Dysphagia simply put is difficulty swallowing. It means it takes more time for food to travel from your mouth to your stomach. Why this affects people with multiple sclerosis? Muscle weakness once again. The good news is it is seen more in advance stages of the disease but it still can appear at any time. It can be mild or advanced. Hey, it’s MS. It has no set plan of attack.
According to WebMD https://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/speech-swallowing
Symptoms of a Swallowing Problem
• Cough or choke when you eat
• Feel like food is lodged in your throat
• Get a lot of lung infections, like pneumonia, that you can’t explain
When you can’t swallow properly, you might inhale food or liquids into your windpipe instead of getting them down your esophagus and into your stomach. Once in the lungs, they can cause pneumonia or abscesses. You could also be at risk for malnutrition or dehydration because your food and water aren’t getting to your stomach.
Why am I writing about this? You know there is a reason. Sometimes when I’m eating I can’t swallow my food down. It feels like it is still in my throat. I always make sure I have water near me when I eat. It doesn’t happen all the time so I looked up:
Can Dysphagia come and go?
Dysphagia can come and go, be mild or severe, or get worse over time. If you have dysphagia, you may: Have problems getting food or liquids to go down on the first try. … Have food or liquids come back up through your throat, mouth, or nose after you swallow. https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tp23477spec
It comes for me with dry foods or meats that have been over cooked. It is another thing I’ve have taken notice to and been very aware of when I eat. I never eat without having water nearby now. For me, that solves the problem.
Would I be diagnosed with dysphagia? I don’t know. I never had a test done. Truthfully I never brought it up to my doctor. I forget when I go to see him. It happened last night which is why I’m writing about it today. It is something I need to bring up since it is a serious symptom of MS.