Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hi and other new people to the group, Many of us have worked out a few things to do to avoid throat spasms coming full on once we feel them starting. The problem is trying to avoid the initial panic that tends to naturally take hold when you feel a throat spasm coming on (we normally get a second or two before they become full blown). I have had a few different things initiate them eg. typically a feeling that something has gone down the wrong way or got caught in your throat. Just a tiny morsel of food or even just a breath taken the wrong way or a sudden strong taste/smell eg. from a strong mint is enough to set one off. For myself I worked out that trying to force myself to relax (nice contradiction in terms!) is the key. I then have to will myself (sometimes easy, sometimes not) to take a breath through my nose - not easy to do if you start to panic as the natural thing is to try to take a normal breath through your mouth but once the throat starts to close over that's pretty much the end of that possibility. If I can relax enough to take a semi decent breath through my mouth that breaks the cycle, my throat spasm stops and all quickly comes back to normal. I somehow fluked upon that after about 6 years of choking attacks several times per month and in the probably 3 years since I did so that method has only failed me once and that was only because I didn't manage to initially force myself not to panic. I think what happens with us because our body parts do not function properly is that the epiglottis, whose function is to make sure that food doesn't go down into our airway when we swallow gets tricked in certain situations into closing over when it shouldn't and with us in that panic situation it won't release again until we relax. My guess is that by managing to take a breath in through our noses we allow our body to relax enough for it to resume its rightful normal place, which is to prevent air from going into our stomachs when we breathe. That is pure speculation on my behalf based on a rudimentary understanding (absolutely no medical training) of how our bodies work. Try to get your mom to try that approach next time a throat spasm starts. It works for a number of us. hed920 wrote: > Hi , > > Thank you for the welcome and from everyone else too! Yes, > sometimes my mother's airway shuts off and it's usually when she's > laughing or eating and starts to choke. It's pretty scary. What do > you do when you have this happen to you? Are you able to gain > control of your breath again? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Oops! Just noticed that in the second paragraph I said " If I can relax enough to take a semi decent breath through my mouth " which should of course have said " If I can relax enough to take a semi decent breath through my NOSE " ......... C wrote: > Hi and other new people to the group, > > Many of us have worked out a few things to do to avoid throat spasms > coming full on once we feel them starting. The problem is trying to > avoid the initial panic that tends to naturally take hold when you feel > a throat spasm coming on (we normally get a second or two before they > become full blown). I have had a few different things initiate them eg. > typically a feeling that something has gone down the wrong way or got > caught in your throat. Just a tiny morsel of food or even just a breath > taken the wrong way or a sudden strong taste/smell eg. from a strong > mint is enough to set one off. > > For myself I worked out that trying to force myself to relax (nice > contradiction in terms!) is the key. I then have to will myself > (sometimes easy, sometimes not) to take a breath through my nose - not > easy to do if you start to panic as the natural thing is to try to take > a normal breath through your mouth but once the throat starts to close > over that's pretty much the end of that possibility. If I can relax > enough to take a semi decent breath through my mouth that breaks the > cycle, my throat spasm stops and all quickly comes back to normal. > > I somehow fluked upon that after about 6 years of choking attacks > several times per month and in the probably 3 years since I did so that > method has only failed me once and that was only because I didn't manage > to initially force myself not to panic. I think what happens with us > because our body parts do not function properly is that the epiglottis, > whose function is to make sure that food doesn't go down into our airway > when we swallow gets tricked in certain situations into closing over > when it shouldn't and with us in that panic situation it won't release > again until we relax. My guess is that by managing to take a breath in > through our noses we allow our body to relax enough for it to resume its > rightful normal place, which is to prevent air from going into our > stomachs when we breathe. That is pure speculation on my behalf based > on a rudimentary understanding (absolutely no medical training) of how > our bodies work. > > Try to get your mom to try that approach next time a throat spasm > starts. It works for a number of us. > > > > hed920 wrote: > > > Hi , > > > > Thank you for the welcome and from everyone else too! Yes, > > sometimes my mother's airway shuts off and it's usually when she's > > laughing or eating and starts to choke. It's pretty scary. What do > > you do when you have this happen to you? Are you able to gain > > control of your breath again? > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hi , Maybe neuros are thinking of spasms just happening out of the blue! I have had several incidents when the pharyngeal muscles go into a spasm that closes off the airway when I am eating and some little something gets in a certain spot and I fight to inhale,nothing. I cannot take a breath, call for help. Finally I suck in a thin, wheezing breath. Slowly the spasm eases and I smile at husband who is standing on his head and continue eating. Doesn't seem to be the type of food but rather where it stays for a few minutes that ignites it. Isn't life a challenge? Arlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hi . here is a kicker, all of us are different here .I get no Spasms at all .Spasm being an automatic jerking of a muscle sometimes very painful i have absolutely no pain at all just stiffness .Ile take that back yes i have pain from my Arthritis in the lower back .but by 10:00 a.m its gone GEO > > I would like to ask, how many of you on the list has had, or still > have Throat Spasm. ( airway constricting ) I was told by three > diffrent Neurologist that throat spasm was not a part of PLS. > Now i know of three on the list. Are there anymore? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 I don't think many neuros know anything about PLS except what they find in a book somewhere. Many say urinary urgency is also not part of PLS, in which case about half of us on here mustn't really have PLS after all. Similarly with throat spasms. Having been on PLS-FRIENDS and its predecessor for many years I know quite a few of us have them. That's why as someone very recently said on here - people will learn lots more about PLS from reading posts from people with it on here than from 99% of the medical profession, for whom many of you may be their only current PLS patient and most have only seen a couple of cases at most in their life. bore56123z wrote: > I would like to ask, how many of you on the list has had, or still > have Throat Spasm. ( airway constricting ) I was told by three > diffrent Neurologist that throat spasm was not a part of PLS. > Now i know of three on the list. Are there anymore? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 's response (below) describes me exactly. I also have been told that these spams are unrelated to PLS. WHATEVER! I too learn about PLS from experience and you guys, not the doctors. C covo@...> wrote: Hi and other new people to the group, Many of us have worked out a few things to do to avoid throat spasms coming full on once we feel them starting. The problem is trying to avoid the initial panic that tends to naturally take hold when you feel a throat spasm coming on (we normally get a second or two before they become full blown). I have had a few different things initiate them eg. typically a feeling that something has gone down the wrong way or got caught in your throat. Just a tiny morsel of food or even just a breath taken the wrong way or a sudden strong taste/smell eg. from a strong mint is enough to set one off. For myself I worked out that trying to force myself to relax (nice contradiction in terms!) is the key. I then have to will myself (sometimes easy, sometimes not) to take a breath through my nose - not easy to do if you start to panic as the natural thing is to try to take a normal breath through your mouth but once the throat starts to close over that's pretty much the end of that possibility. If I can relax enough to take a semi decent breath through my mouth that breaks the cycle, my throat spasm stops and all quickly comes back to normal. I somehow fluked upon that after about 6 years of choking attacks several times per month and in the probably 3 years since I did so that method has only failed me once and that was only because I didn't manage to initially force myself not to panic. I think what happens with us because our body parts do not function properly is that the epiglottis, whose function is to make sure that food doesn't go down into our airway when we swallow gets tricked in certain situations into closing over when it shouldn't and with us in that panic situation it won't release again until we relax. My guess is that by managing to take a breath in through our noses we allow our body to relax enough for it to resume its rightful normal place, which is to prevent air from going into our stomachs when we breathe. That is pure speculation on my behalf based on a rudimentary understanding (absolutely no medical training) of how our bodies work. Try to get your mom to try that approach next time a throat spasm starts. It works for a number of us. hed920 wrote: > Hi , > > Thank you for the welcome and from everyone else too! Yes, > sometimes my mother's airway shuts off and it's usually when she's > laughing or eating and starts to choke. It's pretty scary. What do > you do when you have this happen to you? Are you able to gain > control of your breath again? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 has also described exactly what gives me throat spasms. I also learnt from my speech pathologist that when I feel one coming on to to a big swallow and keep swallowing as this will open up the epiglotis and not let it close over as it does to protect us. Doing this has worked for me as I havent had one spasm (knock on wood for 1 and 1/2 years. Maureen (Australia) > > > Hi , > > > > Thank you for the welcome and from everyone else too! Yes, > > sometimes my mother's airway shuts off and it's usually when she's > > laughing or eating and starts to choke. It's pretty scary. What do > > you do when you have this happen to you? Are you able to gain > > control of your breath again? > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 I'm probably a little late in responding because it takes me so long to do anything, but I had a couple of things to add to this discussion. First, I agree wholeheartedly with C. about what causes these spasms & how to nip them in the bud. Years ago I used to have them quite frequently and they would be caused by a strong mint, super sweet candy, sour foods, or something hot and spicy. Trying not to panic and attempting to breathe through the nose ( is the one who told me to try that) has worked really well for me. If you continue to cough and breathe through the mouth, what caused the choking in the first place just continues to provoke it more. What I now do to prevent the throat spasms is to take a very tiny taste of something to get used to it and see if it is going to cause problems. Then I take a slightly bigger taste, etc. That way my throat doesn't go into a sudden and unexpected spasm. My throat spasms are now mainly caused by choking on my own saliva or getting a tickling crumb of something caught halfway down my throat. I feel the spasm coming on and immediately try to relax, close my mouth, and breathe through my nose. I also was given some other advice by a person with MS about what to do when your throat closes off your air supply due to a spasm. They said you should lean forward and rest your chest on your legs while angling your head up at the ceiling -- sort of the approach you would do for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by tilting a person's chin up so that the air passage is in the full open position (and the opposite you would do for swallowing which is " tuck your chin " to close off the air passage and open the stomach passageway). I never had reason to practice this technique because 's approach has proven to prevent all my spasms from becoming a full blown, cut off the air supply, panic attacks. Therefore, I don't know for sure that it would work -- but it DOES sound reasonable. Since MSers can have similar neurological issues as PLSers, I have to suppose it would help. As for throat spasms not being a PLS trait, I'd say those of us with bulbar symptoms with our PLS (that of speech, throat, & swallowing problems) know better. It may be that strictly upper motor neuron symptoms wouldn't cause that to happen, but PLS will often, but not always, affect the bulbar region of the brainas well. Sometimes right away (as in my case) or possibly months or years after the first symptoms. The fact that my PLS was bulbar oriented from day one helped me in some ways. I was also assigned a " possible ALS " diagnosis, in conjunction with my PLS one, which connected me with the MDA and also helped speed my disability claim through channels. My diagnosis is still PLS, though, after 10 years of symptoms. Lyndal (Cedaredge, CO USA) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 I have throat spasms not that often but when I do I know to hold on securely. Eva > > I would like to ask, how many of you on the list has had, or still > have Throat Spasm. ( airway constricting ) I was told by three > diffrent Neurologist that throat spasm was not a part of PLS. > Now i know of three on the list. Are there anymore? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Yes I also get them. Susieq Throat Spasms I would like to ask, how many of you on the list has had, or still have Throat Spasm. ( airway constricting ) I was told by three diffrent Neurologist that throat spasm was not a part of PLS. Now i know of three on the list. Are there anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Yes I also get them. Susieq Throat Spasms I would like to ask, how many of you on the list has had, or still have Throat Spasm. ( airway constricting ) I was told by three diffrent Neurologist that throat spasm was not a part of PLS. Now i know of three on the list. Are there anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Hi ....yes...I have started with throat spasm recently....and I have had my PLS diagnosis confirmed by 3 different neurologists. I think the esophagus is what is spasming...but i also have lost my voice recently. Di..........Canada In PLS-FRIENDS , " bore56123z " wrote: > > I would like to ask, how many of you on the list has had, or still > have Throat Spasm. ( airway constricting ) I was told by three > diffrent Neurologist that throat spasm was not a part of PLS. > Now i know of three on the list. Are there anymore? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Thanks Maureen. i didn't know that one. i am going to try it as we speak! Take care our friend from Oz! Di..................Canada In PLS-FRIENDS , " Maureen " wrote: > > has also described exactly what gives me throat spasms. > > I also learnt from my speech pathologist that when I feel one coming > on to to a big swallow and keep swallowing as this will open up the > epiglotis and not let it close over as it does to protect us. Doing > this has worked for me as I havent had one spasm (knock on wood for 1 > and 1/2 years. > > Maureen (Australia) > > > > > > > Hi , > > > > > > Thank you for the welcome and from everyone else too! Yes, > > > sometimes my mother's airway shuts off and it's usually when she's > > > laughing or eating and starts to choke. It's pretty scary. What > do > > > you do when you have this happen to you? Are you able to gain > > > control of your breath again? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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