Long day today, up far too early and slow to get goin', meant late leavin' and late return.
On the way home I popped into a local hostelry and ordered up a pint of cider and a plate of bangers and mash, for our overseas listeners that is sausages and mashed potatoes.
Did I come unstuck? Well actually quite the opposite, it stuck in my throat. The next 20 mins saw me sitting bolt up-rite trying to swallow or shuffling to the privy to clear my throat. The staff had just done a doggy bag for me when it cleared, inward. The pint was not sacrificed and I eat at home.Is this just me or has the Devil's Puppeteer pulled a few strings.
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anthonyjohnrobinson
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I took voice lessons which included exercises for swallowing. It helps.
I love your sense of humour, must either be living in the beautiful yorkshire moors a favourite place of mine, going there today a wedding reception after service in York then to Danby castle for reception. Weatther c----p but sure it will be lovley, or I digress being a nurse ( I am a recently retired nurse). keep it up x
I told my wife about your bangers story and we both just died laughing. She is just dying to know what they put in those sausages. I tell here that you don't want to know. LOL. But hey, no one died, maybe!?!
Hi Anthony, u r Definitely not alone! I have intermittent swallowing issues that are getting progressively worse, but thankfully not very frequent - yet.
Last week I stopped at an excellent Indian buffet for a bunch of my favorites. Near the end of my meal I had a piece of chicken get stuck. Couldn't puke it up nor wash it down. Almost drowning on this horribly thick saliva that invariably accompanies these episodes, I panicked and ran out of the restaurant ended up on my hands & knees in the parking lot still trying to breathe. How I ended up in that position I cannot recall. How I ended up switching from that position to laying on my back and making the problem worse, I do not know. My lunch partner, not knowing where I went or what was happening showed up and got me to roll over so I'd be face down and rubbing my back so I could finally calm down enough to inhale a bit.
During the ride back to her house, I had to stop every few minutes and spit out the "30 weight" saliva. Sometimes choking all over again. After about 45 minutes of sitting calmly at her house I could feel the blockage retreating down to my stomach.
Here's the real problem...I know what to do to avoid this problem. My speech therapist and a swallowing specialist taught me: 1. Cut my food into bites small enough to be a challenge to choke on, 2. chew slowly and THOUROUGHLY, 3. Swallow each mouthful twice, 4. Sip fluids regularly at each meal and, 5. Be extra cautious when eating soft and hard foods in the same meal (i.e. mash and bangers).
So why wasn't I following my own advice?
Because it had been months since my previous episode. Out of sight, out of mind...but then again, this episode scared me. I hope to remain more conscious as I continue to eat my way through life. Now does anyone have any tips to retain focus on these ideas over the long run?
Best wishes,
Steve (Bisbee, AZ)
If this is a one off great. Glad all turned out okay.
Were the bangers and mash fab???
This blog post, by the way, has made me crave bangers & mash. HA!
But ... if swallowing / chocking becomes a common event best to consult with your doctor/s.
Swallowing function can not be taken for granted.
The above info is fab - only if you do it. HA!
1. cut small bits
2. chew slowly
3. swallow twice
4. sip slowly
5. be extra cautious with combo textures
Also fab ... speech therapy - voice lessons - swallowing techniques.
In addition ... everyone ... please ... learn the SELF HEIMLICH MANEUVER.
Although you'll be unable to effectively deliver back blows to yourself, you can still perform abdominal thrusts to dislodge the item.
1. Place a fist slightly above your navel.
2. Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface — a counter top, table edge, railing, chair, ...
3. Shove your fist inward and upward quickly.
If you need to, you should repeat this motion until the object blocking the airway comes out.
Excellent Nouska...i've never even heard of the self Heimlich Maneuver before. I will keep that in mind for next time.
Steve (Bisbee, AZ)
It must be frightening when it happens it has to me a few times but being vegetarian most stuff does not take a lot of difficulty chewing and swallowing.
I always wondered if I should keep the vacumn cleaner handy.
What you experienced is called "achalasia" and is scary as hell. At the bottom of your esophagus, where it joins your stomach, a muscle called a sphincter forms a gate to control the flow of your food. Sometimes and for unknown reasons, PWP and others get a sudden "charlie horse" in that muscle and things get very scary. Trust me. I just endured my latest episode from 6 PM last night to noon today and I'm still shaken. So for 18 hours nothing went anywhere. No food. No water. No meds. Sleep was dangerous because of aspirating stomach contents. All you can do is find your best position and wait for hour after hour. Someone wanting to help sends you into panic. You can't talk to explain, either. And as for the self-Heimleich? Uh-Uh!!!! Even being touched makes it worse.
Then, over just a minute or two, it is over as the cramp releases. Not a lot can be done for it. A balloon to stretch the area. Botulin to kill the muscle. Those just buy you time, I fear. My worst episodes come on when I get careless eating pork or chicken with their stringlike texture.
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