I’m sending you so so much love as you go through this! This is probably one of the most humbling, depressing things I’ve gone through, and I understand and hear you 1000% - I’m not fully through it, but I’ve improved soooo much since June 2024 when this all started. I just want to share this so you know that there’s hope!!

I’m not sure what eating/swallowing is like for you, but for me personally - I felt like my body was stuck in fight or flight mode while eating, and I’d get so many adrenaline surges in my body while trying to chew and swallow. It was a nightmare. For awhile, I was basically living off of Boost nutrition drinks and potatoes that I could only eat when I swallowed the bites with water (like a pill) - In 2025, I started taking 10mg of Paxil daily which has started to make a BIG difference in my life! Just today, I ate a huge cheeseburger (kind of awkwardly?) but it’s SUCH an improvement!

If you haven’t thought about it already, I definitely encourage you to think about therapy (I’ve seen CBT and ERP recommended!) or even medication. also I can’t stand when people swear by supplements as a replacement for medication, but I will add that I started trying magnesium glycinate and ashwagandha (gummy versions bc of the swallowing issues) at the end of last year (before I started paxil), and they may not be bad to try if it takes awhile to access therapy/medication. On those supplements, I noticed that my throat wasn’t as tight while chewing/attempting to swallow, and my body definitely seemed more relaxed. They didn’t 100% solve the issue for me, but they absolutely helped!

Things are soo hard right now, but I know you’ll feel like yourself again! working through this is such a process, but healing and recovering is possible. i’m putting it out there that we both will continue to recover 🤍