scared of swallowing food

[clairee22]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to know if anyone has had suffered with Phagophobia a phobia with swallowing food.

I'm so stressed and done with this phobia I have not eaten properly for over three weeks and I don't know what to do :( I can eat better in the morning so try to eat as much as possible then because by the evening i will be lucky to have a few spoonfuls of food. I'm mainly living off yogurts, soups, cereal and porridge. I'm so busy with uni in the day so it is affecting and i am constantly dreading lunchtime.

when I try to eat my mouth feels really sticky and dry and when i try to swallow some food i panic when i start to swallow because i think im going to choke and noone will be able to help me because i live on my own. after i panic i then worry about the next mouthful and then i wont eat the rest of meal :(

I am loosing weight because of this and in only 3 weeks i have lost just over half a stone which is really scaring me and people are starting to notice

I have spoken to my G.P about it and he prescribed me lyra (50mg 3 times a day) and it doesn't feel it has done anything for my anxiety.

I have spoken to the deans of students wellbeing team and they have offered me an appointment on friday.

Has anyone experienced this phobia before and how did you overcome it?
Thanyou xx

[lindadiana]

hello,ive had this siince i ws 11 years old,im 54 now,read my posts i did one recently on a reply to another lady who has this hugs linda

[nadine02]

Hi Claire!
I can't really tell you how to overcome it because I suffer with this too! It was so bad a couple of years ago because I got where I couldn't swallow at all - food, drink, saliva...Anything! Well it wasn't that I couldn't swallow, it was that I was too scared to even try and swallow because I was convinced that I would choke on anything and everything! I would chew and chew until there was barely anything in my mouth and then I'd grip my leg and tense up and try and push the little bits of food slowly down my throat..With drinks I used to push them through my teeth then either spit the liquid out or tense up and force myself to swallow. I was so dehydrated and weak it makes me wonder how I got through it without having to be in hospital...I tried hypnosis, beta blockers, Anti depressants, CBT and nothing worked..The only thing that worked was 'Time'

I know I've always worried about choking (my dad was the same) so it makes me wonder if this was building up for me for a long time! I've always felt uncomfortable eating around people and I've used the words "I'm not hungry" more times than I can remember over the years when I've been with friends/family just to avoid having to eat in front of them!..I won't allow my kids to have boiled sweets and things like that (my kids are teens now and I still don't let them) I worry about them eating at school etc and if they have steak or things like that, I always feel really anxious until they've finished their meal!..It's such a hard phobia because obviously we all need to eat and drink!

Like I said earlier, it got better with time for me but I'm still not completely normal... I can eat and drink now but I eat alot slower than anyone else who I know, I can't drink a glass of anything in one go like others can and I'm still uncomfortable eating around people....I'm hoping as time passes things will get better and better!

It's a few days since you posted...How are you doing now? xxx

[clairee22]

Hi Nadine, Thankyou for the reply its really helped :) I'm alot better than I was then but still not 100% with the eating.
I think your right on the time factor on this phobia but people are starting to notice and are getting fed up with me. But i dont know if it is the same for you but my choking phobia is alot worse when i'm alone which is alot of the time because i live on my own to the point where i eat five pieces of pasta and thats it :(
But it is also the sensation of eating i get breathless and a full sensation even when i havent eaten all day. Do you have the same thing?
Thanks for your time
Claire