Haven’t been able to eat for a month...

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hey everyone.

My symptoms started when I got braces put on earlier this year. I started to have difficulty eating certain foods like spinach, celery, melted cheese, etc. I started avoiding going to restaurants as it would take me forever to chew my food and even then- I feared I would choke on it.

Fast forward to a month ago. I was eating dinner when it started to feel like it was getting stuck in my throat and I thought I was going to choke. I went to emerg where they checked my vitals, did blood work, briefly looked at my mouth & checked my breathing with a stethoscope. They said everyone was normal and sent me home. I’ve since been to the hospital four times now and each time they just send me home and put in a referral to a specialist. Only one of the four doctors said they felt like the skin on the right side of my neck is “thicker”- so she made an appointment for an ultrasound of my neck and thyroid next week. 

I’ve been on a liquid diet for almost a month now as I await to see a specialist for an endoscopy. I recently started to lose weight rapidly, 14lbs in the past month, due to not being able to eat- let alone drink “thicker” drinks like smoothies or milkshakes. 

My symptoms are:

-**trouble swallowing**, tight throat, nausea,belching after drinking, fatigue & weight loss due to not eating, cold sensitivity/bluish fingernails, thick/stringy saliva

About me: I’m a 22 year old female. I have an autoimmune disease and take corticosteroids. I eat a lot of spicy foods. I’ve never had any symptoms of GERD or anything. I’m a fit, active, young adult who has never smoked and I rarely drink alcohol. I have anxiety but food is my comfort lol and Ive never had any issues swallowing. I know there has to be something wrong. 

Family history: Graves’ disease/hyperthyroidism, diabetes, heart attack, colon cancer, issues with kidneys, etc. 

I’m scared it could be the C word... Can a regular panel of blood work indicate if I have cancer or something serious like that? Has anyone experienced something similar to this? Or can anyone give me advice to help me ease my mind? I feel like I’m going crazy.. I’m so stressed and anxious I can’t sleep at night. Please help

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    I have the samething going on even the anxiety I even went to the hospital as much as you.. I only have Gerd and acid reflux real bad it cause all these things. I was scared I had cancer and couldn't sleep take a deep breath get your anxiety under control everything else will fall in place. You need a GI doctor a scope done its going to be OK I promise you.. And I'm almost positive you don't have cancer. If you need me for anything else just ask I hope I have helped you some.

    • Posted

      Wow really! Which symptoms did you have? And are you feeling better now? And thanks so much for your help ❤️ 
    • Posted

      I had the couldn't swallow,anxiety,lose of weight all of the above. I was having anxiety attacks had to get put on meds . went to every emergency room in Ga including ATL because everybody said I was OK. I got my anxiety together first started to understand what was going on . I got up one morning and I was able to eat anything again I started to gain weight I'm on pills for my throat now. Anxiety is our biggest problem soon as you get it together everything else will fall in place.I hope you get normal soon I prayed and believed it would get better and it did. I still have bad days but not like it use to be.. Be Blessed and come on here if you need me for anything cause I needed everybody when mine first started.

    • Posted

      Hi  I also have a swallow issue feeling something is stuck and a strange clicking noise I had a scope they found a small hiatus hernia. I’m still awaiting barium swallow test results convinced I’ve got something sinister going on. What did you take for your throat issue. I’ve been on ppi for 2 plus years now. Thank you in advance for any help 
  • Posted

    My goodness, it's almost as if someone wrote down my exact same story without knowing anything about me. Everything you've talked about here describes what I've been going through for the past 3 4 months. I'm a 25 year old male who's in the gym 5 6 days a week and this started ruining my life all too fast.. At first I was able to eat food with a sip of water to wash it down. Then I couldn't get down solids at all. Every time I tried to swallow foods it almost felt like my throat would constrict and not allow me to swallow my food. I too went to get a thyroid ultrasound and they found a small cyst (about. 3cm if I remember correctly). The EMT swore up and down that for a young adult in my shape the only thing causing me issues has to be acid reflux. I've been taking omeprazole, carafate and rinatadine for the last month and a half and things have improved a little bit. I still take forever to eat my food, my neck pressure has subsided (knock on wood because thats what ruined my life) and I'm able to go to the gym again regularly. I'm still semi worried that he didn't want to do a biopsy on my cyst.. But then again I'm keeping steady weight so the doc has no reason to believe it's cancerous.

    Just know you're not the only one going through this. I pray everyday I'll wake up and be able to eat normally again. I've lost so much strength and stamina in the gym because of this. Keep your head up and send me a message if you want to talk and ask questions about what I've gone through.

    • Posted

      Thanks so much for your reply!! Although it sucks that you’re going through the same thing, it’s comforting knowing I’m not the only one. I’m glad you’re feeling a bit better though! I bet it takes some time to recover from something like this. I’m definitely a frequent gym-goer as well and not being able to workout has been difficult. If they gave you antiacid medications, then do you have reflux in addition to the cyst? If you’re concerned I would definitely ask your doctor to get a biopsy, it wouldn’t hurtsmile. Did you lose any weight when you couldn’t eat food? Are you back to your regular diet now? Feel free to tell me your story haha I don’t know how to private message yet lol. 

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