Okay now I'm having trouble swallowing food

[Derek1987 0]

I've almost choked several times. I'm wondering if this is part of dysautonomia or possibly a side effect of carvedilol. I looked up side effects of carvedilol and one of the side effects is hard to swallow. Is this a symptom of dysautonomia as well? Im hoping this is a medication side effect only.

[Pistol 0]

I am not sure - I personally have taken Carvelidol for many years without any side effects but we are all different. You should ask your doctor or the pharmacist at your prescribing pharmacy. 

[bombsh3ll 0]

Hi Derek,

I have heard of choking episodes being a part of dysautonomia - swallowing is one of those functions with both voluntary and involuntary control, & the ANS has some input. It is not a major symptom for me but I have gagged and retched a few times, particularly on pills or a meal I really don't feel well enough to eat, during the course of my illness that I never used to do when well. 

To determine if it is the medication, you would need to have a trial off it (check with your doctor) and see if the problem goes away. There will be your answer. I hope it does resolve for you. 

B xxx

[jvherenow 0]

I also have trouble swallowing. I just did a barium swallow exam last week and they found decreased esophageal peristalsis and decreased transit time. So, my esophageal muscles are not working typically...like they're drunk on a Caribbean beach somewhere or something! The radiologist thinks this could be caused either by the small fiber neuropathy or by episodic ataxia (I have both).

In the ataxia groups, people have found swallowing PT helpful. So, I'm going to ask for a referral to get some of that. It's available from only certain speech language pathologists (it's a unique protocol you need training for I've heard).

I recommend you talk to your primary care doc. S/he'll likely refer you for a barium swallow and endoscopy. We did the barium swallow first since he was not expecting an obstruction but instead was expecting a functional issue (caused by neurological dysfunction).

Good luck!

[blizzard2014 0]

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 11:27 AM, Derek1987 said:

I've almost choked several times. I'm wondering if this is part of dysautonomia or possibly a side effect of carvedilol. I looked up side effects of carvedilol and one of the side effects is hard to swallow. Is this a symptom of dysautonomia as well? Im hoping this is a medication side effect only.

I have trouble getting all of my pills down every day. I tried Marijuana again for pain, just smoked a piece of it about the size of a pea. I was burping to the point of vomiting/gagging for a few hours, almost like my throat was going to close up and I was going to choke to death from hiccups. I think my throat is messed up from this condition too. I almost dialed 911 but somehow survived. If I skip my 40 mgs of Pepcid for even 3 hours, I start burping up food and stomach acid. I did it one day and then realized I had not had my nightly meds. It's like everything in the upper digestive area is going wild. Sometimes I choke on a drink of water and also on my own saliva. One night a few years back I had a pill go down the wrong way and I was hacking violently for several minutes and then a bloody pill came forcefully flying out of my lung. Other times it feels like someone is wringing my esophagus and it spasms and my neck too, but this could be left over from my 3'd bout with facial paralysis. I hope you're feeling better. 

[Derek1987 0]

On 5/16/2019 at 11:43 PM, blizzard2014 said:

I have trouble getting all of my pills down every day. I tried Marijuana again for pain, just smoked a piece of it about the size of a pea. I was burping to the point of vomiting/gagging for a few hours, almost like my throat was going to close up and I was going to choke to death from hiccups. I think my throat is messed up from this condition too. I almost dialed 911 but somehow survived. If I skip my 40 mgs of Pepcid for even 3 hours, I start burping up food and stomach acid. I did it one day and then realized I had not had my nightly meds. It's like everything in the upper digestive area is going wild. Sometimes I choke on a drink of water and also on my own saliva. One night a few years back I had a pill go down the wrong way and I was hacking violently for several minutes and then a bloody pill came forcefully flying out of my lung. Other times it feels like someone is wringing my esophagus and it spasms and my neck too, but this could be left over from my 3'd bout with facial paralysis. I hope you're feeling better. 

Sorry to hear about all the struggles. I'm still having problems toi. I have to drink water and swallow food at the same time so I don't choke. Sigh.

[Jules2 0]

If you have headaches and neck pain also - you should be checked for this:  

craniocervical instability

[yogini 0]

If you take a medicine and this is a new symptom that would make sense as the first place to start.   Did you ask your doctor or pharmacist?

[Stark 0]

I have heard problems with the vagal nerve can cause swallowing issues 

[ANCY 0]

Dysmotility of the esophagus can cause trouble with swallowing. That is tested by esophageal manometry usually done in conjunction with an endoscopy.  I've also had trouble after a surgery when according to ENT they temporarily paralyzed my vocal chords when they intubated me. I lost my voice as well that time though. 

[JimL 0]

I had mild esophogeal dysmobility before the pots symptoms and have cervical fusion made it worse. It's been almsot 10 weeks since surgery and it's gotten better, but it still isn't right.