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Fear of swallowing, Please Help!!!!

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Posted 4/8/2011 12:59 AM (GMT 0)

Please i need help/advice/direction!

 I am 6 months pregnant and on Friday, april 1st, i was sitting alone at home and was eating a chicken dinner,,, i was almost finished, and i had nearly choked to death (gave myself the heimlich) and out flew the piece of chicken... i didn't think of it as a big deal.... but the next day, i couldn't even swallow my own saliva.... now i am doing better by drinking fluids... but any food i eat i have to liquify in my mouth before i can swallow it... even then, it's a challenge! Please help! i need to know if there is help.... is there an end?!? i fear for my unborn child's health. cry

Posted 4/8/2011 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bunnymamma,

I used to have trouble swallowing as well. I've had the heimlich given to me two or three times when I was younger and after I started getting panic attacks I had trouble just swallowing my own saliva. It took me a long time to be able to eat alone for fear of choking. However, the more relaxed I am, the easier it is. If I don't think about it, I can even eat without drinking (which I almost never do, even now).

Right now, b/c the event is so fresh in your memory, you're thinking about something that should be automatic which makes it difficult. Have something to drink while you eat, try to be relaxed and take small bites. In time it will get easier and you won't think about it anymore.

By the way, congratulations on your pregnancy; I'm sure your baby will be fine.

Best of luck,

Skatterprank
Posted 4/8/2011 5:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bunnymamma and welcome. I am sorry to hear of your choking scare, I am sure that it was traumatic for you! S.P. has advised you well and I can assure you that with time, these fears will subside.

In the meantime, if you are worried about getting enough nutrition for you and the baby, suppliment with some drinkable meals. Ensure, Jamba Juice, even drinkable yogurt will give you some easy to ingest calories until you feel more comfortable with more solidified foods.

I hope that you feel better soon. Congratulations on the baby, welcome to the board, and post anytime with questions and/or sharing:)

Take care,
Scaredy Cat
Posted 4/8/2011 2:38 PM (GMT 0)
OMG! just hearing Something, especially something from two people i don't even know who are so willing to help me and be so compassionate, and that i am not the only one! Made me cry... thank you for your support. my own doctor couldn't even tell me anything.
Posted 4/8/2011 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
Oh no don't cry, that makes the throat constrict...LOL:) I am glad that you are feeling a little better about things.

Have you had anxiety previous to this experience? Hopefully not, and this is a one-and-done kind of thing. However, throat tightness and constriction is a common anxiety symptom, although yours sounds more situational-related to your scare.

If you feel that you do struggle with anxious thoughts and feelings though, feel free to post here anytime.

Best wishes!,
Scaredy Cat
Posted 4/10/2011 9:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, You said you choked eating chicken. I have done this same thing. I think it might have happened to me and you because chicken is a dry meat, especially the breast and now you are probably stressed because of that experience and maybe even have your throat a little inflamed. I hope you're doing better now. I always drink water when eating chicken now.
Posted 4/11/2011 4:09 PM (GMT 0)
is this something that WILL pass? it's been over a week, lost alot of weight... getting worried.

 i get angry and frustrated because some days where i do ok eating crackers, and puddings and things, and other days i can't eat a darn thing! how did you guys progress?

im sorry, getting super depressed because i don't understand.

Posted 4/11/2011 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
Just for clarification, did you have any throat constriction, or feelings of a lump in your throat before the choking incident? Have you struggled with anxiety before?

I ask because like I said, these are common anxiety symptoms. If however, you have not had anxiety, and are just experiencing this after choking, I wonder if you have a more physical problem, like bruising or inflamation of the esophagus due to the trauma of the obstruction.

I would try to find out which of these apply to you. If you suspect it is anxiety, then post back and we can give you some ideas on how to relax that area of the body, to relieve the constriction:)

Sorry you are still struggling:( Drink those Ensure shakes...lot's of good calories:)
S.C.
Posted 4/11/2011 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
no, i didn't have any of that, and no anxiety before... in fact... it was wierd... because i choked on friday, and had dinner that evening, then breakfast the next day and a snack later just fine..... it started happening at lunch/dinner on saturday at FRIDAY'S when i was with my husband... all of a sudden, i couldn't even drink my lemonade, or swallow my salad..... i ended up taking it home, and he ate it for me.... since then my husband and i are still trying to make heads or tails of it. i am going to the doctor on wed. morning to see if anything physical... but as the days go by, im starting to believe its anxiety-related... but i just don't know anymore.
Posted 4/11/2011 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
Okay, that will hopefully clear it up, tell the doctor the whole experience. It could be an irratation/imflamation that needs to heal, or it could be aniexty, he/she should be able to help either way.

I hope that this clears up, and you continue to have a healthy and happy pregnancy. If you ever have any more concerns, feel free to come back and post:)

Take care,
Scaredy Cat
Posted 5/6/2011 12:23 PM (GMT 0)

Hi all

I just read this thread of fear of swallowing, because my 9 year old daughter has just started to develop it.
Its been one week now, and the little thing is getting worse.
For my reading on the net, it sould like this thing is a psychological condition that is rear and overcomable. Is that right ?

I would love to hear of  case histories of this conditions, be it of adult or children, to help me and my wife understand this condition more clearly.

How does it start, and then escalate ?
What is going on inside the head of the sufferer, before and during eating and drinking episodes?

What do they think of when people advise them and try to help them?

What works and what doesn't work when helping a person going through this ?

She used to be a healthy normal  child who enjoyed her food. No it take her 1-2 hours to eat half a bowl of food and she has become very fussy.We need all the help we can get because she had turned to not talking to us, the most we can get out of here is a few sentences a day!
I thank you in advance.

Edit- I made you a thread of your own as this way all the members will be able to find your post and meet our newest member.

Here is link:  https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=9&m=2102900

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 5/6/2011 7:41:35 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/17/2011 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi bunnymamma, I e had a fear of swallowing food 4 about 4years now and I carryed my child everyone was telling me that my child will devolpe things and that but I went to see a dietation and she helped me a lot and put me on these drinks and I took them a few days and then I could drink them anymore, I live on yogurts and mash potatoe but no and again I can't eat mash only yogurts, I went to cbt and it helped me a bit but then the women let me down so I went to see another person and got let down again so I'm back to square one again and its making me feel depressed and everytink just wish one morning I could wake up and eat proberly, luckly my daughter loves her food and eats and doesn't copy me, iam thinking hypnotsis but not to sure about that but its gotten this far I think I may go through with it.
Posted 2/7/2012 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Bunnymamma,

I understand your frustration with this swallowing thing. It is definitely quite a tribulation to have to go through. Speaking for myself, about November 2011 I had a really bad choking incident that really conjured the 'Fight or Flight' response in me. Ever since the incident, I have had difficulty getting myself to swallow some food. As a Type 1 Diabetic, this added a not so fun dichotomy to my life; Matias, eat food because your bloodsugar is low (eat food or really bad things happen essentially to Type 1 diabetics when they are low), and I can't bring myself to swallow my darn food. I have just been basically forcing myself to eat food when I need to, despite how strong of an instinct it is to fight; it has not been pleasant by any means, so I feel your fear. I have noticed that I can eat fine from the confines of my home (for the most part), but when I am out and about, the problem comes into light. I have not spoken to a psychologist, but I know that my subconscious is the thing I am combating. I don't have a weird throat problem, it is purely psychological. Like anything though, keep facing the fear and desensitize yourself to it (but this takes time as I have noticed, as I still have a difficult time with it still). So, I guess the most my post can do for you is potentially bring you comfort.
Posted 2/7/2012 5:05 AM (GMT 0)
This happened to me years and years ago with chicken too. It freaked me out and I didn't want to eat anything and had the trouble swallowing. I gave up eating meat from that day on and it lasted quite a long time. The only thing I could eat was ice cream and juices/liquids. I did go to the doctors-anxiety. With time it passed and now it is not a problem. I just think it is another gift anxiety brings and it takes in learning how to deal with it and accept that it is something that will go away. Of course it is hard not to think about it when you eat. I would suggest making healthy smoothies in the blender with fruits and milk. You can also puree soups in the blender. If you have a juicer you can do fresh juices like carrot and other things. It is important for you to eat healthy and you can puree almost any food in the blender. My friend has two kids with swallowing problems and she has to puree foods for them to eat. It is amazing at what she is able to do with the blender.
I just hope you know that this will go away, your body is reacting to something and it has to relearn how not to do it.
Posted 2/7/2012 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
Great input Jilliana! Thank-you:)

Hi Matias and welcome!

I am sorry to hear of your troubles with this issue. I hope that you got some good ideas from reading through this thread. I do realize the importance of eating regularly for you, as my husband is also type 1!


Please feel free to post anytime with us regarding any anxiety issues...we are here to help and support. We also have a great diabetes room, so check it out if you haven't already.:)

Take care,
S.C.
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