Experiences with choking?

[Danestress]

Has anyone else ever almost choked to death?

 

Last night, in a public effort to not be gross by spitting out the meat that I could not bite through as expected, I took too much meat in my mouth. And then because I couldn't seem to chew it and was surrounded by others, and in an attempt to be lady like rather than gross, I tried to swallow. And then I had a piece of meat blocking my throat. Couldn't speak. Couldn't breath. I actually was in a room full of doctors and stupidly got up and made for the back porch because I wanted air and privacy.

 

My husband followed me out but I couldn't tell him what was happening. He figured it out, I guess, and did the heimlich. I can't believe it. I was seriously going to die. Well, intellectually I understand that there were probably six people inside who know how to perform a tracheotomy on the fly, lol, but still. I believe my husband saved my life, and as I pointed out to him later, that was entirely against his own economic best interests, so kudos to him:)

 

I am so horrified. I can't stop thinking about how it felt. I can't imagine eating again. I am really traumatized at the thought of having to swallow food. I am drinking my coffee.

 

I am hostessing a lunch today and then going to a dinner event at the home of DH's co-worker. I can't stand thinking about having to swallow food, especially in front of someone.

 

Has anyone every been there? Did you get over it? How long did it take? Did you ever get to where you just swallowed pieces of food without even thinking about it?

[Soror]

I didn't end up with the heimlich, I was home alone w/ 2 kids. I was trying to swallow some chunks of garlic for medicinal purposes, it was too big. I had the life flashing before me business. I don't remember how I got it out- it was a desperate, desperate feeling. I do try to be more careful now with the size of bites and chewing. It has been a while now, nearly a year, I don't think about it expect occasionally.

[Tammyla]

:grouphug: Oh gosh, you poor thing. I'm so happy your dh followed you out.

 

My experience wasn't so dangerous, no heimlich needed, but the fright factor of choking has caused me to take very small bites. Many see my little bites as lady-like table manners...If they only knew.

 

Others may have better coping strategies, and I hope you find yourself at peace with eating again.

[....]

:grouphug: My daughter choked when we were camping about two years ago. My husband kept trying to "unchoke" her. He tried to call for help, but -yep - no cell phone reception. I went through the steps for Infant CPR (it went on THAT long) that I had watched a video of a couple of days earlier on YouTube. The Infant CPR steps WORKED! And I had just happened to watch them online earlier. Just happened...

 

She's fine now, BTW and I'm sure she doesn't remember it.

 

What an absolutely horrific experience.

 

:grouphug:, again.

[Mejane]

My friend choked on a piece of watermelon last summer. She was alone and had to heimlich herself. She was terrified. I don't think she was afraid or didn't want to eat after, but I do know she resolved never to shove big pieces of food in her mouth again. Small steps... small bites...

[Sahamamama]

In my family, we are all chokers. What I mean is that all three of my mother's brothers have actually had to have their throats STRETCHED, due to repeated choking. Their throats are too small. One uncle actually had to have his throat stretched twice.

 

I always wondered, as a child, why I couldn't bring myself to swallow oatmeal or pieces of steak. I felt as though I was choking/gagging.

 

With my children, I've tried to keep in mind the family genetics. All of my children have been easy gaggers (with the predictable results). :tongue_smilie:People at church have thought we were going overboard to cut up the girls' food into little bits, or to keep them on soft foods for so long, but we do know that what goes down WILL come up, if not prepared properly.

 

I once heard a woman at church scoff at this, at a pancake breakfast. She turned to my then 2.5 year old daughter and, before I could intervene, gave her a piece of French toast. :001_huh: I know this is petty, but I made it a point to "aim" my daughter in that woman's direction for about the next five minutes. WHAM! We got the result we expected, all over the lovely Christmas dresses. :lol::lol::lol: It was worth it, though.

 

I was electrocuted on a missions trip to Mexico (nothing's grounded, someone was welding a metal truss that I was touching). Yes, it did take a while to settle down after that. I have never forgotten that feeling of, "Oh, wow, I am going to die if something doesn't happen soon." My heart literally stopped. It HURT so much when it started up again.

 

So, yes, you will feel like you've gotten another "start" to life after this. But I'd say that is a WONDERFUL gift! And give your husband a hug and a kiss! You are worth more to him than your life insurance policy! :grouphug:

 

I would also recommend eating soft foods for at least a day, so you can psychologically recover while proving to yourself that you can, in fact, swallow without dire consequences. Is it possible to serve some soft foods at these functions? Applesauce? Pureed soup? I do understand the aversion to swallowing. Start with something very smooth, and cold -- a milkshake? Work your way back "up" to meat, but give it time, if necessary. I would personally feel more comfortable with cooked/soft foods, rather than raw/hard foods, until I settled down a bit. Just thinking about swallowing meat after choking on it might make you more likely to gag. HTH.

Edited December 18, 2010 by Sahamamama

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I must be genetically related to Sahamamama. I've performed the Heimlich on my brother, 3 of my kids, and my nephew. We are all chokers. My cousin is a GI dr. and jokes about stretching throats for a discount at family reunions.:tongue_smilie: Choking can be absolutely horrifying for the choker and the rescuer.

 

However, my most recent experience really has me identifying with you. I choked on a pill right before Thanksgiving and had to be scoped (EGD). After the scope I COULD NOT SWALLOW FOOD. I started having esophageal spasms so severely every time I tried to eat that I had to go to the ER to rule out heart problems 5 days later. I thought I would never eat again.

 

The thing that helped me get past the mental horror of eating was broth. I ate chicken broth for 2 days. Then, I started soaking bread in the broth and eating that. The next day I could tolerate soft vegetables in the soup. Now I'm eating everything but big hunks of meat. I finally managed to swallow a pill this week.

 

I did some research online and you (and I) are having a very common reaction to choking.There may even be some swelling in your throat that you are sensing and is causing the reluctance to eat. One of the recommendations was to avoid cold food and drinks. Don't drink anything colder than room temp. and slightly warmer actually worked better for me. Also, avoid rice, bread, pasta,etc., these things stick to you esophagus and cause spasms. Always have slightly warm water next to you to wash down your food. Don't even attempt to eat if you don't have liquid to wash it down.

 

It will get better. :grouphug:

Pm me if you want to.....I completely understand what you're going through.

[Cera]

Our daughter choked when she was 5.

 

It took her almost 2 weeks to eat solid food again and another three months or so to eat it normally (taking bites rather than nibbling at it). For the first couple of days I think it was due to pain and swelling in her throat but after that it was purely psychological.

[rafiki]

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[Danestress]

Ironically, I had some kind of GI thing all weekend and couldn't eat much anyway - just a little toast yesterday. So the feeling that I am supposed to eat and can't was delayed a few days, and I have eaten fine even though I am still so horrified by anything firm that I couldn't eat it on a bet. I ate egg today, so I am on the road.

 

Thank you all, and please cut up your food and your children's food smaller than you really think you have to. I am amazed and how quickly and dramatically a choking tragedy can happen.

[myfunnybunch]

I can't stop thinking about how it felt. I can't imagine eating again. I am really traumatized at the thought of having to swallow food.

 

This happened to my dd when she was...8? We didn't even know until she managed to cough it back up. It took about a week before she could eat normally and longer for her to stop feeling scared when she ate. But eventually she stopped thinking about it.

 

:grouphug:

 

Glad you're here posting while you drink your coffee.

 

Cat

[Catwoman]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I'm so glad you're ok! That must have been terrifying! I can absolutely understand why you're nervous about eating, and wouldn't be at all surprised if there's some swelling in your throat as a result of the choking.

 

If you really don't want to eat while you're out in a group, don't eat. Say you're not hungry, your allergies are acting up, or even come right out and tell people that you choked on a piece of meat and your throat is really sore. You don't necessarily have to tell anyone you're nervous about eating, although I would think most people would be understanding about it.

 

Ok, maybe not everyone will be understanding. There's always that one crazy idiot who is at every party; I think he rides along with those 2 old ladies who do the polka together all night long, but who no one actually recognizes. That guy will tell you his own personal choking story that will make you so disgusted that you will never want to eat anything ever again.

 

There's one in every crowd. (Plus the 2 old ladies.) ;)

 

Cat

[Sparkle]

Ugh, you poor thing. What a traumatic experience. I've never choked on a piece of food, but I have frequently swallowed liquid in my airway and then triggered a coughing episode where I can't seem to catch my breath - very scary. So glad your dh was with you and able to help you.

[rafiki]

.

[melissel]

Ironically, I had some kind of GI thing all weekend and couldn't eat much anyway - just a little toast yesterday. So the feeling that I am supposed to eat and can't was delayed a few days, and I have eaten fine even though I am still so horrified by anything firm that I couldn't eat it on a bet. I ate egg today, so I am on the road.

 

Thank you all, and please cut up your food and your children's food smaller than you really think you have to. I am amazed and how quickly and dramatically a choking tragedy can happen.

 

:grouphug: I'm so glad you're OK too. We're chokers here as well (though ours is related to reflux), and it is extremely traumatic. I'm glad you're on the road to recovery. Be kind to yourself!

[Melissa in Australia]

My brother choked on a wooden screwdriver when he was 2. it was at least 3 inches long and had a diameter of 1 inch. My mum has no idea how he swallowed it. she walked in his room to find him turning blue, and falling over. she grabbed him. she knew he was choking, but didn't know what on. she tried everything, including holding him upside down, the heimlich, whacking on the back. she eventually reached in and managed to pull it out.

She kept the wooden screwdriver for years, and showed all of us when we were older how big an object a young child can try to swallow

[Catwoman]

My brother choked on a wooden screwdriver when he was 2. it was at least 3 inches long and had a diameter of 1 inch. My mum has no idea how he swallowed it. she walked in his room to find him turning blue, and falling over. she grabbed him. she knew he was choking, but didn't know what on. she tried everything, including holding him upside down, the heimlich, whacking on the back. she eventually reached in and managed to pull it out.

She kept the wooden screwdriver for years, and showed all of us when we were older how big an object a young child can try to swallow

 

Your mother must have been scared to death! Thank goodness she was able to remain calm enough to know what to do to save him!

 

Cat

[Melissa in Australia]

Your mother must have been scared to death! Thank goodness she was able to remain calm enough to know what to do to save him!

 

Cat

My mother was only 18 at the time, she is an amazing woman

[melissel]

My brother choked on a wooden screwdriver when he was 2. it was at least 3 inches long and had a diameter of 1 inch. My mum has no idea how he swallowed it. she walked in his room to find him turning blue, and falling over. she grabbed him. she knew he was choking, but didn't know what on. she tried everything, including holding him upside down, the heimlich, whacking on the back. she eventually reached in and managed to pull it out.

She kept the wooden screwdriver for years, and showed all of us when we were older how big an object a young child can try to swallow

 

:scared: Every once in awhile I think I really should brush up on my meager CPR/Heimlich knowledge. This is one of those times! It's amazing the ways kids can find to injure themselves.

[LittleIzumi]

:grouphug: I choked back in February, while I was home alone with my kids. Dh was in route home from work, we went to my doctor immediately. I was able to work up the food from my throat eventually, but it seemed like forever. Ds had the phone in his hand ready to call 911. I could still breathe, but couldn't talk and knew food was stuck. Everytime I tried to drink water, it would project back through my nose. I just kept trying little sips and to encourage myself to vomit and tried to focus on breathing so I didn't have a panic attack on top of it. It WAS scary.

 

How are you doing today? In my case, my throat was VERY sore for days after and my voice was raspy as well. It was definitely traumatized as was I.

 

My kids have choked dozens of times and I've been able to dislodge theirs, but it's completely different when it's YOU that is choking and no adults are aware of it.

 

We've since discovered we have Eosinophilic Esophagitis and this will likely happen again.

 

Dh does that ALL THE TIME. Maybe I can actually get him in to the doc in Jan. He keeps saying he should go as that can't be normal, lol.

[ChristusG]

Choking freaks me out. I am paranoid about it. I still cut up my 3 year olds grapes and hotdogs into really small pieces. I know people think I'm crazy but I really don't care. My 6 year old seriously choked when she was 3 and I had to do the heimlich. It was on a piece of cereal....those puffs that are shaped like small balls. I've never let her eat those again. Both kids have choked numerous times where I've had to reach down their throats and dislodge something. My 3 year old choked on a bite of apple when she was two in the middle of Wal Mart. I was checking out and the lady behind me tapped me and told me my daughter was choking. You should have seen how quickly I moved! I was right there and I didn't even notice her choking.

 

I chew my food very well. I don't blame you for being afraid to eat. Choking is something that scares me. I've never actually choked, but I've had a few episodes of something large slipping down my throat and there's that momentary panic. I don't like that feeling.

[melissel]

Dh does that ALL THE TIME. Maybe I can actually get him in to the doc in Jan. He keeps saying he should go as that can't be normal, lol.

 

Yes, do get him in! I missed Michele's post the first time I posted, but this is exactly what happens in our family. My reflux has a LOT LOT LOT to do with it. My father insists that he doesn't have reflux, but a GI scope showed plenty of damage to his esophagus. He just refuses to believe it :confused:

 

My choking/food getting stuck/moving slowly incidents decrease greatly when I'm eating the way I should (no gluten, very few carbs) or when I'm taking my reflux meds regularly. For your DH, it could be as simple as treating reflux.

 

ETA: By the way, it's actually quite common. My dad has had to go to the ER to have stuck food removed, and the docs there told him they have people in all the time for food removal. My uncle has the same problem, my BIL has had to go to the ER for it, etc. I haven't had to go to the ER, but I learned my lesson the hard way and try to be super careful and top of my reflux.

Edited December 20, 2010 by melissel

[Robin M]

I had a choking scare in February and here's my story. I had talked all about it on my blog so will share here.

 

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 backroom 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.

 

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 did end up having an endoscopy about a month later and they stretched my throat. The doctor said my esophagus had narrowed from acid in my stomach. I'm on prescription prilosec now and was told just to stay on it. I still to this day eat more slowly and really chew my food well. I also never at at Jimboys again. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. Glad everything turned out okay for you.