Difficulty swallowing liquids only: It's been... - IBS Network

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Difficulty swallowing liquids only

johnjerry profile image
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It's been going on for about a week and a half now that started out of nowhere. I take a sip of liquid be it water or coffee or beer and I have to hold the liquid on my tongue to "wait" until the sensation to swallow kicks in. It's a slight hesitation due to a lack of sense of initiation. Just a second or two. If I take very small sips it's not the case, but taking large sips is overwhelming and I have to spit them out. I forced down a big sip to see if it was just psychological and choked. Thankfully my throat allowed it to pass. My swallowing issue began to improve about a week ago ---I was able to sip more frequently and ingest more liquids overall and it felt like I was coming out of it, until one morning I needed to burpafter every swallow. They were usually small burps, but it was allowing me to take in somewhat more per swallow. The past two days I'm not burping or feeling like I lack the initiation to swallow. I started to feel full after taking in liquid which slowed down my ability. It feels, perhaps, like a gas buildup in my stomach? The past two nights I took an over the counter antacid. At night in general I can't swallow as effectively. What's unexplainable is that I am able to eat solids without any restriction whatsoever. Any time of the day or night. There is no obstruction in my throat top to bottom. I have no prior medical conditions. Live an active life. I don't feel sick. No other symptoms accompany this. I started taking omeprazole a couple days ago after doing some homework on this online. Now I'm wondering if it's what set back my progress. Thanks in advance.

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johnjerry
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Iesgobdafydd profile image
Iesgobdafydd

Is it possible the difference between swallowing liquids and solids is that you have to chew first before swallowing solids? I have TMJD, and if I think about it, it's noticeably a little harder to swallow (at least for the first time) when drinking than when eating solids, which I think in my case is to do with the chewing action working the connective tissue round my throat into a better alignment for swallowing than it's in by default. I'm not saying you have TMJD, there could be other reasons why the chewing action might make it easier to swallow. Just a thought. Hope you can get it figured out soon.

johnjerry profile image
johnjerry in reply to Iesgobdafydd

Really interesting point. Totally makes sense and I'm sure that's what's going on. Thank you! It seems there are so many intricate parts in the mouth involved in the initiation of a swallow I can't wrap my head around it. There's an Upper Esophageal Sphincter that I interpret as the gatekeeper to letting food down into the esophagus or not. It can malfunction and weaken. What's really messed up is I can get water in my mouth and swallow it except there's this ghost in there that's sending a signal to my brain that the throat doesn't want it. So I'm taking baby sips and dehydrating a bit. I'm just hoping I'm fixable. I made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow. Still open for other folk's thoughts on this enigma.

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