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I've had a decade or so swallowing issue and all gone away after diet changed. I highly recommend getting rid of gluten, dairy, eating more leafy green vegetables that reduces inflammation. I used to have acid reflux, excessive swallowing, allergies, and constant post nasal drips too. All gone when I stop eating sugar and carbs. Refined sugar and carbs. Drink lots of water and eat more salt! Salt creates bile and helps the body digest proteins and fats better especially if you eat a lot of dairy.
That is something I have considered. I went down a rabbit hole of self-diagnosing myself by doing lots of web searches of my condition, which was a mistake on my part because it only increased my anxiety, but I did come across the issue of sensorimotor/hyperawareness OCD. I still want to believe it's linked more towards a medical condition I haven't found because sometime in between in the almost 2 years of dealing with this, I actually went about a couple months (3-4) of swallowing without any anxiety being associated with it. Though the swallowing has never stopped, the anxiety fluctuates and sometimes I don't have any anxiety/stress when I swallow, which is why my doctor also believes it's not mental or neurological. He believes the anxiety will subside when I treat the cause of the swallowing rather than trying to treat the anxiety itself. I'm completely open to seeking therapy if I end up ruling out all possible causes though!
I've had a decade or so swallowing issue and all gone away after diet changed. I highly recommend getting rid of gluten, dairy, eating more leafy green vegetables that reduces inflammation. I used to have acid reflux, excessive swallowing, allergies, and constant post nasal drips too. All gone when I stop eating sugar and carbs. Refined sugar and carbs. Drink lots of water and eat more salt! Salt creates bile and helps the body digest proteins and fats better especially if you eat a lot of dairy.
That is extremely encouraging to hear, you have no idea. I know all of our bodies are different, but I want to ask how long did it take from the moment you changed your diet for the swallowing to subside or stop? It'd be a lot more encouraging to have a rough time frame of when I can expect to see improvements because right now my brain goes into panic mode when I don't see improvements in the following days of changing diets or trying new meds. Thanks!
"Though the swallowing has never stopped, the anxiety fluctuates and sometimes I don't have any anxiety/stress when I swallow, which is why my doctor also believes it's not mental or neurological. He believes the anxiety will subside when I treat the cause of the swallowing rather than trying to treat the anxiety itself. I'm completely open to seeking therapy if I end up ruling out all possible causes though!"
An average human makes up to 4 pints per day of saliva that has to be swallowed. That is over a gallon. I seriously think you need to see a different doctor. Swallowing all the time IS NORMAL. It's not a medical problem to be "cured". Not producing enough saliva, and the associated required swallowing, is what causes meth heads to have their teeth rot out.
"Though the swallowing has never stopped, the anxiety fluctuates and sometimes I don't have any anxiety/stress when I swallow, which is why my doctor also believes it's not mental or neurological. He believes the anxiety will subside when I treat the cause of the swallowing rather than trying to treat the anxiety itself. I'm completely open to seeking therapy if I end up ruling out all possible causes though!"
An average human makes up to 4 pints per day of saliva that has to be swallowed. That is over a gallon. I seriously think you need to see a different doctor. Swallowing all the time IS NORMAL. It's not a medical problem to be "cured". Not producing enough saliva, and the associated required swallowing, is what causes meth heads to have their teeth rot out.
I completely see your point regarding how much saliva we produce and swallow and its importance to our health. The thing I maybe should have explained better in my original post was that saliva isn't the only thing that causes me to swallow. Sometimes I have no excess saliva in my mouth and have to swallow due to a dryness/irritation in my throat. Other times it's due to general discomfort or tightness in my throat. I believe that the issue stems from somewhere in my throat/mouth area and my body is trying to compensate for the discomfort by producing more saliva than normal to ease the irritation. Sometimes I swallow so much that my mouth goes dry, so it's all very confusing and it's a never ending cycle of wondering what could be wrong with me.
That's one issue I struggle with in dealing with the anxiety associated with the symptom. Sometimes I get stuck in a viscous cycle of "is my anxiety causing this fake symptom? or is my symptom causing my anxiety and is a result of a medical condition I haven't found a diagnosis for?" It's frustrating because I'd never once struggled with my health both mentally and physically before. I know swallowing is perfectly normal and we all do it subconsciously, but that's the problem with me at the moment. I'm swallowing so often that I'm conscious and constantly aware of it 24/7. There must have been a warning sign my body gave me that I missed before this started, but I'm just not able to find the core cause. Going to get an allergy panel done tomorrow to see if I have allergies to anything, but it's a longshot as I've never had allergies before in my life. I guess anything is worth a try at this point.
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You're 23, have been dealing with it for a few years which is right in line with when some of our bodies change after going through puberty. Same happened with my daughter but she started having a mystery illness at 16, that really blew up other health issues as she reached her 20's. It got to the point where doctors thought she was faking. I had a human body print out called demratomes, my daughter wrote all of her symptoms on it.
You really should have titled the thread dairy/gluten allergy causing excess swallowing? I think you would have gotten better input from people who actually suffer from it. If you want the title changed, I can ask a mod to do it.
What finally helped us with my daughters illness was I have a parenting Facebook page, a gal that liked the page needed someone who was good with medical stuff because her 3 year old daughter had Chiari Malformation, needed brain surgery. I joined a bunch of FB groups with her to learn about it and while reading, I actually found posts that applied to my "growing pains" when I was a kid. There's no such thing as growing pains, it's due to a tethered spinal cord. I also found posts that explained my daughters mystery illness. She also has Chiari Malformation, a "bobble head" where her head doesn't sit on the spine right, high spinal fluid that leaks out of her eyes and nose, heart issues, a connective tissue disorder and a bunch of other associated illnesses.
I ended up making an appointment with my old neurologist to tell him what I found out about myself, he agreed. I then brought my daughter to him, he agreed with what we had found at the time for her.
As I said, you will get better feedback if your thread is retitled. People also with dairy and gluten issues would be able to tell you their symptoms and if your doctor is on the right track.
I've had a decade or so swallowing issue and all gone away after diet changed. I highly recommend getting rid of gluten, dairy, eating more leafy green vegetables that reduces inflammation. I used to have acid reflux, excessive swallowing, allergies, and constant post nasal drips too. All gone when I stop eating sugar and carbs. Refined sugar and carbs. Drink lots of water and eat more salt! Salt creates bile and helps the body digest proteins and fats better especially if you eat a lot of dairy.
I believe it took 6 months atleast for the body to adapt to the changes and fix the chronic issues. It's not an overnight fix. Swallowing is sort of like a mini gerd or acid reflux where you have excess secretions or mucus. By reducing dairy, over eating on proteins like meats, and getting rid of gluten your body won't have to spend time digesting these foods and inflammation drops. My body works so much better without these foods.
Take it as an elimination diet, once you stop eating these foods and noticed the changes in 6 weeks you will progress.
"Though the swallowing has never stopped, the anxiety fluctuates and sometimes I don't have any anxiety/stress when I swallow, which is why my doctor also believes it's not mental or neurological. He believes the anxiety will subside when I treat the cause of the swallowing rather than trying to treat the anxiety itself. I'm completely open to seeking therapy if I end up ruling out all possible causes though!"
An average human makes up to 4 pints per day of saliva that has to be swallowed. That is over a gallon. I seriously think you need to see a different doctor. Swallowing all the time IS NORMAL. It's not a medical problem to be "cured". Not producing enough saliva, and the associated required swallowing, is what causes meth heads to have their teeth rot out.
Anxiety is a hormonal and mental issue. Fixable too if you stop eating sugars and refined carbs then start eating an organic wholefood diet that is rich in wild fish and raw veggies. A lot of anxiety comes from gmo and pesticides laced foods. You could get pesticides in your meats, dairy, and veggies too. So eat non-GMO and organic. Then over time spend more time outdoors to get your vitamin D which has a positive effect on mood and over time the body's hormonal issues will get balanced out.
Anxiety is a hormonal and mental issue. Fixable too if you stop eating sugars and refined carbs then start eating an organic wholefood diet that is rich in wild fish and raw veggies. A lot of anxiety comes from gmo and pesticides laced foods. You could get pesticides in your meats, dairy, and veggies too. So eat non-GMO and organic. Then over time spend more time outdoors to get your vitamin D which has a positive effect on mood and over time the body's hormonal issues will get balanced out.
I'm going to definitely change up my diet for the better going forward. I took my mental and physical health for granted and I now realize I should've taken better care of myself. It probably could've helped avoid the whole mess I'm in currently. Did you by chance get an endoscopy or any testing for allergies/intolerances done? Or did you just decide on your own it was best to cut out gluten and dairy? I have an endoscopy scheduled in about a month and I have to pay about $2,000 before even having the procedure done and I'm wondering if I should even go through with it.
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