11 year old problems swallowing

[Namechangeroony1]

Recently she has been complaining that she feels like sometimes food “sits on a ledge” in her throat before it goes down properly. When we’re eating, she’ll occasionally pause and put her hand to her chest as though she feels she’s going to choke but then the food goes down and it passes. It doesn’t happen all the time but enough for her to comment to me that she thinks she has a problem.

I’ve noticed quite a few times in recent months that she’ll sometimes cough and splutter when drinking, like you do when it “goes down the wrong hole.”

I’m terrified of her choking - I’ve always had a fear of that and a relative recently tragically died in that way (she doesn’t know about this) so I’m extra paranoid.

I’m going to call the GP this week but I wondered if anyone had any similar experience? I’ve read about dysphasia but that sounds a bit more severe and frequent than what she experiences.

She definitely needs to see a GP. This could be reflux related at that age. In general, true dysphagia is only found in congenital or neurological conditions, I'm assuming neither of which she has.

Thank you. She has no congenital or neurological conditions.

Would there be other symptoms with reflux?

Reflux GERD sounds possible here, she needs to be seen by the doctor

Google EOE eosinophilic oesophagtis. Allergic reaction can cause ridging and fissures in the oesophagus making it difficult to swallow m. It’s treated with exclusion diets and or steroid medication.

Ask about goitre, but it would be very unlikely. My 21 yr old ds recently had a problem swallowing, it turned out to be stomach acid coming up at night when he was lying flat and irritating the swallowing muscles, so they didnt work all together in the right way. He had a 6 week course of reflux medicine and all was well.

Thanks all. She’s just abandoned finishing dinner tonight as it kept happening. She doesn’t choke, as such, she just says food gets caught and she can’t seem to muster up the saliva to swallow again and push it down.

I have noticed it mostly happens during her evening meal if that points to anything?

It’s really worrying me - especially like I said, as we lost a relative to choking which has just been devastating. I’m calling the GP first thing but who knows how quickly she’ll be seen?

Is she anxious?

Could she be picking up on your 'terror'?

Globus hystericus could match her symptoms and fear of choking could possibly lead to a form of anorexia.

no - I know it sounds that way but she knows nothing about the relative who choked and she doesn’t know I worry about it.

I should hear from a GP by tomorrow. I’m so worried. I can’t let her be alone when she eats. And I’m worried she’s going to start eating less because she can’t get the food down.

While you're waiting for her to be seen, I'd suggest serving up meals that go down easy. My dad has problems swallowing so I cook carefully for him...no tough or big chunks of meat or things that might get stuck. I make lots of chicken stews etc, veg curry and rice, thick soups, chillis etc but I blend everything. I don't think he even notices as it pretty much looks the same, it's just soft food that goes down the hatch easily.

She's off school then??

Thanks @ItWillBeOkHonestly

@justasking111 no she’s not off school. When she eats at school, she’s with lots of other people. I just mean things like - sometimes she gets up in the morning earlier than everyone else and makes herself breakfast. So now I make sure I’m up with her - I don’t tell her why, I just make sure she doesn’t eat breakfast alone. But like I say, weirdly, it doesn’t seem to happen at breakfast - it’s usually dinner time. Does that point to it being a reflux problem building through the day maybe??

I have this feeling. I often 'choked' and still do. I've learnt as an adult that it's bad reflux. I take tablets and also carry gaviscon around with me. Certain foods are the main culprits, bread items, meat.

Thanks @CoffeeChocolateGin But do you get any other symptoms of reflux? She has none at all.

I was going to mention eosinophilic oesophagitis too. My daughter has it. Food feeling like it's stuck is one of the symptoms.

Does she take ibuprofen or similar medication? If I take this type of med I get very similar symptoms. From what I understand it's because it affects stomach lining which then affects oesophagus muscles, then you feel like food is sticking on the way down. I now avoid taking ibuprofen as much as possible.

On occasion I'll taste acid in my mouth but I don't remember having that as a child. The choking sensation is truly horrible but gaviscon and meditation definitely help. Along with eating foods slower and in smaller mouthfuls. Obviously the GP will give you better direction but I'm sure your daughter will be OK 👍

Thanks @wandawaves - I just looked that up? How do they test for that - is she likely to need a tube down the throat??

@catsnore she doesn’t take anything like that on a regular basis. I only give her ibuprofen once in a blue moon if she’s poorly.

@CoffeeChocolateGin thank you.

Yes, she had a gastroscopy and they take a biopsy of the oesophagus. She's had several gastroscopies over the years, as it's the only accurate way to monitor the progress (as well as looking at symptoms). She is in remission at the moment, which she is very happy about.

Oh @wandawaves poor thing! How old is she? Glad to hear she’s doing well. Must be honest, the thought of DD having to have that done is horrid. Did your DD have other tests first?

There is a rare condition called achalasia that causes food to get stuck at the top of the stomach and causes pain in the sternum. This is due to the muscle at the top of the stomach not relaxing to let food through.

Thanks @EBathory - she’s not complained of any pain anywhere and the issue seems to be at the top of her throat/back of her mouth.

She is 16 now but was about 8 when diagnosed. She had a few tests, I can't even remember what they were though, I know there was a gastric emptying test, she hated that one the most because they made her eat an egg sandwich and she hates eggs! (it contained the tracer for the xray). Her main complaints were nausea and stomach pain, plus sometimes reflux, sometimes food getting stuck. It took quite a while of different doctors and tests to finally get diagnosed. Then medication and annual scopes to check progress. She no longer needs the medication.

@wandawaves great to hear that she’s doing well now but it must have been so worrying for you.

To be honest we were just so glad to finally have a reason for the symptoms! Gut symptoms are always hard as they're so vague and are symptoms of sooooo many different illnesses.
Good luck with your DD, I hope you can get some help from the GP.