I occasionally find that the first bite of a meal gets stuck at a point that feels like the top of my stomach. Once it's stuck, nothing else will go down. If I keep eating, I can feel the additional food or fluid work its way back up, usually mixed with a lot of saliva. I have to work most of it back out and wait for the blockage to finally pass. After that block passes, all is well. It's really an uncomfortable nuisance. I'm not sure what sets it off. I've concentrated on chewing my food better, but that doesn't seem to help. What is this? What can I do about it?

Steven

It sounds like you have dysphagia. This means that food or liquid sticks or stops somewhere in the esophagus (swallowing tube) and doesn't pass all the way through to the stomach. This symptom might be due to a mechanical obstruction (an actual blockage) or a disorder of motility (a delay in transit from a neurological malfunction of the esophagus). Either condition requires thorough evaluation and treatment to relieve the problem; altering how or what you eat will probably not solve the problem.

To fine out exactly what's wrong, your doctor will probably recommend a barium X-ray of your esophagus. In this test, you drink a chalky substance that shows up on X-rays, and X-rays are taken to track the flow of the substance through your esophagus. This painless test can be performed on an outpatient basis, usually in 30-45 minutes.