Swallowing problems

[+ FreshFluff]

I'm going to put myself out there and say this on the board. In mid-May, a few days after an extensive dental cleaning, I started feeling some pain while swallowing food. I thought it would go away, but it has continued since then.

 

I just searched online and found that this is an "ominous" symptom of esophageal cancer. The one risk factor I have is eating very few fruits and vegetables. I don't have any of the others risk factors: drinking alcohol, smoking, obesity, acid reflux. I also have none of the other symptoms: coughing , chest pain, food feeling like it's stuck in my throat. If it's oral HPV, that would be incredibly bad luck given the small number of partners I've had for that. I avoid jumping to worst case conclusions, but it's disturbing to see that trouble swallowing isn't really a symptom of much else.

 

I had an extensive physical in January. I've called a doctor I know to see if he can recommend an ENT.

 

I was going to wait until after my deadline to go to a doctor, but I think I'm going to go as soon as I can get an appointment. I'll also call the dentist and ask what, if anything, the hygienist saw during the cleaning. I'm really scared.

Edited June 23, 2015 by FreshFluff

[Irtwo]

Fresh Fluff, it could also just be (and more likely) a sore threat or heart burn. But once you put a worse-case scenario idea in your mind its hard to get rid of it, so yes, see the ENT to set your mind at ease.

[bostonman]

I think you're doing the right thing by getting to the doctor and the dentist - not only to see if they can find the problem but also, very importantly, to ease your own mind. And please don't forget that self-diagnosis can be a very misleading thing. That's why there are professionals to diagnose for you, lol.

 

Above all, don't worry yourself crazy. Hopefully and most likely, it's not nearly at all as bad as you might think it is.

 

Glad you shared with us, though. And I'm sending wonderful thoughts your way.

[+ FreshFluff]

Thank you, guys. I'm really hoping that you're right.

[bigvalboy]

Agree with everyone above FreshFluff. Ease your mind by going to professionals. Wishing you the best, and please keep us posted, Sent you a PM.

 

I will say that the title to the thread certainly got my attention.

Edited June 23, 2015 by bigvalboy

[+ WilliamM]

I had a lung cancer scare eighteen months ago. The worse thing I did was look at every medical site on the Internet.

 

Then I got a second and third opinion from pulminary specialists. They dismissed lung cancer, and I have been fine ever since. Please see a doctor and a specialist as soon as you possibly can, Fresh Fluff.

 

You have a huge amount of courage to post on this site, or any site, about a possible medical problem!

Edited June 23, 2015 by WilliamM

[whipped guy]

Fluff, there are so many factors that can be involved. The fact that it occurred right after a dental procedure could have triggered something and there might be a cause and effect relationship. You are right on target by having both the doctor and your dentist evaluate the situation. There could possibly be some sort of refered pain of a dental nature that might be contributing to the situation. However, there are also many other scenarios in addition to esophageal cancer that could be causing the issue. The Internet is a great tool, but at times it's possible to be overly informed.

 

I have always said that many patients are seemingly so well informed that they are actually uninformed in the sense that they don't have a proper grasp or understanding of the issues at hand.

Many of us have been in your shoes so we can relate to your concerns. Let the professionals diagnose and in the meantime take a deep breath, relax, and think positively. Easier said than done, but do try.

[+ deej]

I'll join the chorus to call in the professionals.

 

Difficulty swallowing IS one of the "seven warning signs" of cancer that they used to warn about, but it can also be caused my many other things. You may just have a latent case of strep throat.

 

Don't make your condition worse by worrying about it until a doctor gives you something to worry about, but get your butt to the doctor so he can do his job. It actually could be nothing to worry about. Allow yourself to admit it might be nothing.

[+ FreshFluff]

After thinking about it some more, I now realize that there may be something else that's exacerbating the problem. I will go to a doctor as soon as I can get in a name and get in.

 

You have a huge amount of courage to post on this site, or any site, about a possible medical problem!

 

Yes, t's not very smart to post about these things here as it makes you sound like a hypochondriac. Actually, I would have kept ignoring it if I hadn't Googled.

 

Deej, thank you. You're right about not making it worse.

 

BVB, thank you for the PM.

 

William, I really appreciate hearing from someone who has been there.

 

Whipped, I see what you are saying about too much information. I consider myself pretty good at synthesizing information, but I know too little about anatomy to figure out what's really going on.

[thickornotatall]

Yes, t's not very smart to post about these things here as it makes you sound like a hypochondriac. Actually, I would have kept ignoring it if I hadn't Googled.

What a nasty reply!..."makes you sound like a hypochondriac"??? not very caring...not helpful...a worrying person needs good advice,,or none at all...why demean someone with a legit question?...it's so easy to be hard....

[+ FreshFluff]

What a nasty reply!..."makes you sound like a hypochondriac"??? not very caring...not helpful...a worrying person needs good advice,,or none at all...why demean someone with a legit question?...it's so easy to be hard....

 

Wow, I really screwed that up. I meant that, as William implied, "It's not very smart to post about these things [health issues] here [on a message board] as it makes you [the general you, e.g. me] sound like a hypochondriac." William has shown no signs of being a hypochondriac, so I would never have thought of that. I almost substituted "one"for "you," but I thought "one" sounded pretentious.

 

Thickornotatall, I appreciate your pointing that out. I've PM'd with William for some time, and I would have been really upset if I had offended him.

 

Added: William, if I offended you or anyone else, I'm really sorry. That was the opposite of my intent.

Edited June 23, 2015 by FreshFluff

[+ WilliamM]

Thickornotatall, I appreciate your pointing that out. I've PM'd with William for some time, and I would have been really upset if I had offended him.

 

Added: William, if I offended you or anyone else, I'm really sorry. That was the opposite of my intent.

 

No, you did not offend me in any way, Fresh Fluff. Absolutely not! I did not have your courage when I thought I might have lung cancer (after a scan). After reading your comments, I wish I had told more people. Even I had been offended,

I care about you too much to even think about it, now or later.

[+ Charlie]

I think thickornotatall may have misread your post and did not realize that you were talking about yourself, not WilliamM. I often have trouble keeping track of who is saying what in a long thread.

[+ purplekow]

if.you.are.taking.steroid.medications.inhalers.other.medications.thrush.may.be.an.issue.someone.mentioned.heartburn.GERD.frequently.will.present.as.painful.swallowing./////I.agree.with.those.who.suggest.seeing.a.professional.your.PCP.may.be.enough.or.at.least.she.may.point.you.in.the.right.direction.

[+ Gar1eth]

Just remember it's much more likely to be a case of post-nasal drip or occult gastroesophageal reflux.

 

Wishing you the best news on your checkup!!!

 

http://www.brookfieldflorist.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/y/f/yf1111_10.jpg

 

Gman

[thickornotatall]

I think thickornotatall may have misread your post and did not realize that you were talking about yourself, not WilliamM. I often have trouble keeping track of who is saying what in a long thread.

correct....I read and reread before posting....did not wish to insert myself in to a private...my point is no one should be called out for expressing a feeling and asking for help with a problem....duly noted and understood...

[Guest]

I'm going to put myself out there and say this on the board. In mid-May, a few days after an extensive dental cleaning, I started feeling some pain while swallowing food. I thought it would go away, but it has continued since then.

 

I just searched online and found that this is an "ominous" symptom of esophageal cancer. The one risk factor I have is eating very few fruits and vegetables. I don't have any of the others risk factors: drinking alcohol, smoking, obesity, acid reflux. I also have none of the other symptoms: coughing , chest pain, food feeling like it's stuck in my throat. If it's oral HPV, that would be incredibly bad luck given the small number of partners I've had for that. I avoid jumping to worst case conclusions, but it's disturbing to see that trouble swallowing isn't really a symptom of much else.

 

I had an extensive physical in January. I've called a doctor I know to see if he can recommend an ENT.

 

I was going to wait until after my deadline to go to a doctor, but I think I'm going to go as soon as I can get an appointment. I'll also call the dentist and ask what, if anything, the hygienist saw during the cleaning. I'm really scared.

 

Relax. While difficulty swallowing is often a presenting symptom, pain with swallowing is rarely a presenting symptom of esophageal cancer. If and when pain with swallowing happens, it usually happens after a period of time in which there has been difficulty with swallowing (i.e. food getting stuck). If you don't have a smoking or drinking history, the odds of your having esophageal cancer are minute. If you need to have someone look into your esophagus, this will usually be done by a gastroenterologist (or even a generalist with some training). Most ENT's are trained mainly to look at the upper throat including, and especially, your vocal cords and upper trachea. If your voice hasn't changed, your vocal cords don't have cancer. Pain with swallowing is usually caused by inflammation in the esophagus, not cancer. Inflammation that has lasted a while is most likely due to acid, or maybe to fungus. Herpes viruses can cause pain, but the pain would be fairly excruciating, and it wouldn't last for weeks, so I think that can be safely ruled out. Other causes include allergic reactions, especially to food (i.e. eosinophilic esophagitis), and, very rarely, Crohn's disease.

[+ FreshFluff]

Relax. While difficulty swallowing is often a presenting symptom, pain with swallowing is rarely a presenting symptom of esophageal cancer. If and when pain with swallowing happens, it usually happens after a period of time in which there has been difficulty with swallowing (i.e. food getting stuck). If you don't have a smoking or drinking history, the odds of your having esophageal cancer are minute. If you need to have someone look into your esophagus, this will usually be done by a gastroenterologist (or even a generalist with some training). Most ENT's are trained mainly to look at the upper throat including, and especially, your vocal cords and upper trachea. If your voice hasn't changed, your vocal cords don't have cancer. Pain with swallowing is usually caused by inflammation in the esophagus, not cancer. Inflammation that has lasted a while is most likely due to acid, or maybe to fungus. Herpes viruses can cause pain, but the pain would be fairly excruciating, and it wouldn't last for weeks, so I think that can be safely ruled out. Other causes include allergic reactions, especially to food (i.e. eosinophilic esophagitis), and, very rarely, Crohn's disease.

 

Thank you, Unicorn. That is extremely helpful. From the diagrams I see, the area where I feel the pain is in the back of the throat (epiglottis maybe), not as far down as the esophagus. (Of course, now that I'm trying to figure out where it is, the pain disappears.) So from what you wrote, that sounds like a job for an ENT?

[+ Gar1eth]

You can always start with the ENT. But if he doesn't see anything and the pain seems a bit lower down, then a gastroenterologist is the way to go.

 

Gman

[+ sync]

Hang tough. Hope to read some good news from you soon. All the best.

[ZhenXBear]

Wishing you all the best in determining why you're having pain during swallowing. I'd avoid the medical self-diagnosis, because resources online often point to the most serious of conditions, that aren't applicable to people. Hopefully just some gastric reflux, seasonal allergy related issue, or perhaps a dental issue. It's great that you're being so proactive about finding out what's going on, though! Some people delay seeking treatment for fear of what it "might" be and end up suffering unnecessarily when the real cause turns out to be something very treatable.

 

Just remember, that esophageal cancer statistically comprises less than 1% of all new cancer cases year year; it's very very rare! Much more likely you've got something more innocuous and VERY treatable. Please take care!

[bobchitown]

+1 on the stop googling. I once convinced myself I had leprosy.

[Steven_Draker]

I'm going to put myself out there and say this on the board. In mid-May, a few days after an extensive dental cleaning, I started feeling some pain while swallowing food. I thought it would go away, but it has continued since then.

 

I just searched online and found that this is an "ominous" symptom of esophageal cancer. The one risk factor I have is eating very few fruits and vegetables. I don't have any of the others risk factors: drinking alcohol, smoking, obesity, acid reflux. I also have none of the other symptoms: coughing , chest pain, food feeling like it's stuck in my throat. If it's oral HPV, that would be incredibly bad luck given the small number of partners I've had for that. I avoid jumping to worst case conclusions, but it's disturbing to see that trouble swallowing isn't really a symptom of much else.

 

I had an extensive physical in January. I've called a doctor I know to see if he can recommend an ENT.

 

I was going to wait until after my deadline to go to a doctor, but I think I'm going to go as soon as I can get an appointment. I'll also call the dentist and ask what, if anything, the hygienist saw during the cleaning. I'm really scared.

http://www.pleated-jeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cat_hug.gif

[+ FreshFluff]

Thank you to everyone. The posts were extremely helpful. I'm embarrassed to say this, but when I woke up, the swallowing pain was nearly gone, after having been there for nearly six weeks. I can still feel a lot of tension in that area though.

 

Regardless I made an appointment with a gastroenterologist whom I'll be seeing soon..

Edited June 23, 2015 by FreshFluff

[Lookin]

Glad things are better today! . http://www.boytoy.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.png

 

I wouldn't be embarrassed at all. Much better, in my opinion, to think about the worst case and be pleasantly surprised than to do the opposite.

 

It doesn't sound like you weren't fully functional during all of this. You were just tossing around some hypotheses. Heaven knows, all the info available on the internet makes that easy to do.

 

And you sure didn't act like a hypochondriac. Those folks, so I hear, still believe they're sick even after they get the all-clear. I doubt you'll be doing anything like that!

 

http://thefunnyplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/When-you-lose-your-phone-in-the-bed.gif