DD (14) "forgetting how to swallow"

[inigomontoyahwillcox]

Is there anyone about with any knowledge or experience of these things?

DD told me yesterday that she's gone to swallow food a couple of times recently and she's "forgotten how to". She says that it just doesn't happen, and then eventually she manages to get the food down.

Would chewing gum maybe be a factor (something she's been doing quite a bit recently that we're trying to wean her off)? Am just thinking maybe that's giving her reflux and irritating her throat and affecting the muscles, and she did say she had had some burning in her stomach recently.

Full disclosure, she has ADHD (combined) and chronic motor tics (brought on by stress).

I'm a worrier by nature and am now jumping to worst-case scenario (which I often do) and wondering whether it needs investigating?

I've had this a few times and for me, it's anxiety

Anxiety for me too

It will be the tics - DS has adhd and one of his tics is a weird throat swallow.

watch and wait - your anxiety about it won’t improve it

Anxiety for me too.
I also 'forget' how to breathe. It's horrifying.

It’s anxiety. She needs to practise mindfulness or deep breathing and get into a pattern of doing that before she eats or drinks.

Google globus hystericus. I have had this too and it's scary

@KylieCharlene if it makes you feel any better you can't physically forget your body will over rule your brain you'll pass out and then breathe (I've only wrote that in hope it eases your mind a little) .
To the op it's probably anxiety that can have a massive effect on swallowing and the more you worry about it the worse it gets.

Yes, anxiety.

The anxiety does fit - hers manifests itself physically (hence the tics) so not a huge leap to think this may also be a symptom.

@Catgotyourbrain interesting - I did google ADHD and Tics in relation to swallowing but the results were pretty much all about how to get your kid to swallow medication. I did wonder if it was another manifestation of one of the conditions.

I am trying not to transfer any of my own anxiety onto her by being very nonchalant about it insofar as telling her it's not unusual or a big deal but let me know if it gets worse, but I guess anxiety can be communicated in other ways which I might be doing unconsciously.

I experience this, it's horrible but hasn't led to anything else. It seems to happen when I'm anxious or really exhausted or in lots of pain. I have anxiety and chronic pain. Sometimes I feel I can't breath too, that's more panic attack. My DD also has anxiety, it can be tough helping your child through their anxiety while trying to deal with your own too. DD hasn't had trouble swallowing so far, but does feel like she can't breathe sometimes. Feeling like you can't breath or swallow is scary, but can definitely be anxiety rather than an underlying physical cause. it's tough with your child's anxiety trying to work out if something is from anxiety or if they need to see a GP, especially because any extra attention will likely make them more anxious about the physical symptom, not less.

I've had this - it was perimenopausal. It's a well-known meno symptom so I'm wondering if it might be connected to your daughter's hormones (puberty) too?

Mine was cured by having an endoscopy. As soon as they said I was fine, and I saw photos of my completely healthy throat, it went away.

@GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough
Thanks. It helps to see that written down as rationally I know this but having someone else say it does help. Iyswim.

Possibly, she is at the height of puberty. Am hoping it is one of those things that just fades away over time.

Poor dd. I suffer with this too through my anxiety but when it first began to happen I was really w

I had the same issues when I was a teenager, always during periods of anxiety or even before my periods (hormonal changes). There were days when I had to eat soups or very soft meals because everything, even bread, got stuck in my throat. The doctors always agreed it was due to anxiety. The problems disappeared all of a sudden one day, without explanation.

I get this when I feel a bit stressed or panicked by something.

I have severe food allergies and a reaction can lead to proper difficulty swallowing if my throat closes. If ever I think I may have been exposed to an allergen I'll have a few minutes of not being able to swallow until I can calm myself and reassure myself that I'd have other symptoms by now if it was an allergic reaction, so basically it's anxiety playing into the hands of my fear of an anaphylactic reaction.

This really resounded with me. When I was mid teens, I went through a spell of choking on random foods that i'd never been bothered with before. It was really odd but also at a time of high anxiety and stress.

It stopped when I went to Uni around 18 but i've always remembered it because I felt so silly and confused by it.

I’d get this checked. It could be anxiety, but it might not be. A friend of mine had some symptoms similar to this as a teenager and it turned out to be something serious. I wouldn’t ‘worry’ as such, but I’d just check it with medical professionals because I think better safe than sorry in that scenario.

There is co-morbidity between ADHD and EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, hypermobility etc). I have both. Swallowing issues (dysphagia) can be part of it.

I get that feeling of going to swallow and nothing happens. It's definitely made worse by excess stomach acid and reflux.

Depending on your arra, a speech and language referral may be useful as some have swallow clinics which may pick up something.

Like another poster I also have hEDS (Ehlers-Danlos); among other things I have dysphagia and genuinely I will sometimes go to swallow and it's like I've forgotten how to.
What it actually is is the muscles in my throat not responding the way they're supposed to do briefly I am genuinely, unable to swallow whatever I'm eating.
I've always found taking a breath (with the food still in your mouth) and then swallowing with water solves it. I can't eat without water in fact (as in every few mouthfuls or if it's really bad every mouthful - water with the food to get it to go down).

My son had this and for him it was GERD. The doctor prescribed omeprazole for two weeks taking it before bed and to angle his mattress so his head was higher than his feet. I made him lots of smoothies in the meantime as drinking was easier than eating food. He also found a heated wrap on his neck seemed to help

AH thanks for the new replies - sorry, didn't notice until now.

DD chews a lot of gum, and we're cutting this down as it exacerbates reflux.

She hasn't complained about the swallowing again since I posted, so will keep an eye on it and maybe speak to the GP if it continues.

@Phrenologistsfinger that's very interesting - I have hypermobility and suspect I have ADHD (probably where DD got it from).

I get this, mine is caused by anxiety. It's scary when you just can't swallow, mine is always liquid for some reason, never food. I have about 4-5 goes before I can eventually swallow.