Mysteries of the mighty gag reflex

[mjh74]

Hi All,

Although I've suffered from anxiety from as far back as the age of 7, it had never been accompanied with the urge to gag until about 7 years ago after a tough time at work. One day I found my throat tightening and began to gag, being an emetophobe made this a highly traumatic experience. I managed to come through that after a very tough year out of work.

2 months ago our department went through a management of change and I didn't know if I'd still have a job or not, little did I know it was going to send my anxiety through the roof again. Sadly the tight through and urge to gag were the first symptoms to come back.

I've now managed to come through the panic attacks and haven't got such an intense level of anxiety on a daily basis but what I can't understand is the random urge to still gag. Initially the stress would cause anxiety and that anxiety would be the trigger for wanting to gag but now, I can be sitting here feeling relatively calm, the urge to gag comes along and makes me feel anxious. The symptoms have 'sort of' reversed. I do have quite a lot of stomach acid so I'm guessing that could be contributing to it though I also get that from being anxious (catch22). I've been given some tablets from my GP for the stomach but it's the gag reflex thing I find crippling. It sometimes stops me mid sentence where I have to stop to fight off a gag.

I've read most of the gag related posts here but a lot don't really fit in to what I experience. I don't even feel nauseous when I have the urge to gag and it can last for the whole day sometimes.

Can anyone relate to any of this?

Thanks for reading!

Mark

[M155anthr0p3]

I can relate to this - I gag all the time!

I used to actually gag so much I was sick but I can contain it a bit better now.
I am terrible...my Dad thinks it's hilarious. Which I suppose it does to anyone else.
I know it's in my head because the more I concentrate on it the more I gag. I have to laugh at myself now though (or chew gum loooool)

[sarahblonde32]

my a fellow gag sufferer!! i have this all the time, i really beleived it was anxiety related but now im not so sure, it comes on at such random moments, i cant pinpoint a link. talking is the main one for me, it happens during a conversation and its so hard to continue, the only small thing i found that helps a little is a tic tac in the mouth. im thinking it maybe food related, like a reflux or something.
it's been 2 years now and i cant find a cure or a reason for it, it is beiginning to ruin certain things, i rarely go out to pubs and clubs because i cant shout or chat for long times, i cant do my dancing anymore because i kept gagging, i have managed to slightly supress it, and its better when im totally relaxed, chilled at home etc. i cant describe it...its like a 'sick' feeling in the throat and you have to swallow it away or just gag it up...
i really have tried everything and cannot think of what it is...
sarahxx

[mjh74]

Hi both and thanks for the replies!

@M155anthr0p3
Like you if I chew gum it helps massively, if I'm feeling uneasy and I don't have gum, my mouth and throat feel naked and the urge begins. As soon as I chew gum, I feel a lot better (so it shows it's in my mind). Oh wow I guess I'm like a baby with a dummy! lol

@Sarah
Everything you describe is me (apart from the dancing lol). As soon as I'm spoken to and I have to respond, I instantly think of my gag reflex and when I do reply, I find I'm despirately trying to stifle a gag. If I'm sitting still and don't have to speak I'm usually ok but if I'm walking around, even on my own, it's a lot worse. I've never worked out why that is, maybe because my first attack was when out walking. I wish I knew!
What I can say is that I had a period of about 5 or 6 years where I'd put it to the back of my mind and didn't even think about it anymore. I've got to try and get there again!


Mark x

[sarahblonde32]

yup the same for me, i can go a couple of days when i have nothing, yet suddenly something will trigger it...im usually fine on my own and i prefer to do stuff on my own to avoid conversation, such as driving anywhere..ill always meet them there etc,but i do sometimes get it just on my own. do you have a really sensitive gag reflex anyway? anything can make me gag, hate things near my neck, anything disgusting, smells, dentists can me gag...
have you tried tictacs?pop one in your mouth when you think you might need it and keep in there...helps....most of the time!
s x

[BigDaz]

I get this a lot during a stressful period. It's just a natural body reaction I think. However sometimes an episode of gagging and burping can be a good stress reliever.

[sarahblonde32]

i don't find it a stress reliever!! i hate it, feels like being sick which is awful : (

[sarahblonde32]

aarggh damn gag....go away!!

[mjh74]

I tend to chew gum when I'm having a bad day and that helps a lot. I don't know how to say this but if I could put my hand on the inside of my throat to comfort it, I'd be fine <lol I know that sounds really weird>. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my throat feels vulnerable and sensitive because I'm concentrating on it, if the part of the body I was sensitising was my leg or my arm, at least I could rub it to try and make it feel better!
So I guess chewing gum or a mint/tictac is the closest we have to give our mouths/throat something to do.

I've never had a weak gag reflex, just the opposite infact but when I'm having a bad day, I can imagine all sorts of objects stuck in there which makes me feel like choking my guts up! Pebbles are a good one, peach stones, clothes pegs, money, a golf ball! I've looked at or handled any one of these objects and had the notion that it's in my throat. Nuts huh!

Like BigDaz, if I have gagged, even though it feels terrible at the time, it also feels like a relief too!

[sarahblonde32]

i'd like to know how it works and what triggers it, why talking? i can understand the need to gag when something is in the mouth or too far in the throat as the gag reflex is there to stop choking...but i dont understand why i have it, why talking or stress triggers it, and how the hell to stop it! i also try and distract my throat with sweets and mints, (chewing gum is ok until it starts to make me gag!)
so yours is more about thinking something is in the throat.....that could be related to a choking thing....
mines more of a 'sick' feeling...starts further back in the throat...
weird...!
sarah