 Re: Eating and Breathing
Sam,
Would you believe I was just thinking about you?! I'd just checked earlier this week to see when the last time you posted was.
About holding your breath when you eat, everyone holds their breath when they swallow. I guess to be more accurate, we don't breathe when we swallow, and additionally the epiglottis covers the opening to the lungs The epiglottis is a thin lid-like flap of cartilage tissue that is attached to the root of the tongue. It is situated behind the tongue and in front of the entrance to the larynx .
When we are not swallowing, the epiglottis allows air to pass through the larynx and into the rest of the respiratory system. When swallowing, it covers the entrance to the larynx to prevent food and drink from entering the windpipe.
If both the air passage and the food passage were open when someone swallowed, air could enter the stomach and food could enter the lungs. The epiglottis is the way that this is prevented from happening, basically acting like a lid every time we swallow.
By you describing that food moves to the back of your throat when you chew, I'm not sure if you're saying its not being swallowed down when you swallow it (residue left in your mouth after swallowing) or if it gets there too soon, before you're ready to swallow. It seems (to me) if your problem was due to weakness of the epiglottis, then you consciously holding your breath would not help.
However, if it is due to a miscoordination when you swallow, in that the food is getting to the back of your mouth too soon before you're ready for it, then you intentionally holding your breath would have an impact on how well you're able to swallow. I'd had advise from a SLP, saying to hold my breath when I swallowed, and when I questioned that (Re: what I just wrote above) I was given the answer that this would make me more aware of swallowing carefully.. They always advise to pay attention and to not talk and eat at the same time.
How do consistencies such as yogurt and pudding work for you? These are the easiest thicknesses for the muscles of the larynx to move down, also easiest for the esophagus.
Perhaps you can contact your doctor and see if a modified swallow test could be set up for you to have, coinciding with your other appointment so you can get it all done at once. The modified swallow is done with a speech pathologist, it is not a bad test to do at all, actually very easy, and it would give your doctors a lot of information as far as the mechanics of your swallowing.
I still don't understand why you have a thymoma, but your doctors do not think it is tied into your other problems, or that it could be MG. Didn't you have a single fiber EMG? Did you find out the results of it?
It was good to see you post. Maybe someone else can answer your questions better than I can. Let us know how your appt on the 30th goes.
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