Today's PSA: Chew your food properly

So I spent Monday at the ER at Kettering Main Hospital.

Sunday at lunch I was eating some cheese conies and mistakenly swallowed a very large piece of hot dog. I kept expecting it to pass but all through the day I couldn't get any food or drink down. This morning I said if still a problem I'm going in.

At 530am I couldn't get two sips of water to stay down. Went to the ER about 730am, they did x-rays (nothing), then tried injecting Glucagon to relax the esophagus but that still didn't work.

About 1pm they got me up to the GI section and prepped for an MC endoscopy. My first time with a general anesthesia and I slept great! I woke up about 2-230pm with my glasses back on and slowly coming around. No nausea mom!  (She always has issues afterwards.)

This morning the throat is still sore a bit but better.  I had a Gatorade when I got home, then some scrambled eggs.  Followed by some ice cream for the sore throat.  First coffee in 48hrs coming up.

So what did they actually do?  Remove it?  Jam it further down with a stick?  Inquiring minds want to know!

I envision a Roto-Rooter-type device that sort of just powerjets it into oblivion, but I'm sure thats not the case, haha. 

Glad you are okay and didn't get caught in your windpipe! 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I'm hoping it was to extract it.

Then cut it up into smaller bits so you can try again.

Seriously though, that sounds like an incredibly uncomfortable experience that I had no idea was possible.  Glad they were able to get you right again!

I never got to talk to the Dr that performed the procedure afterwards, so I'm not sure what they did.  He had mentioned it could either direction.  For what the hospital bill is going to be, I should have had the option to try again, that's an expensive coney.  Or at least frame it.

I just imagined that scene in Total Recall.

that's a fear of mine. If I'm eating alone and don't have the TV on or something distracting I tend to choke down my meal like a labrador.

Glad it wasn't worse. That general anesthetic sleep is pretty damn refreshing. I can see how folks get addicted to it!

Depending on how it really looked, I suspect they pushed it through. The ability to bring it back up is hampered by the time in the esophagus, food composition, position, and damage already done.

At least, it's over.

j_tso said:

that's a fear of mine. If I'm eating alone and don't have the TV on or something distracting I tend to choke down my meal like a labrador.

Oh yeah.  SWMBO gets on me all the time about it, ever since the Navy I choke it down like they're going to call my boot camp company number in 3 minutes.  I'm really trying to slow down, especially with the new dentures.  (The main cause of all this, I thought I had chewed everything up until I felt that thing go down like OOOOWWWW this is going to suck.)

Happy your still with us! Had a cousin choke to death at a business dinner age 47 just over 5 years ago (April fools day). Even had an MD at the table with them.

I saw this and reacted elsewhere, but I'm glad to hear all is well and you're recovering!!

Glad things worked out, I wonder if the Heimlich could have helped.  No matter; but having dealt with parents in their 90s, I have to PSA that as we age, the esophagus narrows and stuck food happens often.  I've run my mother to the doctor or hospital more than twice for stuck food.  Seems to be a common issue in the elderly.

In reply to 914Driver :

Yeah, my 77yr old mom has had a few issues lately.  I'm not sure Heimlich would have helped, I was breathing normally the whole ordeal.  Pretty sure that works on something in the throat/windpipe?  I wasn't even 100% sure it was something stuck, or if it aggravated something enough to close up.  That was my only concern, if something wasn't there to remove then what?

Glad you are still with us! Before seeing your thread I saw this story this am.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/20/daniela-larreal-chirinos-olympian-dead

Scary E36 M3.

hobiercr said:

Glad you are still with us! Before seeing your thread I saw this story this am.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/20/daniela-larreal-chirinos-olympian-dead

Scary E36 M3.

I had the exact same thought. Glad your situation turned out much differently!

Just got the bill from anesthesia.  $1278 and my portion is $612.  Waiting to see if our new health insurance and some kind of local co-op thing we started in March is going to help with it.  Still haven't gotten the $350 copay ER visit bill.

Jerry said:

I'm not sure Heimlich would have helped, I was breathing normally the whole ordeal.

The only time I've ever seen the Heimlich used in person it was used inappropriately, and it was genuinely counterproductive,

A guy was choking, but he was still able to breathe and was coughing.  His wife gave him the Heimlich (badly and unnecessarily) and promptly knocked the wind out of him.  Every time he got his wind back enough to start coughing, she'd nail him again and then he couldn't breathe again.  After 3-4 goes like this he finally fended her off enough that he could get his stuff back together.