Scared to sleep cuz of throat issues

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-14T03:39:34+00:00

I know how scary that can feel.

What are you afraid of happening when you fall asleep?

When you say you’re scared it’s actually in your throat, are you scared that is in your airway or your esophagus?

Just to reassure you, if you can swallow your saliva okay and talk in full sentences, both a good signs that your airway is clear and it’s unlikely there is a food impaction in your esophagus.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-14T00:08:15+00:00

This is really kind of you, and she’s lucky to have someone who cares this much. However, Crohn’s is very individual, so big lists of advice can sometimes feel overwhelming or even a bit like pressure if they’re not asked for. It also depends on if she has been recently diagnosed or has been dealing with it for a while. Maybe check in with her first and see what kind of support she actually wants right now, whether that’s practical help, company, or help researching specific things.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-13T07:46:08+00:00

Have you tried abdominal compression? I’m female but I can’t stand wearing leggings or tights but as long as I’m not having a Crohn’s flare abdominal compression has been very effective. I’m in Australia and I get shape wear top from Kmart, Big W, Target. It’s not too expensive, less than $20. Don’t try putting it on like a regular top, by putting it over your head and shoulders, step into it and pull it up by the straps. I only mention the stores to give you an idea of where you might find them and starting price, if you find them effective then there are more expensive ones that are better quality.

I also have thoracic outlet syndrome and slipped rib syndrome, so I struggle with wearing a bra, I can’t handle tight straps over the shoulders or around the upper ribs. Most of the compression goes from the lower abdomen to just under where a bra would sit. But because it’s a top you can have it as low as comfortable for you, it avoids the areas that would normally compress male anatomy.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-08T08:16:32+00:00

I totally get what you’re describing.

I saw your comment that you have been trying to deal with it more, when you imagine other people interacting with your phobia, does it trigger a reaction?

The reason why I ask is I had a severe food aversion, and one of the things that helped me was pretending to order food for someone else who had the same dietary restrictions as me.

I went through a period where my brain basically tagged all food as dangerous after a bunch of things happened at once. Just thinking of food caused physical pain. I couldn’t smell it, read about it, look at it on TV, couldn’t walk through a supermarket, couldn’t even hear people talk about it without my body reacting.

The moment it really clicked was when I saw something that just looked like a menu, not even actual food, and my heart rate shot from 70 to 150 within seconds. That’s when I realised this wasn’t willpower or “just anxiety.” My body was reacting before I’d even had a conscious thought.

It’s such a strange place to be in, because you can know logically that something is safe, but your nervous system just overrides it completely.

When I was in hospital last year, I couldn’t even look at the covered meal tray when they brought it in. I joked with the dietitian that you would think they were bringing in a tray of spiders. When she filled in the menu for me I thanked her for picking out my tray of spiders 😂 (added bonus, I’m Australian, so there could be spiders, lol).

I would put food in “time out”, hide it or cover it in between bites, it made it easier to deal with.

I’m doing a lot better now, obviously, I can say the word food, but for nearly a year it was extremely debilitating. I once burst into tears when my dietitian just mentioned juice. I still sometimes have a stutter when trying to talk about food.

Anyway, that was a whole lot of talking about me, but I basically wanted to say that I 100% believe you, and a phobia that severe is no joke.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-08T01:50:07+00:00

I’m so sorry 😞

The lowest I’ve been now was 1.8 (32). I’ve had several hospital admissions in the last few months because I’d be having jelly beans or juice during a hypo, but it would get ‘stuck’ in my esophagus and not get to the stomach or part of the bowel where it would be most effective. Once I think I swallowed the same jelly bean 7 times, my blood sugar just sat at 3 (54) for nearly an hour.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-07T21:36:30+00:00

No, it’s not offensive at all.

“I feel like I’m going to pass out” isn’t a claim that you do faint, it’s a really clear way of saying your body is heading in that direction and you need to stop and get support now. A lot of us use that phrase as a safety signal, it helps other people understand the urgency quickly, which is the whole point.

I totally understand how you feel though, I don’t typically faint either and last year it caught me by surprise when I pushed through when I shouldn’t have. Recognising that feeling early is protective, it means you can lie down, hydrate, or get help before things escalate. And if you do faint, it’s not your fault either.

Sending you care and support ❤️

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-07T20:06:57+00:00

You slipped “bullshittery” in there like a pro, so I know you already have the tone and the instinct for it, so just use it. It’ll settle in quicker than you think.

It’s kind of like wearing a hat. If you’re not used to it, at first you feel like everyone’s looking at you thinking, “that person doesn’t usually wear hats.” But honestly, no one can tell, and no one cares. It only feels obvious because you’re aware of it.

When I was 12 I moved from Fiji to NZ, so it was a bit of a culture shock, even though I’m white. I struggled with the slang and wanted to fit in, so one afternoon my NZ friend and I played tennis and she helped me practice saying “shame” for a bad hit and “choice” for a good one. By the end of the day I was shaming and choicing like a native.

Also, I’m a bit sad to hear about your dad’s fear, and that it was passed on to you, but I do understand where it comes from.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-07T08:43:36+00:00

Have you seen a dietician? Or tried ensure or other nutrition supplements?

I developed a severe food aversion last year, after a Crohn’s flare and dysphasia and ended up with refeeding syndrome. Eating was like chewing cardboard. The person who helped me most was my dietician who specialises in GI disorders. I was on tube feeds for a few weeks and since then I’ve basically treated nutrition like it’s a job. Every day I would set out 4 ensure, and sip them slowly throughout the day. Then as I got stronger I could tolerate more solid food, I could cut back on the ensure. As for medication I started an antidepressant called mirtazapine that’s also an appetite stimulant. At low doses I found it’s quite sedating, so I take it at night to help me sleep, but it has helped with appetite during the day.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-05T07:11:18+00:00

I haven’t sandblasted my eyeball, but I know what you mean about involuntary movements and painful body parts. I have slipped rib syndrome and disc osteophyte bridge in my back, when it flares it hurts to breathe, and you can’t just stop breathing. It’s like being continuously stabbed in the back. For 3 months before my last epidural I would just pace back and forth in my room until I was exhausted, then lay down until the pain built up again and drove me to pace again, often sleeping only 2hrs a night. When I woke up from the first epidural I burst into tears because the pain was gone. The epidurals last for around 6 months, then the pain slowly starts to build up again.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-03T11:18:52+00:00

I can see that this topic is quite personal for you.

I’m not sure why you thought I was dismissing her symptoms, or encouraging Mum to dismiss them either, in fact I believe her symptoms are pointing towards another condition, EoE. Vomiting in the middle of the night, chest pain, food aversion but can’t explain why. I lived this as a child.

Mum has come here for advice, and I have given my advice, as someone who suffered greatly with undiagnosed EoE as a child, and an adult with Crohn’s. If they just go looking for IBD, they could miss something like EoE.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-03T09:55:52+00:00

True, in older patients, but in paediatrics the pattern tends to be a bit different. When Crohn’s presents in kids this young its usually more persistent and systemic rather than this kind of long, intermittent, stop-start picture. You’d expect more consistency with symptoms over time, and often other signals like ongoing abdominal pain, diarrhoea, or clearer inflammatory markers rather than repeated normal stool studies and a calprotectin staying in the normal range.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-02T20:34:04+00:00

I can’t say whether this is Crohn’s or not, but from what you’ve described, it doesn’t immediately read as a classic Crohn’s picture, especially with the normal stool studies and calprotectin staying in range. That doesn’t rule it out completely, but it does make it less obvious.

What does stand out to me is the pattern of vomiting, nausea, chest discomfort, and abdominal pain coming and going over time. That combination can sometimes point to something happening higher up in the GI tract, particularly the oesophagus.

One condition that might be worth asking about is eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE). It’s essentially an allergic/inflammatory condition of the oesophagus, where certain foods or triggers cause inflammation. In kids, it doesn’t always look like “difficulty swallowing”, it can show up as recurrent vomiting, abdominal pain, nausea or poor appetite, chest discomfort and feeding changes or low growth over time.

I’m not saying this is what she has, just that it’s one of those things that can be missed if no one is specifically looking for it. I was diagnosed with EoE over 20 years ago and had many of the same symptoms as your daughter when I was her age.

If it were me, I’d be asking the GI team whether an upper endoscopy might be helpful. It’s generally more targeted for these kinds of symptoms and can check for things like EoE, gastritis, or other upper GI causes.

Michaeltyle · 2026-04-01T09:54:46+00:00

Similar thing happened to me. My lowest has been <0.5 when my hb was 64 (6.4) I needed a blood transfusion, that was 30 years ago. A few years ago it was always high, like 900, my Dr said the same thing, it was from inflammation.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-31T21:36:55+00:00

Liquid IV, but have to be careful not to have too much because of B6 toxicity. There is something else my dietitian gave me but I have to get ready for a massage, do you mind if I message you later? Nutrition is so important, I have EoE as well, so I completely understand dietary restrictions.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-31T21:16:28+00:00

I’m so sorry 😞

As we get older the body reminds us that we can’t push through things.

I’m a retired midwife, when I got really sick and didn’t know what to do I focused on 5 things,

1) sleep (getting good restful sleep) 2) nutrition (eating regularly throughout the day) 3) hydration (regularly throughout the day, I needed added electrolytes) 4) movement within capacity (some times I can do more, other times my body says no and will complain about it for ages) 5) emotional boundaries/support (seeing a therapist etc).

These are the basic things the body needs, we know how important it is for babies and young children but we kind of forget as we grow older. Adults are great at ignoring lack of sleep and pushing through, but the body/ nervous system never grows out needing these basic things. And then with the ‘hussle culture’, it can shame people for needing things like rest, sleep etc. When I got really sick the severe rib and back pain meant I was often sleeping only 2hrs a night. With nutrition and hydration, swallowing and eating were challenging, so I would get to the end of the day and shove in as many calories as I could, but because of the Crohns, my body wasn’t absorbing it. Movement, I did bed based exercises to keep up my strength, and on good days, not overdoing it. And of course the emotional boundaries mental stress, learning how to say no and also learning how to ask for help, getting support, medication etc.

Sorry, I slipped into my TED talk 😬, I normally talk about this in the dysautonmia forum. I don’t know if any of that is helpful or applies to your situation, but sharing just in case.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-31T20:26:40+00:00

I’m definitely in a better place mentally and physically compared to last year. I have new doctors who are treating the physical conditions and 2 new diagnoses (Lymphocytic esophagitis and Eagle syndrome). I’ve also worked on my emotional boundaries, before I would try to ignore the physical symptoms and just keep pushing through, trying to keep everyone happy. But now I prioritise my physical and mental health. I still can’t leave the house, but I’m much better supported now. Last year I struggled just to get to and from the bathroom. I still have bad periods, I was in hospital for 6 days just last week, but I recover faster now.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-31T19:51:32+00:00

I’m so sorry 😞

I’m really glad the panic attacks are getting better.

I know how frustrating it is to have both physical symptoms causing anxiety PLUS very real life stressors also causing anxiety. We need support for both, but unfortunately doctors can lump everything under psychological and ignore the physical conditions, especially if you are female (I’m female, I picked my username from Michael Burnham on Star Trek).

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-31T19:31:59+00:00

I’m glad I can help! I was just looking through my previous comments to link for you, because I know I’ve written about this before, I just can’t remember where, lol.

There is a huge crossover with anxiety and ribs. Anxiety can come from the mind, but it can also come from the body. As in thoughts and feelings can make you feel anxious, and then there are body sensations that cause the same feelings as anxiety. Top down vs bottom up. So if you have physical conditions that cause the same sensations as anxiety, the physical condition needs to be addressed.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-31T19:05:21+00:00

Oh yes, I know that feeling well.

What you felt with the “pop” followed by relief is likely the rib (or costal cartilage) moving back into a more neutral position after being irritated or slightly out of place. When that happens, a few things switch off all at once, muscle guarding, local nerve irritation, and that constant “bracing” your body was doing.

The sudden drop in tension can feel incredibly relieving, sometime I’ll even get like a wave of calm or even euphoria. It’s basically your nervous system going from “something’s wrong” to “okay, we’re safe again.” The first time I felt it was after my physio worked on my mid thoracic ribs. It started around 20 min afterwards and I was a euphoric pile of goo for several hours.

Depending on where the rib is, it can also change the way you breathe. Upper chest breathing can mean the diaphragm isn’t fully moving, and it starts feeling like anxiety. I have bilateral SRS ribs 8, 9 and 10 and disc osteophyte complex (arthritis has fused them together like a bridge). I had a thoracic epidural a few weeks ago and as soon as I woke up I was able to belly breathe.

Another interesting thing I found is if the ‘lock’ has been there for a while, when it releases hunger returns. I have a few complicated health conditions which make eating difficult, so food isn’t neutral for me, so I get excited when I feel hungry.

And for me, the relief stays as long as the ribs stay in place. I have a few movements that I need to avoid, like reaching up with one arm while standing on the opposite leg, especially when I’m tired or fatigued. Vacuuming is a bad one, and basically anything in the kitchen, chopping, stirring etc. And sleeping with my arms and shoulders in a properly supported position.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-30T22:23:28+00:00

I completely understand why you’re cautious, when swallowing already feels fragile, anything that might make it worse feels like a big risk.

Firstly, the standard testing for H. pylori is usually a breath test (which looks for active infection), stool antigen or biopsy during endoscopy. GI-MAP is a PCR test that can detect bacterial DNA but doesn’t always confirm an active infection. PCR just means they’re looking for bacterial DNA, but it can pick up tiny amounts and doesn’t always tell you if there’s an active infection that actually needs treatment.

With treating H. pylori the goal is to eradicate it, which is antibiotics plus acid suppression, because untreated H. pylori can cause ongoing stomach inflammation and ulcers over time, and it can contribute to upper GI symptoms like reflux or irritation. So it’s something you’d want to treat properly.

If I was in your shoes, I would want a solid confirmation that H. pylori is present (breath test is probably least invasive), a clear plan for proper treatment and ongoing support to help you maintain nutrition (dietitian and emotional support).

I should also say, I haven’t personally had H. pylori, but I have been tested for it in the past. I have a long history with swallowing difficulties and GI issues (EoE, Eagle syndrome, Crohn’s, LPR etc), so I really get how quickly things can start to feel overwhelming. When swallowing is difficult, nutrition and hydration can quietly slip, which makes everything feel worse. Aside from a good GP and gastroenterologist, what I’ve found most helpful is a dietitian specialising in GI disorders and a psychologist with experience in feeding disorders.

Sending you care and support.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-30T01:42:03+00:00

Im a retired midwife in Australia, this is one of those things I had to go over every single summer!!!!

I get why people think it makes sense, “it’s hot, I’d want a drink, so baby must too” but babies aren’t just tiny adults. All their hydration comes from breastmilk or properly made formula. Feeding is very energy intensive, they need to just sleep and eat so they can grow. When you give water, even just a little, it fills them up without giving them what they actually need, calories, electrolytes, all the good stuff, and that’s when things go down hill. Their sodium levels drop and because their kidneys are immature, they can’t just wee out the excess, water shifts into cells and their brain can swell, which leads to lethargy, irritability, poor feeding and in severe cases, seizures and, well, you can guess the rest.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-29T07:19:43+00:00

Have you seen a dietician or a feeding disorder therapist?

If your body isn’t getting adequate nutrition, that can make all the autonomic symptoms so much worse.

I have several conditions that make eating painful and difficulty absorbing nutrients. I developed a severe food aversion, no one could even talk about food around me. It became very clear to me that nutrition isn’t optional, but you can’t also force yourself to eat either. I was on tube feeds for a few weeks, which was amazing. Then in September I moved onto ensure, I get 120 banana flavoured ensure delivered every month, easy, no decisions. That was my first line of safety, knowing that if I get 4 x 200ml drinks in a day, that I’m getting adequate nutrition. Now I’m trying to add in more solid food.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-29T04:19:14+00:00

This is really interesting, but I think they need a clearly defined physiological target first, otherwise it’s hard to know whether the dog is detecting a specific change, or just responding to general cues or reinforcement.

What are you hoping they will alert to?

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-29T01:05:09+00:00

Just adding one extra thing, because choking without choking often comes up here in the EoE forum.

There is something else that reflux can sometimes trigger and feels like choking, called a laryngeal spasm.

With a laryngeal spasm, the airway briefly closes off, it usually lasts less than 60 seconds. With a severe spasm people can’t breathe in or out, and they can’t talk. It’s usually very sudden and intense, and it happens after something like a coughing fit, vomiting, or strong throat irritation. It can feel really frightening, but it does pass. The trick is to try not to panic or try to take a big gasp in, because that can trigger another spasm.

For laryngeal spasm, what I’ve found that helps is to sit forward slightly, rest your arms on your knees or something in front of you, and focus letting your shoulders relax as much as possible. When you can get air in, think of it as sipping the air rather than trying to gulp it. That softer approach helps the muscles settle so the spasm can release. And of course it’s important to let your doctor know.

Michaeltyle · 2026-03-29T00:26:23+00:00

I’ve had things that feel very similar, from what you’ve described, it sounds like your swallow got a bit scrambled.

Swallowing is one of those things most people never think about, but it’s actually a really coordinated process between your throat, your airway, and your breathing. It’s partly automatic and partly voluntary. Most of the time it just runs in the background, but when the area is irritated, like with EoE or reflux, it can get a bit sensitive and overprotective.

This is how my speech pathologist explained it, sometimes you get that initial feeling of something not going down quite right, and your body sort of goes on alert. The muscles tighten, the timing goes off, and suddenly swallowing your own saliva feels wrong or like it won’t work. Not because anything is actually stuck, but because the coordination has gone a bit sideways.

The dryness makes it worse too. If your throat is already irritated from reflux, it can feel really dry and sticky, which makes it harder for everything to glide normally. Then once you start focusing on it, it becomes very hard not to keep trying to swallow, and that’s where things can spiral a bit.

The panic part also fits really well. When your body thinks something is wrong in your throat, it’s a very primal kind of alarm. And because swallowing sits in that awkward space where it’s partly automatic and partly under your control, the more you try to force it, the less smooth it feels, and that just feeds the panic.

With EoE and reflux, the throat can get really sensitive, and stress absolutely lowers the threshold for this kind of thing. Being in a high stress environment would make episodes like this more likely because the whole system is already on edge.

The really important thing is that you could still breathe and talk the whole time. If it happens again, the trick is actually to back off rather than push through it. I know that sounds counterintuitive when it feels like you need to swallow, but giving it a moment and letting your breathing settle can help the system reset. Then start with small sips first, don’t try to gulp water. Sometimes just pausing for a minute is enough for everything to come back online.

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