choking

[molly36]

hi ther i was eating a cracker and cheese today ,i made sure i chewed it properly and it was the smallest piece ,i didnt feel like it was stuck in my throat ,all of a sudden its a if my throaot closed over i had to keep swallowing to get a breath i kept gagging ,then felt i couldnt swallow ,then i swallowed again and it went away,it was terryifing it felt like i was gagging for air and my throat was closed.its like when you no sometimes when you breath in and you choke on nothing and you fight to get a breath and swallow normally .an any1 relate to this as im terrified to eat in case it happens again many thanks take care molly

[ItWillPass]

Wow I have had the same exact thing happen. I work at a school, and one time it happened I rushed to the nurses office, and she explained it. Sometimes we can get choking sensations. It could be a peice of the cracker scractched your insides, which cause a strange sensation, which could make you feel like your throat is closing up. Also, sometimes I will choke on just air. I will seriously feel my throat close up... But it is important to remember that it is VERY hard for us to actually choke. Something as small as a cracker may go down in an uncomfortable way, but it wont cause our throats to close up. Anyway, I hope this helps... I know it is a scary feeling... But luckily it is not dangerous.

[molly36]

thank you for your reply,did your throat actually feel wheezy for a second too as if there was no air and you had to keep swallowing to stop the choking like a urge to keep swallowing ,many thanks molly

[nomorepanic]

Crackers are quite dry so maybe it wasn't that easy to swallow so freaked you out a bit.

Glad you were ok though.

[molly36]

hi nicola thank you for your concern ,i did have a drink with them ,i suppose im analyising it to much all part of this health anxiety but it really scared me and not understanding what happened freaks me out more many thanks take care molly

[Angelcake]

I get this a fair bit when I'm anxious. It started when I was at school too and that was a long long time ago!! I hope that you can just put it down to a bit of a blip, not get too scared and move on. I didn't and for some time I developed a big fear of eating in public, fears of not being able to swallow,and of choking etc etc. It's still something that bothers me from time to time, and is usually an indicator that my general anxiety is getting quite high. But in the 20 years of feeling this way, I have never once properly choked on anything, or stopped swallowing for any length of time - or anything really horrible!!

I do get the wheezy feeling you described too after the 'pretend' choking by the way - best thing to do is to stand/sit still for a minute and tell yourself that it won't hurt you, and you will calm down quicker!

Forget it!!!

[Brandy snap]

Hi, This is one of my worst problems. For 11 years I have been eating very slowly and carefully and have to concentrate on exactly when I swallow the food. It is the same with drinking, and recently some drink went down before I was ready and it felt as if the 'trap-door' (epiglotis?) closed. It felt like forever before I could breathe normally again - was making rasping noise and scared the life out of me. I no longer feel able to drink normally - I have to kind of exhale before actually swallowing each mouthful - I can't drink one gulp after another continuously any more. Also, if there is a sudden noise or someone suddenly speaks just as I am about to swallow, the swallow happens too soon, or rather my throat opens and it goes down but the swallow doesn't finish properly. I look back nostalgically to when eating and drinking were wonderfully automatic and I didn't have to think about them at all. Brandy Snap

[cattttt]

I get this too, it's really scary, it's usually water that causes it for me. My doc said it's because my swallowing mechanism gets out of sync and my larynx closes up because it thinks something is about to go into my lungs. Twice I've had someone break my ribs doing a Heimlich manoevre; at the swimming pool once, they called an ambulance, really embarrasing because I was alright by the time it got there. It's scary but not dangerous, for me it
usually lasts less than a minute, then it opens up again and I'm ok, but pretty shaky. Crumbs are another one that can set it off, so I'm really careful with drinking and with dry crumby things.

[Brandy snap]

Hi, pleased to hear that someone knows what I'm talking about but of course sorry you get it too. My daughter is getting married next month and I've got to sit on the top table facing everyone and eating a sit down meal!!! Dreading it! You take care. Brandy Snap xx

[luley10]

hi
i had a constant feeling i was choking or couldnt breath about 3 years ago, i ended up losing 3 stone because i was scared of eating. i was told that when your anxious this happens as just another anxiety symptom. its nothing to worry about just a muscle in your throat that gets twinges and feels uncomfortable
dont worry though it in no way can harm you just feels uncomfortable

lindsey xxxxxxxx

[molly36]

hi thank you so much for your replies i am very gratefull,and it helps a lot many thanks molly