Hi,
Just before Christmas I chipped the crown on my front tooth and because I'm very hyper aware of anything to do with my body I felt like my swallowing wasn't right at times. My anxiety has been horrendous this last year which has resulted in me having to leave my job because I was struggling to leave the house, especially on my own. Anyway back to the swallowing. Me and my partner went for a meal on New Years Eve and the restaurant was very busy and I felt anxious and self conscious. I was eating my meal and it felt like it stuck in my throat for a second or two and made me do a kind of inhale sound. I swallowed it but a few minutes later it happened again so that scared me. Since then my swallowing has very quickly got worse to the point where I struggle with both foods and liquids with every single swallow. I chew excessively before building up the courage to swallow and I hold sips of liquid in my mouth before swallowing. I've lost a stone in weight since New Year because my diet has reduced by a lot. Strangely in the morning when I first wake up I can drink quite a few sips of water in one go through a straw but after that it's like a constant struggle all day.

I went to the doctors 2 weeks ago and she's referred me for an endoscopy on the 2 week wait. My appointment is this Thursday and I'm terrified! I only went to the doctors because I wanted to see if there was an omeprazole type medication or an anti anxiety med that dissolves in the mouth (she didn't give me any). I do get quite bad acid reflux quite often and have done for years. Strangely I haven't had it too bad since this swallowing fear started...I noticed on my patient notes on my medical records app that she's written cancer safety netting and on the referral part she's written suspected upper GI cancer. She never even examined me! She even said it could very likely be my anxiety and the endoscopy is just to hopefully reassure me and is something they would send anyone for at my age 47 who was showing certain symptoms....Are they 'normal' things to write on a patients notes? Is it because it's under the 2 week wait?

I did have the same swallowing problem around 14 years ago for quite a while where it was as bad as it is now and I've had it on and off since then but not as bad. It seems to happen when I feel self conscious or have high anxiety. I have had what I believe are osophegual (can't spell it) spasms over the years and I do get pains in my chest and back at times too which feel like reflux or trapped wind.....I don't even know what I'm asking here but has anyone had anything similar. I was reading posts on the OC Facebook page and so many were saying they had hardly any symptoms or that they had difficulty swallowing or acid reflux so that's making me panic even more...When will I learn not to Google!

Sorry for the long message...