I just tryed to eat some soup with noodles in it and the noodles were sticking and not going down right. I had to swallow over and over to get it all down. I am pretty scared at this point. I dont know what to do. I almost want to go to the emergency room. I cant have this *beep*! I have a young daughter and a grandaughter to take care of. I am a mess right now. I need to know from you guys if I have been twitching for nine months would I be having more than just swallowing issues ? I dont choke or have problems with liquids does that mean anything ? Could I still have full control over tongue mouth face and just have the swallowing after nine months ? No weakness anywhere else just the throat stuff to be more specific swallowing and having to clear mucus alot. Any info would help. My food also kinda sits at the bottom of throat . I can bring it all back up by trying to burp when I dont have to. This is out of hand. Am I dying ? Of well u know
Scared: Swallowing Noodle Soup
- Thread starter BarboFour
- Start date
Your really over reacting, is your speech ok? im guessing it is......please do not use google, i am guilty of it too and it freaked me out on friday night when i did!I dont think not being able to swallow noodles is any basis to say you have ALS, i struggle with toast, but its never bothered meChris
Chris I have been and am still there. Sometimes I have to swallow two or three times to get something down. Whatever it is that is affecting me definitely comes in waves. Can you 'tent' both cheeks equally with your tongue (left and right)? If you inflate your cheeks with air, tap each cheek gently - do your cheeks collapse or is there some resistance there?
I communicated with two ladies living with bulbar on an **S Forum, both of which told me that it does NOT present with swallowing difficulties. There could be a variety of reasons for swallowing difficulties. One of which is paying too much attention to it believe it or not. Try to relax. 
I can tent both cheeks and there is resistance. That is a good thing? Am I really over reacting? Could it be just me focusing way to much or related too my gastro problems ? My speech is good other than I feel like I am saying words wrong but everyone says I am not. When I read out loud everything is fine. I also notice that when I eat it hurts at the spot that the doc says the hernia is. My mouth has a horrible taste latley too. Please tell me that bulbar would be much different. I am 40 if that makes a difference. I did have a bought with bfs about 6 years ago and had emg and all was well. It calmed down to almost normal after about 2 years. What would be the odds of this being bulbar ?
Dont know if it helps you, but ALS swallowing issues start with problems with liquids (choking). Its important for differential diagnosis of MS, where harder part of food gets harder at first. Anyway, bulbar ALS mostly starts with slurred speach (vocal cord weakness) and later with swallowing and chewing troubles.People with bulbar ALS later cannot spit and cannot whistle."Lump in the throat" feeling and problems (not real!) with swallowing are often caused by anxiety and concetration on the swalloing process itself.
ChaoticGlow42
Well-known member
I was having this problem too. It went away within a couple days of starting a very good reflux med. My reflux was bad enough that, at first, I took the meds first thing in the morning and then again about 30 minutes before dinner. It hasn't gotten rid of all of my reflux issues but it did stop that feeling like I had food stuck in my throat.Jess
Outlook1958
Well-known member
Hmmm, interesting... after having read about bulbar symptoms I really DID develop swallowing problems. I had to swallow two or three times because somehow the food did remain at the bottom of my throat, especially dry food. I had this only a couple of times, over a month ago. However, I was really unsure wether it was something new or wether I used to swallow multiple times before and just haven't noticed it. Well, anyway, the symptoms were so minimal that I disregarded them, and until now nothing has progressed or changed. I stopped listening and searching for bulbar symptoms and haven't noticed anything extraordinary until now.
And not that what blizna is saying isn't true, try not to let the whistle thing get you down too much. I haven't been able to whistle very good anymore in a very long time. It's like my teetch shifted a bit or something over the years. I can sometimes get in a good whistle, other times it's all just hot aiiiiirrrr....
I think even within the bulbar sub-division of ALS the initial functional effects will differ from one person to another, which makes sense as there are so many muscles involved in swallowing, chewing, breathing etc. The fact that you can tent out your cheeks is a positive sign as the ability to 'seal' the lips is often lost lost first without sufferers noticing - in the way that ALS can be very covert. I also think other people would notice if your speech was genuinely different. I know from my own experience that if you hold yourself under a microscope then you will find a flaw.From a personal point of view I'd convinced myself that I had ALS and no one could tell me any different. Today I had black spots floating across my eyes so I'm just not so sure any more. My sister said along time ago that she thought I had MS. The point im making here is that it doesnt matter how much we talk and say this and that to you - one day something is going to happen that will convince you one way or the other as to what this is. That sort of thing can only come from within you.
Thankyou for all the response. I am extremley confused about all of this. I never worried about bulbar at all years back when I had my first round of this. My tongue did twitch a few times but not anywhere near like it does now. I never had swallowing issues either. I can tell you the moment I started worrying about bulbar was when my right upper cheek twitched like it was jumping off my cheek that was probobly beginning of august. Then a small piece of lettuce got caught in my throat and I really started worrying. Its just gotten worse from there mentally and the actual swallowing. Alot of the circumstances in my life when this started again were very similar to what was going on when this happened before. Alot of stress and exhaustion. My throat feels swelled in the morning I dont think that would be something involved with als would it ? I do get pin pricks on feet and hands and have had them on my tongue. Also have had one hitter twitches that come with like a electric shock and make my limb jump. I also have an occasional creepy crawly sensation. Today it was under my chin. I get pains that come and go too. I get them in my throat even. But the twitching is deffinatley the main thing. The swallowing is the part that scares me the most. should I get an emg ? I am scared to in a way. If it turned out good I would be so happy but I am scared to know if it is bad. How much is an emg now? I would have to pay cash. No insurance. thankyou for all the help I am at my wits end.
Problems with your throat in the morning could be due to some sort of inflamation. I had a brain tumour removed (acoustic neuroma) in September last year and as a result of them mishandling my cranial nerves I had 'nerve bruising' which which made my face quite weak. I had dribbling and swallowing probs and chewing issues for 3 months after. I saw a speech therapist to assess if I was safe. We spoke about the problems I was having with twitching and we discussed my fear of ALS. She asked me some questions and then said that people with ALS often have a sort of 'burbly' or 'watery' speech immediately after drinking as the liquid isnt being cleared thoroughly by the swallowing action. She also got me to say "mamamamama" and "kakakakakaka" and told me those sounds are often the first to be affected. Since my operation my tongue looks pointed when I stick it out and it kind of hooks at the end (i cant seem to straighten it). She told me that it looks nothing like an ALS tongue. In her experience the tongue takes on an irregular shape.You've mentioned none of the above so I really think you have nothing to worry about. Im not an expert though and can only speak from the experiences I've had. Seems quite weird trying to convince someone they dont have ALS when I cant even convince myself