Has anyone had pain on swallowing with RA?

[AmandaMc]

It hurts on the left hand side of my chest, kind of inside, about one second after I've swallowed. Any ideas?

[allanah]

mm afraid that one for the docs to check maybe? i do have a bit of trouble but i have sjogrens disease which can be secondary to RA sometimes, basically dry eyes , dry throat and mouth . i also get reflex into the bottom of my throat which can feel sore in my chest from the tablets i take, the doc gave me a tummy protector tablet which really helps, so i would mention it to your doc xx

[AmandaMc in reply to allanah]

Thanks! x

[allanah in reply to AmandaMc]

let us know what they say?, i see my GP for that. xx

[GinaF in reply to allanah]

i have sjogrens but have had great distress on swallowing, feels like something stuck in throat, chocking feeling, voice changes,really hurts, have told r.a. nurses but they look at you like you are mad, after some research i found a site called rawarriors and they discribe these symtoms to a T its called cricoarytenoid, and apparently its rhuematoid of the throat voice box and its NOT rare and quite common, so why dont my ra docs know this, i only found this yesterday so i am going to enquire, but check it out on ra warrior site hope this helps anyone who has these symtoms, the feeling of chocking is quite alarming

[GinaF in reply to GinaF]

and that would be choking, sorry x

[Tinwoman2]

I also get that feeling occasionally. I feel like my esophagus narrows at the bottom. Just yesterday I swallowed a Triscuit that wouldn't go down & burned, I can still feel it this morning. I was worried that my airway would close up while I slept, but I'm still here.

I was told a couple of months ago that I have GERD, but it has never bothered me much, although I do get heartburn if I eat too fast.

Good luck to you, Amanda.

Christine

[AmandaMc in reply to Tinwoman2]

Thanks Christine!

[jinxjazz]

I always carry liquids with me. If I eat dry food I can't swallow and it's so scary, i can't swallow and my throat closes up. Always carry water.

[Paula-C]

I sometimes get problems swallowing. It starts with a painful throat and a fizzing sensation in my throat. Then I get a full feeling in my chest, this then starts to get uncomfortable, this then is followed with food seeming to get stuck when I swallow and is very painful when it goes down. I have had food really stuck before now, it makes my eyes water when it happens.

I have pain, mainly in the left side of my chest if I take a deep breath in, I also get pain at the bottom of my rib cage (same side). Sometime the pain does go all around, I can only describe it when it's all around like being in a tight vice, it only happens for a few seconds normally if I burp or have hick ups, not very pleasant at all.

I did go to the doctors last year about it, I had an ECG and chest xray and they came back Ok. The doctor thinks I have a hiatus hernia (seem to have all the symptoms) and wanted me to have an endoscopy to confirm it. I really too scared to have a camera down my throat, I told my GP this and he is happy for me to double up on stomach protectors when I know when it is going to flare up. (painful throat). I've managed to control it over the past few months, I think that if it was something serious and not a hernia, something by now would of happened. If it is a hernia there is nothing really that they can do anyway, he did tell me that there is an operation you can have but he would not recommend it to his patients.

I have said that if it does get really bad again I will have to be a brave little soldier and have an endoscopy.

I am due to see my consultant in July, so I will mention it to him.

Paula xx