For the last two weeks I have progressively had a harder time swallowing food. Yesterday it was so bad that I had to eat baby food.
I went to our family doctor and he thinks it's acid reflux so he gave me some Prevacid to take. I'm supposed to take my first dose today.
Has anyone else had this? It's been a pretty scary thing and I've lost weight already from it. Have any of you taken Previcid? Anything I should know about it?
My hubby and I have an appointment with a new LLMD tomorrow....very excited to see him. I will run this by him too.
Posted by David A (Member # 3811) on :
Naomi,
Having had neuro lyme for almost 10 years now, I too have had numerous occasions where I nearly choked on my food. I feel as if my epiglotis is moving in slow motion. Lyme is known to affect several cranial nerves. I wonder if the epiglotis is regulated by one of them.
david
Posted by Naomi (Member # 4846) on :
hmmm...I don't know David, but that is an interesting thought. Maybe a question for my llmd.
I have a friend with a neurological disorder and she has the same symptom....can't swallow food and chokes on it. She said that if you have no gag reflex (you can test this by running your finger along the back of your throat) then it could be that there is pressure on the nerve. This is what she says
"There are certain nerves that control the swallowing mechanism. They pass through the brain stem. Any pressure back there can make you unable to swallow, and feel like you have something in your throat. I have this same problem, but it's brain stem compression causing it.
I know this is going to sound weird-but check to see if you still have a gag reflex. It goes missing with this type of problem, too.
Just run you finger in the back of your throat and see if you react the way you used to. If not, be sure to tell the doctor when you go. It could be a sign of nerve involvement."
Posted by Biting Back (Member # 6018) on :
I vote for cranial nerve involvement. Do you, or did you have bell's palsy? Not saying you'd have to have it in order for lyme to affect swallowing, but it is the most (physically) noticeable involvement of the cranial nerve.
Posted by Areneli (Member # 6740) on :
Lyme causes problems with oesophagus and swallowing. I had problems with food regurgitation during sleep. This problem was fixed later with long-term antibiotics. Actually it was one of the first things to go, so I think that LD does something to oesophagus on a very local level in neural regulation (not in the brain). If it was brain regulation affected, the recovery would be longer, I think.
Posted by MammaLyme (Member # 1257) on :
I have had this also. You think you are going to choke it gets so bad. For me, it was just another symptom of lyme. A lot of people in our group have had the same symptom. Would a Valium help to relax the muscle?
Much wellness to you.
Posted by DolphinLady (Member # 6275) on :
I had this too. It was almost like my body had forgotten how to swallow. My mind would say swallow, but it wouldn't happen.
I didn't have a gag reflex either.
It has resolved with treatment.
I still have the Bell's Palsy though.
Posted by tickitout (Member # 6982) on :
I have had many swallowing problems also for a long time.
It seems I truly need to concentrate mentally to function to attempt to swallow.
I never did the gag reflex myself until just now, reading this, and guess what, no reflex or gagging. I never knew this.
I also had bells palsy and know many nerves are affected in my body.
Thanks for that info. to test gag reflex..interesting to me.
And everyone thinks I only eat veryyyyyyyy slowlyyyyyyyy....because I want to.
Posted by bigmamma (Member # 7181) on :
I had this when I had really bad cranial nerve involvement, but it has improved with antibiotics.
Posted by coastranger (Member # 7385) on :
I have had difficulty swallowing on many occasions. It appears episodic in nature. My family brought home an roast beef sandwich. I was feeling poorly and having difficulty swallowing. I took a large bite of the sandwich and it hung up in my throat. I couldn't breath and couldn't swallow. We triend the Heimlick manuever to no available. Finally I vomited so hard that I threw 95% of my stomach into my chest. It required MAJOR surgery to pull the stomach back down to its primary location. Lyme definately can cause swallowing difficulities. Some have been associated with the nerves that control swallowing, typically the cranial nerves, lower brain stem abnormalities and also a SJogren's-like syndrome associated with Lyme that causes lowered saliva and tear production and other Sjogren's-like complications including spyder like red streaks on one's hands when exposed to cold or stress. And Lyme people are all exposed to stress with various reactions in their neurological responses.