Robin M Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Good morning from rainy, dreary California. Whether you call it aging or stupidity, I ended up spending last night at the emergency room. Yesterday was my day to open the shop and James went with me. Father left home around 2:00 to attend the Christmas Party/ Annual Event for the Audio Engineering Society Christmas. We closed up shop and headed for home. I had been a craving Jimboy's Steak Taco salad so picked one up on the way home. I have been on a strict no eating out diet since my blood pressure had been giving me issues. I gave in to the cravings. Come supper time I cooked James some french fries and we sat down to eat. The first bite of the salad was delicious. The second bit had a nice piece of steak. A little big I thought absently, but shouldn't be a problem. The nice piece of steak had a mind of its own and decided not to go down and lodged itself in my esophagus, just far enough down that I couldn't spit it out. I've had bits of bread and chicken get semi lodged before so proceeded to drink some water to wash it down. All of the sudden, I was coughing and choking because the water backed up and wouldn't go down. Yes, I spewed, but the steak didn't come out. Went to the bathroom and tried the finger method to get myself to throw it up. Didn't work. I gave it a few minutes to work itself down, then tried some ginger ale. The fizz usually works, but no go. I couldn't eat or drink anything. I could breath fine as long as I didn't panic and spit out saliva as it collected in my throat. James wanted me to call 911 and I told him if I start having trouble breathing or pass out, that's what I wanted him to do. I called father, told him the problem and asked him to come home immediately. I wanted, I needed to go to the emergency room. One of the men in his group is a doctor and he told John the same thing - If I couldn't drink water to go to emergency. James paced the floor with me as I tried to remain calm about this meat lodged in my throat which was extremely uncomfortable and painful. He made it home in record time and we went to the emergency room. Surprisingly, it wasn't very busy and I only had to wait about 15 minutes. In the meantime they gave me a barf bag to spit up in. After all the questions, the doctor came in and told me the scoop. They would give me adderral, a muscle relaxant and valium. They would give it two hours and see if the muscles in my throat relaxed enough for the "foreign body" (their word) to work itself down. If it didn't, then the GI doctor would come in and remove it using a probe of some sort. I forgot what they called it. The Doctor said the 75% of the time, the relaxation technique didn't work and they had to remove the object. They laid me down, juiced me up with all this medicine, constantly monitored my blood pressure which of course has gone through the roof during all this. I do have to say that since Kaiser has computerized all our medical records, everyone knew my medical history, what med's I'm taking, what I'm allergic to, etc. I sent James and John off for the period of time and they went back over to the AES party. James had a great time mingling with all the musicians and checking out the equipment. They came back after two hours, just in time for the doctor to decide he would have to remove the object. They called in their GI specialists, ousted John and James from the room and went to work. They gave me a waking sedative, oxygen, and laid me on my side. The doctor kept patting me on the shoulder, telling me to relax. Yeah, easier said than done when you are going to stick a probe down my throat. At times like these, all the yoga and meditation relaxation techniques pretty much go bye bye. I just concentrated on breathing and anyway by that point, the medicines had kicked in and relaxed me. He stuck this o ring thing in my mouth to bit on and keep my mouth open. Then sprays a numbing agent in my throat, telling me not to swallow it. Easier said than done, but he was fast with the sucker machine. He did this twice, then proceeded to stick the gadget down my throat. No it wasn't fun, but he got it out. To be honest, it made me pee my pants. But no one seemed to notice. Afterwards they showed me the pictures of the x-ray of the piece of meat, plus areas showing my esophagus was bruised. We got home around 12:30 a.m. and now I'm on a liquid diet for today and soft foods for the next couple days. They prescribed Omeprazole which is supposed to help relax my throat. My throat doesn't feel bad, but I'm am all over sore. I do have to say the nurses and doctors were very nice and friendly, concerned and helpful, which really helped and explained each step before they did it. I'm feeling fortunate this morning, that the thing didn't cut my breath off and I didn't pass out leaving James in a panic of what to do. We discussed it later and made sure he knew to call 911, then run across the street and get our neighbor who is retired paramedic. I'm really not sure how he'd react in a real emergency. Whether he'd panic or do fine, left to handle things himself. Let's hope I never have to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Oh my gosh, you must have been terrified! I'm so glad everything worked out and you did not choke. Take it easy today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 :grouphug: I'm glad you are all right! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulubelle Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Thank God you are doing well! What a story. You had me captivated by it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Yikes! Glad you are ok. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammaruss Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Oh my goodness. Scary! I am sooo happy that you are ok. Take care!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarfoot Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 :grouphug: It is fast, isn't it? I'm always amazed when DH leaves for the hospital to "retrieve" something from someone's throat (usually meat;)), and he's back home in less than an hour. Get some rest, and remember to chew that steak really well!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 :grouphug:Robin:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 :grouphug: That's a common thing in my family, unfortunately. We've stopped eating at Outback Steakhouse so often! It's happened to my dad often enough that the first time it happened to me, I knew exactly what was happening, thankfully! I haven't had to go to the ER yet, but my dad has, and my BIL had to go recently too :( Do you have GERD, by any chance? That increases the incidence of this sort of thing, and I notice that whenever my GERD is flaring, I have more trouble with food getting stuck on its way down--even things like rice and pasta. I've only ever choked on meat though. Again, :grouphug: It's an experience that's scary as heck. I hope you don't have to repeat it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 They laid me down, juiced me up with all this medicine, constantly monitored my blood pressure which of course has gone through the roof during all this. P. J. O'rourke has some line about how nothing is completely bad if you can turn it into an amusing story. Congratulations on something not completely bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I am so glad that you are all right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 Thanks everybody. Today I've been on an all liquid diet drinking lots of water, tea, broth, ensure. I'm still hungry but oh well. Tomorrow I get to eat soft foods. Do you have GERD, by any chance? That increases the incidence of this sort of thing, and I notice that whenever my GERD is flaring, I have more trouble with food getting stuck on its way down--even things like rice and pasta. I've only ever choked on meat though. It's an experience that's scary as heck. I hope you don't have to repeat it! I don't have Gerd, but have noticed a problem with bread and chicken having a hard time going down if eat too much a portion at one time. I mentioned it to the doctor last night. I'm glad my husband was there, because I didn't hear a thing the doctor told me. He thinks I have a narrowing of my esophagus so I'll be going back in a month for a full GI scan. In the meantime they gave me prescription prilosec to take in the mornings. My dad has this problem and he takes some pill for it that relaxes his throat. Anyway,this is something I hope never to repeat. Won't ever be eating another jimboy's steak taco salad again. Will be more careful to eat small portions from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMom Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I don't have Gerd, but have noticed a problem with bread and chicken having a hard time going down if eat too much a portion at one time. I mentioned it to the doctor last night. I'm glad my husband was there, because I didn't hear a thing the doctor told me. He thinks I have a narrowing of my esophagus so I'll be going back in a month for a full GI scan. In the meantime they gave me prescription prilosec to take in the mornings. My dad has this problem and he takes some pill for it that relaxes his throat. My husband used to have this problem on a recurring basis. He finally ended up in the ER with a nearly identical story to yours just over a year ago. When the GI doc did the scope to remove the steak, he found Schatzki Rings. He used a "balloon" to dilate the esophagus. A very quick and easy procedure. My dh hasn't had an issue since. Hope it all turns out well for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Wow! Poor thing... :grouphug: That had to be scary. Glad to hear you're doing better. Yikes. Hubby takes Omeprazole for his acid reflux -- it is also known as Prilosec. Your throat will need it. Hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 So glad to hear you are at home recovering! Can i suggest as well as talking to your DS about what to do in that kind of emergency that you also write an action plan and tape it near the phone. Include your address and step by step what he should do, call 911, provide address, go to neighbour etc. If he does panic it will all be right there for him, sometimes in an emergency we can forget the simple things like address, phone number. I have a plan for DD because my DH works away often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 So glad to hear you are at home recovering! Can i suggest as well as talking to your DS about what to do in that kind of emergency that you also write an action plan and tape it near the phone. Include your address and step by step what he should do, call 911, provide address, go to neighbour etc. If he does panic it will all be right there for him, sometimes in an emergency we can forget the simple things like address, phone number. I have a plan for DD because my DH works away often. Great suggestions and we have been discussing. This is the 2nd instance in which he's been home alone when an emergency happened. The first when dh broke his ankle last year and now this. Both times we've been able to help ourselves and tell him what to do. However, what happens, God forbid, the time we aren't capable of doing that? Having a poster list taped over the phone is a good idea. He has been putting together an emergency phone list notebook for webelos. We'll have to finish it and put by the phone as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 When the GI doc did the scope to remove the steak, he found Schatzki Rings. He used a "balloon" to dilate the esophagus. A very quick and easy procedure. My dh hasn't had an issue since. Hope it all turns out well for you! Thank you. The doctor did mention to dh about the balloon. Having an upper gi exam done next month. Thanks for the link to Schatzki Rings. Need to educating myself on all this wonderful stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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