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Choking and Difficulty Swallowing

dccwal_90

It's been a little while since I last posted so it's good to be back.

Last night, I started choking in a popular pub chain. After attempts to remove the blockage, they were unable to remove it all, so I had to go to hospital. In the end while sat waiting in A&E I was finally able to swallow it and it went down. I was lucky this time that I didn't get admitted onto a ward. I was very anxious and tense during the evening because I was in a busy environment and everyone, I was with was chatting away. I also didn't know where to focus my attention as there was a lot of distractions. 

The real point is that this has happened before. Last night wasn't the first. It happened four years ago and I was in hospital for 2 days before the blockage was removed by a surgical procedure. I have also had countless near misses, and it seems to have got worse in the last year.  

A couple of people who work in healthcare that I know have suggested I could have Dysphagia and that people on the ASD spectrum can also have this condition. As an academic student I know I should adopt cautious language about making a link between the two. However, from an anecdotal point of view it would make a lot of sense, I am awaiting assessment for ASD, and I also have problems swallowing food.

What does the community out there think about this? Has anyone on here had difficulties with swallowing themselves or with their children? Should I notify the assessors, and have it added to my notes? 

 

  • There's lots of different causes of this. Whatever the cause it is a horrible thing to suffer from. Mines caused by mono infection at first which caused inflammation in my brain and then nerve damage and since can't swallow properly which results in lots of hospital stays and needing fluid.

    It is possible that it's an autism thing as well. I used to choke on drinks before the infections so I wonder if that was autism related. 

  • I do actually have a history of swallowing problems, in the past, they said it was due to anxiety. I do think this is correct, as in bad times, it does get worse, the more you think, the worse it gets. I haven’t experienced it very bad for a very long time, but what I have currently, is pain. My windpipe hurts. I have sore areas I can feel when I explode it, which I massage, I also find that my voice is very hoarse when it’s bad. 
    I have recently been examined for something else, and my windpipe is fine, as is my larynx. I was told that it was due to anxiety band a combination of not enough water, and overuse. I think this is a fair assumption. 
    I have looked at lots of videos in YouTube, and I found some great massage techniques, and a straw blowing exercise which does actually help. I don’t have a diagnosis for dysphagia. I just know myself lol

  • in reply to KJ1234

    Anecdotal means the thing is based on what ordinary people say has happened to them, their personal experience. Their anecdote if you know that word better. So it does not mean based on no evidence! It means based on the evidence of actual people's experiences as told by them, as opposed to a scientific study.

    People often don't respect anecdotal evidence because it is not scientific and has not been tested. What people say can be wrong of course, they might not remember it right or they might even be lying. And if you only listen to what some kinds of people say then you get a bias. But I think it is wrong to ignore it.

    Most of this whole forum is our autistic anecdotal evidence of our lived experience of our autism!

    Of course anecdotal evidence has to be used carefully, but so does scientific evidence.