For the past year, I’ve noticed that every time I drink something really cold, it feels like I have something stuck in my throat. Over time it seems to have progressed to some difficulty swallowing when I am eating food. It’s not a problem with getting the food bolus down my throat, but it seems as though the food catches on the back of my sinuses. This isn’t every time I eat. Sometimes it happens once a day, other times at least once every time I eat throughout the day. I’ve also noticed I am coughing a lot. It feels like an issue with the back of my sinuses, but I read somewhere that esophageal dysphagia (which is what I you know… googled…so therefore I have every disease that comes with difficulty swallowing and cough) is associated with diabetes. However the article did not say HOW it was associated, it just said it was related. Does anyone have any insight into this? I have an apt with my GP on Monday and I would like to at least seem to know a little about what I’m talking about before I go in! Thanks in advance for the help!
My guess is the link is due to damage to the vagus nerve (which, like other nerves, can be effected by neuropathy), which can cause all sorts of problems (including gastroparesis). The vagus nerve controls a lot, including many digestive functions and other aspects of the parasympathetic nervous system (basically, all the stuff that activates when you’re resting and have time to do things like digest food).
Note—I’m not saying this is why you may have these issues necessarily, just that I’m guessing that’s the broader link with diabetes.
That’s exactly what I was going for. All of this could be allergies I’ve developed to something in my environment, or it could be something more serious. I was just wondering what the link to diabetes was. That does make sense though. I do have some neuropathy, so that might be what’s happening. Thanks!
Are you going to ask to see a specialist such as a gastroenterologist? Swallowing difficulties can have a lot of causes, many of which have no connection to diabetes. I have a chronic condition called eosinophilic esophagitis which is caused by a type of food allergy. My main symptom prior to diagnosis was having major difficulty swallowing food and sometimes water (to the point I almost called 911 on several occasions and later learned I actually should have gone to emergency). Not saying you have that—just that a gastroenterologist would be able to assess and diagnose your problem, which may or may not have a diabetes connection. Good luck!
could be many things see a GI, he or she will most likely want and EGD done. This is a simple procedure that takes about 8 minutes and generally you have a diagnosis, and sometimes they can even solve the problem right then and there…
It also might be scarring from something like GERD. The specialist that you want to see is an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor.
There is another possibility, though it’s something of a long shot. I know about it from personal experience.
A few years back, my doctor had me on statins. (This was back in the era when I followed all medical advice blindly. 
) The main side effect I saw was occasional muscle spasms of one type or another. Most of them were mild. However . . .
One day I was eating something very cold (an ice cream code in August) and suddenly and without warning, my throat clamped down tight and I could not swallow anything at all. Tight as a drum. People around me were afraid I was having a heart attack and I had to hasten to explain that I could breathe just fine but couldn’t swallow to save my life. The effect lasted about 10 minutes or so and faded. Not too long after that, I quit the statins. It’s never happened again.
Well that’s proof it was the statins, isn’t it?
I’ve been taking a statin for 15 years and the only effect it has had on me is keeping my total cholesterol below 150. Thank the Lord my endo does not subscribe to junk science.
Considering that all the other symptoms went away too, I would answer with an unqualified “yes”. Plus I never needed them to begin with because my lipids are excellent.
Getting to reply to this late (life…) but thanks everyone on your input! I am on a very low dose of a statin drug, however when I spoke to my doctor, he says it sounds more like a complication from throwing up so much. Whenever I get an elevated blood sugar (I’d say 200 or higher) I get super nauseated and usually puke my guts up for a good hour+. I’d say this happens once or twice a month. So… That’s it right there. Damage to my esophagus from vomiting.
yes, this is my thinking too. Can you have just the swallowing problem alone though? I have read that the vagus nerve can also cause severe constipation, inability to have a gag reflex and gastroparesis. Can damage to the vagas nerve cause just one of these symptoms?
I would guess a person would likely have other symptoms of vagal dysfunction as well, but I don’t know.
That’s a really good question. I don’t have issues with constipation or gastroparesis, however I noticed that I have no gag reflex. (I mean I work in an ER and I have seen/smelled/touched some gag worthy things, but nope.) I don’t actually have an issue with swallowing, as I don’t find it difficult to swallow. It’s more like I get a sensation that I have a lump in my throat when I swallow very cold things.