Swallowing issues

[Traps67]

Hello fellow OCD’ers. I have a question. I’m doing ERP therapy now and an issue has come up. All of a sudden I have trouble swallowing meds or food because I’m afraid of choking. Does anyone else have the same problem? Thanks for any help.

[avoidingthebadthings]

Yes, I've been going through that recently because I am supposed to be taking these large calcium pills. I have tried to swallow them and a few times I've choked pretty badly, even when I'm sure that I am concentrating thoroughly and can get them down. It's been a couple weeks since the last time I choked while taking them, and I keep chickening out. It's scary to choke like that, and scary to feel so out of control.

I'm going to give it a try again soon because I really need to get these pills down. All I can think to do is google it on the internet and see if there's maybe a good video of the swallowing action. I've never had this problem before with pills, so I'd like to get over it. Wish I had some suggestion that I knew would work...

[eggwitchellie in reply to avoidingthebadthings]

I have dyspraxia and had to 'learn' how to swallow things without cheawing them first, didnt start taking pills until my 20's for that reason, but you are taught a technique and it might help you to try it too to build up some confidence again with pill swallowing. Buy a small sweet that will melt in hot water eg. m&ms, chocolate drops (bite the tip off first), smarties, boil up some hot water and let it cool to the point where you could drink it but its still hot. then take the sweets and swallow them as if they were pills. if anything gets stuck thats where your hot drink comes in to melt it away! it could normalize the act for you again whilst taking away the possible danger, also you could slowly increase the size to the same size as your calcium pills by taking 2 or 3 of the sweets at the same time.

[avoidingthebadthings in reply to eggwitchellie]

This is great to learn about! Thanks so much.

[SCC1 in reply to avoidingthebadthings]

I had an issue with swallowing food and pills. Still do with pills, so I use a pill crusher. If you crush long enough [maybe 30-40 secs. depending on the size of the pill(s)], it comes to a powder-like consistency.

Also, I put as many pills as I need to take in the crusher at the same time. I have to crush them for a longer amt of time (about 45 secs longer, again, depending on how many or what size the pills are), than if I just had 1-2 pills, but it's worth the peace of mind to know I won't choke. I used to have to crush my pills til they were powder-consistency, but with time, now I don't need to crush them all the way.

One day, I got so tired of not being able to swallow (food), that I told myself, "I am going to eat this!" And, even though I still had a little trouble, I did it and have been able to eat regular foods that I once had to purée.

I still get anxious about eating sometimes, but that's anxiety 100%, from when I couldn't swallow.

I still can't swallow pills and use the pill crusher, but I'm glad I can take them!

I wish you luck, both you, avoidingthebadthings and Traps67 and anyone else who has trouble with this.

Also, maybe try swallowing without concentrating on it. If you think too much about it, you might be too aware of swallowing.

This, of course, is not medical advice, just a thought. Do what feels right for you.

[avoidingthebadthings]

Thanks! That's a great suggestion. Yes, exactly. If you concentrate on swallowing, that's when the problems happen! Like just about everything with OCD...

[SCC1 in reply to avoidingthebadthings]

You're welcome. 😊

[SCC1 in reply to avoidingthebadthings]

Also, if you happen to get something stuck in your throat, a cracker or bread can help the pill/food go down.

And, I don't know for sure about this next part, just a suggestion, but liquid might help EVERYTHING go down if there is still a problem once pill/bread or cracker is swallowed.