I have had food get stuck in my esophagus and cause severe pain. Usually it will be pieces of chicken. When I finally get it down, usually by drinking enough water to move it on, the pain is gone. If I take too many of my pills at once, they can get stuck in my esophagus. I have felt that these things occur after I have had an acid reflux episode and it feels like my esophagus is swollen for a while from the acid reflux. Most of the time, my esophagus can handle the chicken and the pills.