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Swallowing
Can you forget how to swallow?
Recently I’d say over the last month or so I have been having some issues. But the most anxiety producing is the swallowing problem I seem to be getting/have.
It happened again last night a few times while trying to eat.
The food gets to the back of the throat and I can’t perform the act of swallowing. It’s like the brain forgot to signal the act of swallowing.
When it first started happening I thought it was just a fluke because I was able to swallow with the water. I didn’t think that would happen again.
Well. It happened 3 times last night. I stopped eating after a while of that.
I have a neurologist appointment coming up.
Does this happen to senior citizens? I’m 56.
Thanks for your time.
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Yes, your neurologist can request the swallow test first since it is possibly tied to neurology and then, depending on the results, get referred to the gastroenterologist. Do this if it can expedite getting you tested sooner. If your neurologist requests the test, your insurance will be checked, you can call to get scheduled asap, get the test test done, follow up with your neurologist to review results and get next steps.
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2 ReactionsI also believe your swallowing issue (like mine) is tied to your cervical spine injury/radiculopathies and neuropathies. Cervical spine/spinal cord issues can affect your brain, spinal cord, nerve roots, upper/lower limbs and autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic).
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2 ReactionsI am happy to share everything I have learned with you. My journey has been long (since 2011) and if I can help you expedite getting to the right doctors to diagnose/treat you, I would love to❣️ I feel like I wasted a lot of time trying to put the puzzle pieces of a very long list of symptoms together on my own. Many doctors look narrowly rather than holistically at their patients. We are one person with many systems that need to work well together. I think this is why there is so much waste I. The healthcare systems and poor patient outcomes. Doctors need to treat the whole person and seek to get to root cause or prevention rather than quickly prescribe medication and send you away due to time constraints. We can end up on a lot of expensive and harmful medications that are only masking/band-aiding problems rather than treating them. Many doctors do not take you off medications once you are on them so you really need to question why you are on a medication and ask to be taken off them if they are not helping or cause too many side effects.
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3 ReactionsThank you so much. You have been so helpful already, I’m so grateful for guidance. I agree with everything you’ve said. Well Put!
Can’t tell you how many meds I am on. I’ve gone down the list and I need them. In time I may be able to reduce dosage but that will take time. Still, I’m hopeful.
You are so right. I say I have spasms in different muscle groups at the same time. It’s not like one decides to spasm stop then go then another acts up although at times it does happen like that but not lately. It’s in back, legs and feet.
Hopefully soon I’ll get somewhere soon. 🙏🏻
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2 Reactionsi concur with @dlydailyhope. get the MRI ASAP. any irreversible damages to the spine makes the rest moot. OK? d
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3 ReactionsYes, I will. I see my primary care for a physical soon. I will fill him in and see if he will order one…I’m so used to doctors passing the buck. I will need to get direct. Thanks Danny.
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1 ReactionGreat! Primary doctors can definitely order cervical/thoracic/lumbar MRIs and then you can get the results sent to an orthopedic spine specialist.
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4 ReactionsI really hope I say the right thing. I’ll bring my dermatomes and show him what hurts where. I hope he orders it.
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3 Reactionsyou'll do fine nemo. when you see your doctor. be calm. don't let him/her get you flustered in what you want to say. don't let the doctor distract you from what you want & need. it can happen before you know it. use your dermatomes the way you rehearse it. be precise and stay on point.
and yes. i said rehearse. it helps a lot. d
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2 ReactionsI often can't swallow my saliva when I'm in bed. Sometimes I take a drink of water or eat a bite of cracker. I have multiple swallowing issues, beginning with my tongue, which doesn't always move food the way it should. Then there are the sphincters at the top and bottom of the esophagus, both of which don't always open immediately, so food sits there until they decide to open. The rings of cartilage around my esophagus fire at random instead of in sequence.
Recently I had my esophagus dilated, and swallowing has been better. That's the second time I've had it done.
Esophageal dysmotility takes some of the pleasure out of eating, or at the least makes it take a lot longer.
I don't understand why the doctor didn't tell you the test results. Maybe you can press to get them.
Jim