoms was severe vertigo. My second was numbness and tingling. I've not had any issues swallowing.

YES!
It wasn't my first symptom, but a little over a year ago, I started having issues. It started with taking larger uncoated pills. It got worse and worse over time -- to the point where I was struggling with swallowing liquids as well as solids.

My neuro first sent me to an ENT specialist who sent me for a swallow study -- you eat and drink bites of food and drink of different texture and consistency while they record your throat via x-ray. That test showed that it was getting stuck lower in my esophagus than affects breathing (so technically not choking). The why was inconclusive from that test. However, they did provide some helpful tips -- take small bites; sip carbonated water between each bite; pull your chin back toward your throat as you swallow.

Then, I had two rounds of an upper-endoscopy to explore potential GI issues causing the esophagus to close up to prevent stomach acid (they were fairly confident this was the cause). However, both supported that it wasn't a stomach acid issue.

Then, I had a manometry test done -- this was the WORST part of the process. BUT, it was the most diagnostic. They insert a probe through your nose all the way down your esophagus, and have you take small sips of sal***er to see how the muscles of your esophagus work in concert with one another (the muscles should contract and loosen in a wave-like pattern). This was the test that actually identified the source of the problem. In the end, I had the expected wavelike pattern only 21% of the time with solids, and 18% of the time with liquids.
The rough part was that there is no medication or treatment for my issue -- but they are confident this is MS-related in my case since over time they rules out everything.

It took about 10 months to get through this process (given, I did move across the country and have to start over because my new provider didn't trust the results from my former provider). It was hard to feel like I was crazy or exaggerating; this is why the manometry was so important for me -- it finally validated my experiences, even if I had to deal with the emotion of no treatment and instead just the daily management of the tips I mentioned above.

I hope you find some answers. I really struggled, because it's not one of the most common MS-related issues, but I promise you're not alone in this!