Has anyone else experienced difficulty swallowing while taking sertraline. It's so bad for me right now. I'm scared.
What is the actual problem? Is it that the food bolus doesn't go down? If so, it could be due to your body making too much mucus, which was my problem, and it formed a plug with the thick mucus, and had caused a hernia in the oesophagusj just before the stomach sphincter, which itself caused a narrowing of the oesophagus with the result that the plug prevented the passage of food into the stomach. It was very painful and I couldn't even swallow water without it making the oesophagus fill up with saliva. The worst case lasted over 24 hours. Jumping up and down eventually got rid of it and it hit the bottom of my stomach with a very audible thump. The problem was solved by making an infusion of thistle roots and drinking it warm. It stops the body making too much mucus and works quickly. I haven't had a problem for years, now. The worst thing to drink is milk, as it causes a lot of thick mucus. Milk chocolate is just as bad. My singing teacher at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the late and much missed Bryan Drake, told me about the chocolate, and he should know as he was a professional opera singer himself! (See his obit. on Google) The thistle 'tea' idea came from the great botanist David Bellamy, who presented the TV series Bellamy on Botany about forty years ago. I hope this info helps. I hadn't heard of sertraline before, but try to self cure if possible, by natural methods.
Are you taking this medication because of difficulty with swallowing, or has the difficulty with swallowing come about after you have been taking it for something else? I would read the leaflet that comes with the medication carefully, as this does describe side effects that are commonly experienced, and then consult your dotor or pharmacist for advice.
Generally, though, tension and anxiety can make it difficult to swallow for some people, and being scared would ake this worse. So trying to relax would be worth trying, even thought this is easier said than done. And having soup or other more liquid nutrition may take the pressure off you for a while. Keep drinking plenty of water too.
i am taking sertraline and have had difficulty swallowing way before I started taking them.I had a barium swallow test which revealed food not reaching my stomach.Maybe you need to ask your dr to arrange a barium swallow test to rule out any problems in oesophagus
Hi Chris, Thanks for your reply
Its when I initially try and swallow, its like my throat blocks off and takes me a while to swallow even my own saliva. Once its swallowed, its not sure and no problem reaching tummy
I had the barium swallow in January and all was ok. Got the camera down and it showed up gastritis in stomach and hiatus hernia but neither to be worried about at the moment, getting another camera down soon to see if things are worse but the swallow is really bad since I started on the setraline
Hi again ellebi. A search showed me that sertraline is used to treat depression. Try adding lecithin granules to your soups and stews and on cereal etc. and in hot drinks. Sanatogen tonic wine is good for depression, too. Lecithin is a great nerve tonic, whereas anything from big pharma is extremely dubious. They have no interest in curing anything!
Get Dr. Mark Stengler's book on natural healing and read page 230 et seq. It's free, but you have to pay the p & p.
Hi again ellebi! Wrong page, sorry. P 230 is earmarked for my daughter, who is diabetic. You need p 426 etc.
Where can you purchase Lecithin and Sanatogen?
Hi again ellebi! Boots or Holland and Barratt or maybe Superdrug, They will be cheaper than H and B.
Yes. I just started taking it four days ago, and my throat keeps closing up and food and acid keep backing up into my esophagus.
(Yes, I know you posted your question 4 years ago.)
i still have this problem today
Wow. I gave up on Zoloft. The swallowing and urinary retention issues were dealbreakers for me.
i gave it up also. am on different meds now