Different DIY health question

[creekland]

This one's been tough to figure out via google, so I'm curious to Hive thoughts.

 

Late last week I had trouble swallowing (mainly liquids) for two days.  It's likely a nerve issue going along with other nerve issues - supposedly getting checked out next month.

 

It got better (phew! - 'cause that wasn't fun), but now, when I eat solid foods, it feels a bit like heartburn, without getting better using antacids.  This makes me think it's more of an "injury" type of thing - rather than actual heartburn.

 

My DIY self is contemplating whether it's better to skip a couple of meals totally to try to let it get better on its own or whether it'd be better to try milkshakes or something similar and see if that's better.

 

Skipping meals is easy since I don't get hungry.  I can't skip liquids as I still get thirsty (and that's not terribly good for the body anyway).  In general though, I also don't want to train my body down to fewer calories (Big Loser style).  I probably already have done that some and don't want it to get worse.

 

Or should this get better on its own regardless?

 

This one is a 100% brand new one for my mind to comprehend - all except the bit about it likely being related to nerve issues.  I found that out back in early April.   :glare:

[Guest]

Can you make smoothies?  My favorite is 1lb of spinach, three pears and two bananas.  I mean, as long as you aren't actually having milkshakes, it can't hurt right?  I'm not even close to an expert on my own body but it seems like solid food is a variable that you can control.  So you know it happens with solid foods; so try non-solid foods for a few weeks.  Then you'll have some documented evidence to take to a doctor or narrow down your google searches, or whatnot.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have swallowing issues.  If you have chronic heartburn (which can be "silent" in that you can't feel any actual burning), then it can burn your esophagus, making things swell.  It can also be due to allergies.  The source of my problem has not been pinpointed despite having a floroscopy (they take a live x-ray of you swallowing barium).  Mine gets so bad that sometimes I cannot swallow food or liquid and have had to toss any "cookies" that were stuck.  You can google laryngeal spasm.  Or esophageal spasm.  Or Barrett's esophagus. 

Edited May 24, 2016 by Jean in Newcastle

[Spryte]

my mother had this happen - it was severe silent heartburn. Her esophagus is terribly scarred. It's actually quite serious if she lets it go, and doesn't stay on top of her reflux meds.

 

I hope yours is fixed soon.

[PrincessMommy]

Have you had an endoscopy?   I would look into getting that done.

 

My aunt developed trouble swallowing and worse heartburn.  It got to the point where she couldn't eat before she went to get it checked out.  When she went in for the endoscopy they discovered pre-cancerous cells (she's a life-long smoker and long dealt with acid reflux).  But they dx her with Barrett's Esophagus (or Barrett's Syndrome).

 

you might want to look into that as a possibility.

[creekland]

I'm not really looking at other possibilities right now - not until "they" figure out if it's indeed a nerve issue or not as that seems quite plausible as a guess.  If they were to decide it's not, then yes, other things would need to be looked at if it returns as it did.

 

I'm mainly wondering what my best options are for making it feel better now that that specific episode is over - all except the damage it left behind(?).

 

Skip a couple of meals and let it try to heal itself with just liquids?

 

Go ahead and do milkshakes (or smoothies - hadn't thought of that one, but it's a good one)?

 

Or like most other injuries it just takes time and will improve regardless?

 

I can only do this until Thursday night.  At that point I'm with my mom for a while and mom doesn't "believe" in not eating or eating light.  I put up with a bit just to be at "my" normal 'cause she doesn't think it's enough and I'm hurting my health... (note my numbers and health are both better than hers).

 

I could easily skip tomorrow's meals though.

[Ewe Mama]

Those were two of Ram Man's first symptoms for esophageal cancer.

[creekland]

Those were two of Ram Man's first symptoms for esophageal cancer.

 

:grouphug:

 

The best guess for mine is cranial nerve issues from the tumor I have there or radiation they did attempting to kill the tumor.

 

If it's not that, then they can look into other things if it continues.  There's no reason to look until they eliminate the more obvious/probable cause.  Other things are also seemingly being affected from those nerves.  This is just the newest one.

[Ewe Mama]

:grouphug: right back at you!

 

I hope and pray the answer to your heartburn/discomfort is found quickly and is easy to treat.

[prairiewindmomma]

My dd had dysphagia (trouble swallowing) from nerve damage due to her brain tumor.

 

Skipping meals will not help.  

 

You are more likely to choke on thin liquids. Thicker stuff is easier to swallow, ironically.  Also, mixed textures are harder to deal with. 

 

Go for thick milkshake like texture for now and take notes. The notes will help when you bring it up later in discussion with medical people.

 

If you have problems with swelling like Jean mentions above, act pronto on getting help.....but if it's related to nerve damage rather than GERD or some type of issue like eosinophilic esophagitis, you can wait it out until your appointment.

[J-rap]

I would probably go with something that has a pudding-type texture, but keep eating.  Not too thin, not too think.  

 

Good luck and let us know how things go!

 

 

[Ali in OR]

If the question is milkshakes or no milkshakes, I don't really see a dilemma. Milkshakes of course! Chocolate (I hope there is some enjoyment in a chocolate milkshake for you).

[creekland]

My dd had dysphagia (trouble swallowing) from nerve damage due to her brain tumor.

 

Skipping meals will not help.  

 

You are more likely to choke on thin liquids. Thicker stuff is easier to swallow, ironically.  Also, mixed textures are harder to deal with. 

 

Go for thick milkshake like texture for now and take notes. The notes will help when you bring it up later in discussion with medical people.

 

If you have problems with swelling like Jean mentions above, act pronto on getting help.....but if it's related to nerve damage rather than GERD or some type of issue like eosinophilic esophagitis, you can wait it out until your appointment.

 

This is what happened on those bad days.  Liquids were problematic.  Most solids were fine (with a couple of single time exceptions).

 

Fortunately, with this thing being variable and the swallowing issue still being new, it went away after a couple of days.  I think it's still there, but much more minor.  I can't tell for sure though.  That part could very well be mental, but it's similar now to what gave me a suspicion that there was a problem coming in the first place - short "misfires" that happen to any of us, but those coming more frequently than usual.

 

It's way too early to know it's a definite problem that will continue, but it was a problem those days and it matches problems that can happen from the nerves involved.  Plus those days were really bad ones with those other known issues so it all makes sense (to me).

 

For now, I just need the area to recover so eating solid stuff isn't painful.  So far, today is just fine, but I also haven't eaten (or drank) anything yet.

 

If the question is milkshakes or no milkshakes, I don't really see a dilemma. Milkshakes of course! Chocolate (I hope there is some enjoyment in a chocolate milkshake for you).

 

You have a point... though vanilla or jamocha tend to be my favorite choices - coconut or caramel too when I can get them.

 

I suppose I have to decide soon considering today's the only day I have free from eating commitments. 

Edited May 25, 2016 by creekland

[creekland]

Just to update ('cause I hate threads without "endings"), I think all is well now.

 

I ended up skipping breakfast yesterday (but drinking Green Tea without problems) and just having half a can of refried beans with some cheese and salsa added for lunch.  That was fine too.  I was going to skip supper, but ended up joining hubby for a couple of chicken tenders and pasta.  All was fine.

 

I'm now leaning toward thinking if it was all due to something just getting caught somewhere those couple of days and not really even being related to anything else.  I guess I'll know if it returns at some point or not.

 

I know I'm glad it's gone, at least for now.  There are aggravating issues I put up with and have gotten used to, but those don't really affect life that much.  This was a whole different level of WTH?  Admittedly, it makes my everyday stuff seem not that bad, so I suppose there's a plus - as long as it doesn't return!

[nd293]

Any chance you injured yourself swallowing tablets? Dd did this recently dry-swallowing a tablet, which, as she now knows is potentially very dangerous.

 

We put her on a soft food diet - puréed fruit, soup, yoghurt mostly. It took a couple of days before she progressed to food like rice, and another couple before she was happy eating hard food.

 

It was really painful for her, and terrifying for me (because I'm the one who Googles stuff) but the soft food approach gave it time to heal itself.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Sounds a lot like reflux.  The first time I went to a doctor for heartburn issues was because I felt like something was stuck in my throat.  Like if you swallow a pill that doesn't seem to "go down".  Turned out I had reflux. I take Prevacid.  That made that part go away at least.

 

 

[creekland]

Any chance you injured yourself swallowing tablets? Dd did this recently dry-swallowing a tablet, which, as she now knows is potentially very dangerous.

 

We put her on a soft food diet - puréed fruit, soup, yoghurt mostly. It took a couple of days before she progressed to food like rice, and another couple before she was happy eating hard food.

 

It was really painful for her, and terrifying for me (because I'm the one who Googles stuff) but the soft food approach gave it time to heal itself.

 

I don't recall a single "this started it all" episode, but skipping eating breakfast followed by soft stuff did seem to let the pain part get better after "whatever it was" ended.  I've no clue why it ended either.  Maybe a crumb of something somewhere that finally worked free?

 

Sounds a lot like reflux.  The first time I went to a doctor for heartburn issues was because I felt like something was stuck in my throat.  Like if you swallow a pill that doesn't seem to "go down".  Turned out I had reflux. I take Prevacid.  That made that part go away at least.

 

About a year ago I tried Nexium for what a doctor told me was heartburn.  Nexium didn't help at all, nor did those symptoms match heartburn (or this).  That still occasionally comes and goes, but is more gone than here so I deal with it.  This - a totally different feeling - did seem to match heartburn after it started, but didn't respond to antacids.  A lot of other symptoms matched though, so I think it was related - just "damage" that needed to repair itself (guess).

 

Whatever, it's gone now - all of yesterday was good, even eating soup and a sub.  Hopefully it will stay that way.  If it returns it would definitely jump into the "needs to be looked at" category fairly quickly (even by my standards) because I don't particularly like that choking feeling while trying to drink things.  I am glad I gave it a couple of days to get better on its own though, 'cause it seems to have done so.