Hi Veeky Forums...

Hi Veeky Forums, I developed a fear of swallowing and I haven't eaten real food in 5 months ever since I got sushi lodged in my throat. I don't know what to do, I just drink milk and shit like protein shakes, eating seems so terrifying and weird to me now. The doctors have done tests and told me there's nothing physically wrong with me and I might just have gerd, I'm completely a wreck and I know I can't eat like this forever but does anyone here have any suggestions for stuff that I can try that's easy to swallow, think of potato consistency.

How the fuck do you get sushi stuck in your throat?

Are you those guys who literally swallow shit without chewing it first?

I don't know how it happened, food is scary

Therapy always constists of small steps. Put very small portions in your mouth, chew the food really thorougly until it all mushy, then drink some water to make the slush even thinner, to the point where you can swallow it like your protein drinks. Then work your way up, with larger bites and less water. You'll have to keep pushing yourself.

Wheat gruel might be a good place to start.

250ml milk
40g gruel (3 slightly heaped tablespoons)
1 tbsp sugar
3 pinches of salt.
Vanilla (aroma) to taste

Bring milk to a boil, put in sugar and salt and then let the gruel trickle in while stirring the milk with a whisk. Let simer on low heat for a few minutes. Add cream, whisked milk curds,butter, brown sugar, chocolate fudge etc to taste.

I had sushi get stuck in my throat as well
Sticky as fuck rice

I tried to eat some chicken a while ago, I just nibbled at it and found it really hard to get myself to even swallow the small bits. I can get myself to eat mashed potatoes if it's smooth, but anything textured just throws me off. I really miss the feeling of eating with people and going to restaurants

>Wheat gruel

Thank's, sounds good friend.

oat meal is my only suggestion

CHEW

MOAR

dogs are so fucking stupid

Same thing happened to me, but with a burger when I was younger. I got up abruptly after I started to feel like I was choking and I briefly passed out from a combination of coughing/gasping for air and blood rushing to my head. When I started to pass out, I thought I was going to die for sure.

After that point I struggled to eat. There was nothing physically wrong, but the fear of choking became an anxiety release. Some months were worse than others. When it got real bad I would persist on things like ensure, chef boyardee, spaghetti-o's, chicken broth, apple sauce and any crunchy foods that I could break down easily like the softer kinds of potato chips.

Consider some form of exercise. It will greatly reduce your fear if you're currently sedentary.

It'll likely eventually go away. I haven't had any eating problems for years now.

Thanks for this man, I want to maybe get a gym membership too but getting enough calories in feels like a chore. Maybe I'll try making some high calorie smoothie's and building myself up a bit will help with the fear and anxiety

good luck, user

just don't burn too many calories when you're already likely calorie deficient

you really don't need to do much to get endorphins going

In fact, I highly recommend you don't do too much until you can start eating more solid foods

Sounds like acute anxiety.

Ask your doctor what they think about prescribing an anti-anxiety medication like lorazepam.

I've had this problem for almost six years. The only thing that helps me is eaither eating as soon as I wake up (I mean, straight into kitchen, straight out of the fridge) or getting drunk before I eat. I'm prescribed xanax, and that helps calm me down, but it doesn't really help with swallowing.
Sometimes if I get too anxious I can't even swallow my spit. The doctor also told me there's no physical problem.

"The doctor told me there's no physical problem"
Obviously morons, go see a shrink.

lol pussy

Starve yourself and see if your life preservation instinct can win over your phobia. If not, well the problem solves itself too.

Or go see a shrink with a track record in treating phagophobia.

See a therapist man, that's why they exist

Maybe you should ask your mom for tips - she doesn't seem to have any problem swallowing.

Get high as fuck then you'll be so hungry you'll eat anyway

CHOKING

GAGGING

CAN'T BREATH

FADING OUT INTO BLACKNESS

DEATH

OP, go see a psychiatrist.
Take Paxil. Will remove fear and inhibitive behavior. Shit will roll off your shoulders like nobody's business. Remarkable recovery is at hand.
Work through some therapy with someone who is an expert at drug side effects and dosages. The quicker you get over this hurdle the better. The best part, is your psychiatrist is a real M.D. and could do the Heimlich, so there ya go.

Once saw a patient like you, took 4 years to die after some aversion to food following chemotherapy. Would always choke or vomit, the esophagus eventually got very narrow. It was horrific for that patient's family. Don't be a basket case where people have to take care of you. You know you have to actually get over it all. Go start.

What is 'gerd'

First off, know that it will pass in time. For the first six months of my current relationship, I couldn't eat in front of my gf. I would myself sick every time I would try to eat. It started to spread into any meal I would try to eat. Eventually it went away but it took a lot of mental training. I found that when I was engaged in conversation or activity that was distracting me from focusing on eating and the feeling of sickness, I started to eat a little easier. Try developing a mantra for the times you can't stop focusing on eating. Eat alone to take off the pressure of others judging you and start small. Cut your foods into small pieces and chew for longer. It might put your mind at ease and it's better for your digestion.

What does a therapist actually do in these situations, though? I mean, the guy knows his fear is irrational and excessive.

The therapist's job would be to create a road to recovery. Thinking of possible steps and assisting their patient in actually taking them. It would also be their job to find the root of the issue. Yes, choking on food is the forefront of the issue but people choke on food on the time and don't have eating disorders/phobias as a result of it so what's different for their patient? And once they figure that out through more sessions, ideally their patient would be able to overcome their phobia.

Cook normal food and throw it all into blender. Add stock or broth and blend until smooth. Then just drink it. After a week, try blending it a little rougher, and eat it more like a stew, and so on week by excruciating week. I predict in no time you'll be back on solid food.

1/ See a shrink

2/ Get drunk before eating, it will relax you

3/ Smoke a joint, it relaxes muscles and everything + gib you the munchies eventually.

But really, go for number one first and foremost.

Is this a troll?

Just eat soup. Are you sick?
Ramen? Chew, chew, chew...
Eggs, tortillas, cheese, bacon... and you should be good.

Sounds like you choked on rice but I have done that too...

Right, but how do they actually do that? Maybe if we know how they do that we can help OP without him having to spend money on a therapist.

Try hypnosis.

It'd be a one step at a time thing. They'd probably have him do something like and then move on to just chewing food without necessarily swallowing it, then chewing until he feels comfortable swallowing a little, and doing that until he can eat normally and then doing that until he chokes on sushi again and the process starts over

Like this user said, , it's a process of one step at a time. The difference a therapist would make in that situation would be emotional support and deconstructing the idea behind OP's phobia. But as for thinking of possible steps, that's already what's happening in this thread.

This happened to me as a kid, except the next day I realized I still need to fucking eat food so I manned up and ate it.
Five months? Really? You're fucking yourself over and it's going to be harder to go back to normal the longer you wait.

...

Daniel?

This isn't as rare as you might think. If it is a case of food refusal due to fear of choking, you really should see a medical provider about this. Five months is insane - I can't believe your doctors didn't refer you to a specialist to deal with what may be a psychosomatic but clearly serious condition.

What tests did the doctors do?

What are your symptoms - do you feel anything like a lump in your throat or is it mostly fear and an uncomfortable feeling when swallowing?

lol I love dogs so much

>This dude has had sushi stuck in his throat for 5 months and his doctors won't do shit about it

Holy fuck seek a 2nd opinion

>one dog is as stupid as most people
>the second dog is more clever than most people
>all dogs are stupid

>didn't refer you to a specialist

Muh, murrican healthcare.

do you have rabies

YOU HAVE A CERTIFIABLE MENTAL DISORDER. I SINCERELY HOPE YOU GET THE MEDICAL ATTENTION YOU NEED TO FIX YOURSELF. IF NOT THEN HOPEFULLY SOMEONE KILLS YOU INSTEAD.

Oh shit OP, I know exactly what you're talking about, good on you for coming forward with this issue because I almost began a bread about this issue you're having. It's called a "food impaction" and it happened to me last week:

>be me
>be eating soft taco I just made
>while eating taco, a small piece of burrito just small enough to slip by my mouth but large enough to get stuck in my esophagus
>"OH FUCK...no, no I'm okay, I'm fine, just fine"
>Fight or flight kicks in, go wide eyed and burst into cold sweat, heart racing, stomach pain, shortened breathing
>45 mins pass, drinking just mineral water
>FUCK it's still there
>Find video on youtube entailing a strategy called "the big gulp"

Apparently if you can get liquids down, there is a way to get rid of it, all you do is get hot/warm water and take the biggest gulp you possibly can. I did that and it went away after doing it twice in 15 mins. I was so fucking relieved. There's a lot you can do to conquer this mindset you have.

1. Sit when you eat
2. Make eating the enjoyable experience it's supposed to be (eat with friends, watch tv, play music or some shit)
3. use small plates/eating utensils
4. Enjoy your food
5. Slow down (This is why people smoke hookah before they eat, it calms you and allows you to better enjoy the meal)
6. Remember the saying: "Drink your food, chew your liquids."

When you eat food you should be processing it to the point that it becomes a liquid, then take it in. Chewing liquids makes your body more readily able to absorb it. I also found this online somewhere when it happened and it made a lot of sense to me, I hope it helps you as well.

Wasnt this pic proven to be a MEME picture someone made to troll mcdonalds!?