SWALLOWING DIFFICULTIES:
EOSINOPHILIC OESOPHAGITIS?
INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE WITH THE CONDITION
PATIENT STORIES
Andrea* – 18 years of symptoms before her diagnosis
Andrea* is now 64 years old. About 25 years ago, she first noticed that she had unusual difficulties eating: during a BBQ, a piece of meat literally got stuck in her throat. Andrea* was in pain, felt like she was suffocating, and panicked until the piece of meat finally dislodged itself and made its way into her stomach. The incident frightened her. As two of her friends had cancer of the oesophagus, Andrea* underwent a gastroscopy. Given that no malignant disease was detected, Andrea* was reassured and the incident at the barbecue was initially forgotten. However, despite not perceiving it as such, Andrea still had swallowing difficulties. Read more ...
Food often got stuck in Frank’s* throat when he was eating
Frank* is a sales representative and spends a lot of time in his car, which is why he often eats his lunch “on the road”. On one such occasion, when he was eating a sandwich in his car, his oesophagus suddenly spasmed and he was unable to swallow the bite of sandwich. After a long five minutes, the spasm eased. Frank believed that he had simply eaten too quickly or not chewed his food properly. However, the spasms recurred and more happened frequently. Frank went to see his doctor who told him that he simply needed to take more time when eating. Read more ...
