Swallowing anxiety,cilotropram not helping
Posted , 4 users are following.
I've had this swallowing anxiety for nearly 2 months,it started when my food went down the wrong way and made me panic.eber since I'm scared to swallow,it's as if it doesn't come naturally anymore.i started on 10mg citolopram,after a week I went up to 20mg for 4 weeks,now I've been put on 30mg a week ago.nothing seems to be helping,I've lost a lot of weight so the doctor have prescribed fortijuce,I'm just so fed up and desperate to eat normal again.im so worried I won't be able to eat properly again 😢
0 likes, 11 replies
iris46 suek78
Posted
suek78 iris46
Posted
Hi iris46,I have started eating a few nibbles of things,taking small bites,but the panic is constantly there when I go to swallow,I'm just so hungry,and I'm thinking I'm never gonna get better
iris46 suek78
Posted
Sue you WILL get better, but as they say......baby steps first. I once taught a girl who ended up with anorexia through exactly the same and had to go into hospital. If she didn't eat, she wasn't allowed out of bed, no tv, no sitting in the sun.....her punishments were dreadful and I don't want to hear of you doing the same. It's a phobia you have developed, and just as many people will not understand your phobia, you might not understand mine......there are two rooms in my house that I didn't go into for four months....I took a dislike to them. Now that my Cit is kicking in, I started opening those bedroom doors and having a peep around them....only 2 days ago I got into one room....I found my lady shave I'd bn looking for, and some face cream too ......how does that sound? Ridiculous! And this all proves that the mind is strange, but I had to start for myself....slowly
suek78 iris46
Posted
Thank you so much iris for your reply,you are right,no one will understand each other's phobias unless it happens to them.i know I need to give the citalopram time to work ,but it's so frustrating and I know it's not going to be an over night thing,it's good to have people to talk to that understands what your going through and how anxiety can affect everyone differently,I've never had to take antidepressants before so I never knew how they work,I know from reading these forums that they obviously take a few weeks to start working and it's not gonna happen overnight,I will have to be patient and take one day at a time
katecogs suek78
Posted
Yes agree - liquidising food would be a great help, and also you can get some fortified drinks/meals from the chemists/doctors to help with nutrition.
You need to give the medicine a lot longer to start helping you too - it took 6 months for me to recover on 20mg Cit, though its different for everyone. You need to be so patient with these meds as they work so, so slow. I'm sure they'll help you with the panic / anxiety. I was plagued with anxiety about many things which lasted years, and within 6 months of starting SSRI's the anxiety had gone and what used to scare me didn't bother me at all. Without the anxiety, the fear of something will go away. SSRI's work on hanging onto your serotonin, making you feel happier, calming your anxiety.
Each time you increase your dose you will get side effects and one of them is heightened anxiety. You need to let the side effects ease off. Taking a larger dose doesn't make things happen any quicker, and you could recover on a smaller dose. Just take it slow, let the meds do their thing, try some daily exercise ie walk (exercise helps burn off excess adrenaline), try yoga as relaxing the body is so important (anxiety makes you tense, being tense makes you anxious).
Its very rare for people to choke on food - often its because people have gulped food too quick. Making sure your food is in small pieces or liquidised, eating slow will help you alleviate this panic about it.
Give it time - you will be able to eat normal again. The meds will help calm you, will stop the anxiety eventually, and so will put this fear back into perspective again.
K xx
iris46 suek78
Posted
What Kate says is so true!!!!!! If I eat mashed potatoes or tinned salmon I have to eat small amounts very slowly otherwise I find myself barfing in the toilet because it's stuck. I've probably eaten too quickly and the food isn't moist enough
katecogs iris46
Posted
Usually its just gone the wrong way too - I've done the same!!
My late mother in law had this same panic when she too choked on a large piece of food that she hadn't chewed properly, and it left her panicky for quite a while after. Learning that eating really small pieces can't do any harm whatsoever and was the key for her too, as well as slowing down and liquidising.
She was a great cook too
K xx
suek78 katecogs
Posted
iris46 suek78
Posted
Oh yes, she is such a happy and beautiful lady in her 30's now, happily married with two children. When I see her I feel so pleased that I was able to get help for her. AND YOU WILL BE WELL TOO!!!!!
katecogs suek78
Posted
Yes she did.
g.90572 suek78
Posted