Inherited choking hazard

When Jason and I were first married we were having dinner at his parents house. Jason's Dad, Dave, made some spare ribs that looked delicious! I say looked because I never actually got to eat them. Instead, on the first bite as I swallowed it got stuck right in my esophagus. At first I panicked and thought I was going to suffocate to death, but after I got my barrings I realized that I could actually breathe- I just couldn't swallow. ANYTHING. I couldn't even swallow my own spit. You never realize how much you actually swallow during the day until you can't. I spent the next few hours in the emergency room with my mug-o-spit that I had to spit out because I actually couldn't swallow it. I even tried to gag myself to throw it up to no avail. This meat was not going to move. I don't know what they gave me at the hospital to relax the muscle, but finally after the few hours, my body threw it up.

I dare you to not swallow for a few minutes. Let the saliva gather in your mouth for a few minutes and you realize how much it is! You'll have to think about it hard. I'll wait for you to return.

Did I mention that it was Sunday dinner and that I hadn't eaten all day and that I WAS STARVING? My mom, while in the ER actually went and got a snack and a Diet Coke like it was nothing. I gave her that look and she put them away.

Are you grossed out yet? The weird thing about it is that I feel like if I could just take a drink it would move it along. But it doesn't. It makes the gagging worse so it is best to just wait it out.

I can't swallow anything too big. In fact- I can't swallow Amoxicillin. Any of the cillin's. I have to get the little kid kind in the liquid. It mostly pertains to medicines because you can generally chew everything else. And if food is going to get stuck, it is usually at the beginning of the meal.

Growing up I watched my Dad struggle with this. He said that his Dad had it too. When he is having a problem though, he can calmly get up and walk out of the room without anyone noticing. I, on the other hand start choking and I start having liquid come out of my nose. That's because I don't realize it's stuck until I try to take a drink after the bite.

Sidebar== I remember one night when I was about 14 or 15 Dad had to go to the ER from ribs at a restaurant. (maybe we should all stay away from ribs!) That was the night that I would take my old Great-Grandpa Beeler's truck for a joy ride. HI DAD! (I'm hoping you have already heard this story...) I was such a great driver! I think that was the worst thing I did as a teenager. That, and go toilet papering. Only, I'm sure TP'ing is much less of a crime. HA! Dad, at least I never did drugs or alcohol. You're welcome!

So, back to my condition which actually has a name. It is called an Esophageal Stricture. One of the treatments is dilation. This is what I had done soon after the rib incident. From About.com: "The esophagus is stretched by the use of one of several methods. Two of the methods of dilation are performed by passing a dilator or air-filled balloon is passed through a endoscope. Repeated dilation may be necessary to prevent the stricture from returning."

The whole reason I am writing this post is because last night I dared try to swallow a multi vitamin. One that I have been taking for the last several years of infertility and pregnancy. Only now, my body is rejecting them and I choked on that stupid thing for AN HOUR last night. AN HOUR. I'm calling the Gastroenterologist in the morning.