Hello, long time reader and first time poster.

I am 25/m and since last September roughly, I have been experiencing some difficulty getting solid foods down as well as I used to, having to chew far more slowly and take much longer to eat food. In particular, tough meats and dry foods are the most difficult. Typically, I will eat for 30-45 minutes before deciding that I've had enough of eating/trying to eat and giving up. Swallowing has come to feel more difficult, and I sometimes will feel like food is just taking a while to get down. Liquids are typically not such a problem, but they can be at times, particularly after a meal.

This hasn't gotten noticeably worse since it began last September, but I have lost about 20 pounds (from 200 to 180lbs at 6') since this problem has started. I did have a flu for a couple weeks in November which perhaps contributed to the weight loss on aggregate.

After ignoring it and writing it off as anxiety for a while, I decided to look up the symptoms and the first thing that Google brings up when you talk of difficulty eating solids and losing weight is esophageal cancer, or perhaps stomach cancer. I've tried to figure out other good explanations for this like GERD, but my dentist has said recently that he saw no signs of GERD; furthermore, I have been on a PPI (Protonix) for nearly a month and though the problem might be a bit better, it certainly hasn't gone away.

I don't have any pain anywhere nor heartburn, but during the times when the difficulty eating is most noticeable I will also have a lump in the throat feeling. Quite literally as if something's in there. Also, when the throat does have a lump feeling, I have this gargling sound that comes out of my throat that I have never noticed to this extent.

Apart from these, I haven't noticed any other symptoms. What scares me the most is that there doesn't seem to be any easy explanations for what is going on. I have been to a GP and got a referral to see GI, but am still waiting to hear back for an appointment.

I just can't manage to keep myself at ease about this, the fact that I have lost weight to such an extent is what makes me so much more terrified. I have read the threads of other people having these sorts of symptoms and turning out fine, but I have not heard of anyone having the weight loss like I've had.