chest hurts in my esophagus when I eat, feeling stuck

Promised does not work for me. I take it everyday and still hurts. Food feels stuck in chest. If I drink liquid, it hurts so bad. It hurts even merely drinking water sometimes.

I've had this for years, and several years found out my Dad's been suffering this also! Sometimes what happens when you eat is that it "gets stuck" in your esophagus when you eat, and it doesn't drop into your stomach but you can't throw it up either. For me, it lasts between 1 minute and 30 minutes, and it's pure torture. 

Last year my Dad recommended I try Magnesium supplements - he says he was taking it and his condition nearly stopped. I tried it, and it did the same for me, but it took 2-3 weeks. It slowly got better and then stopped completely. I take 250 mg per day. 

I haven't seen any mention of this and so wanted to mention that this has solved this problem for me.

Hope that helps.

I had my gallbladder removed on March 19th because I thought that was the problem along with finding out from testing that my gallbladder was only working at 12%. But the other day I had potatoes and I got "THAT" feeling. I made scalloped potatoes tonight for dinner and I got "THAT" feeling again.

Hey guys,most of you have acid going up your asoficus during the night when you lay down.

some of you may even have a Schatzki Ring, which is a narrowing of the asofficus in a specific area, which creates great pain when swallowing food especially chicken and meat! This can be treated thru a small surgery. However, for all of you wanting to take anti-acid medication....DON'T! It's not that you have too much acid, but rather too little, which promotes the growth of Bacteria that flourish without acid. So the more anti-acid you take, the more bacteria and more problems you'll have. Those bacteria release gas which bloat your stomach and can create hernia's or the opening of the acid door (for a lack of better wording), which in turn has acid traveling up your asoficus at night when you lay down. Please consult your doctor as well as a nutritionist. I am not a doctor, but this is based on my own experience!

My name is Roxy, im 50 yrs old, I had really bad pain on chest, felt tight ON CHEST, the minute the pain would hit me I would faint, and every time i tryed eating I would faint, i could not even pass my own saliva, i felt I had something realy huge stuck, like a watermalen, i could not eat for 2 days.. went to see 4 doctors one said it was my heart, one said it was my Acid Reflux, and another one said I dont know, One said its your Esophagus, I told him I dont have the money they wanted $2000.00 for the Xrays and the color drink so they can see where my Esophagus is leaking, and they said depending on what i had it would cost me more then $40,000.00 thousand doller. so I quess I would Die, No we did not qualify for anything, becouse We work,and get good pay, they asume we can aford it.. I told this one doctor i quess im going to Mexico and i did, My brother had his Surgen ready, they Ran the Xrays and liquid, that only cost me $192.00 and Blood work maybe under $300.00 dollers,  my resalts came back MY FLAP VALVE WAS SO DAMAGED THAT IT OPEND UP, MY ESOPHAGUS WAS SO SWOLLEN, THAT IT CLOSED COMPLETLY, HE SAID I WAS BREATHING WITH LESS THEN A CENTAMEATER WIDE, THATS WHY I COULD NOT EAT OR SWOLLOW, THEN THE OPERATION  was done in less 3 days, when they went in there i also had A HURNIA AND AN ULCER. and he said that my esphougus was geting like Rotten, like old Liver that has been in freezer to long.,THATS WHY I WAS HURTING SO BAD,  SO THEY DID THE OPERATION FOR $6,000.00 DOLLARS CASH.   AND THEY TOOK 2 1/2 HOURS TO FIX ME UP, THEY DID 5 SMALL HOLES ON MY STOMACH, AND CAMERAS THREW MY BELLY BUTTON.. THE MINUTE I CAME OUT OF OPERATION, AND WOKE UP, i HAD NO PAIN, im ging on 30 days, and no more pain on chest, no more tighteness on chest, no more fainting No more the filling that I had something stuck on chest.. I fill wonderful, thank you my God..  Oh, I forgot to say, they did the test if i had cancer on my Esophaugus, i came out Clear no cancer,  KEEP IN MIND I WENT TO MEXICO BECOUSE MY BROTHER KNEW A VERY GOOD SURGEN, DO NOT TRUST ANY BODY IN MEXICO, MAKE SURE SOMEBODY RECOMENDS THE DOCTOR.                      KEEP IN MIND NOT EVERYONE IS A DOCTOR OR KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.. GOOD LUCK TO ANYONE THAT HAS THE SAMETHING I HAD..

pain in chest was my Flap Valve that got dammaged with my Acid Reflux and i had a Hurnia and an Ulcer and my throat was realy falling apart..

I have the same problem. But my parents did not believe me. After a while it was always reoccurring, so after a while the started believing me. I think I have GERD, but I'm not sure.

get checked for esophageal cancer they gave me three months get checked now hope its heart burn

i have had the same problem since i was three it turned out to be a pulled musle

I am not a doctor but have suffered with similar symptoms (and more). You should ask your doctor to check for a hiatal hernia and/or test for achalasia. If you are not feeling the burning sensation, you shouldn't settle for thinking it is GERD. Good Luck.

I have had this for 25 years now. I have just learned to take two rolaids before each meal but it is getting worse. It's mostly with meats and starches

This happens to me, but no one quite described what happens to me. I thought it was a food allergy at first- and it still might be related. At first it only happened when I ate McDonald's eggs. Or "egg product", I should say. Then sometimes with tofu and chicken- especially in Chinese food- but not always. Then I thought I had it narrowed down to say- because it seemed to happen only after eating foods with soy. Now it happens almost every time I eat chicken. Almost every time I eat eggs. I switched to organic- no improvement in this condition. I avoid say for the most part- but it happens every time I have soy- even things manufactured in the same factory?! I have a strange gluten response as well, and now I seem to have the same response when I eat rice... Or pretty much any grain at all- my body basically shuts down. I nod out. Can't stay awake. I fade into a comalike state. But that's beside the point. I thought it was a food allergy- because I have other food allergies. It happened last night- and I couldn't figure out why. I looked at all the ingredients used in dinner. It was organic beef. Organic corn chips and tortillas. Lettuce/tomato/cilantro/onion, guacamole, and cheese dip. I checked everything. No soy, no chicken, no eggs. So I'm baffled. Anyway- sometimes when I eat, my food gets stuck in my chest. I start hypersalivating. I have to spit.... A lot. It's gross and thick. I can hang on my chest and force myself to cough- which sometimes helps by forcing me to "spit it up". It can happen after one bite. It can happen after 10. Usually all the food will have to be "spit up" for the feeling to fade. The food doesn't taste like it's been to my stomach- and its encased in thick mucus- typical clear. I can even "throw up" what looks like bubbles. While I have the tight chested feeling- I can't even drink anything. The amount of mucus around each bit of food is crazy. Sometimes the food has a giant mucus bubble around it. Usually I feel better after I cough it up. Sometimes I can resume eating whatever I had just eaten when the reaction started. I just got health insurance- and I'm going to go to the doctor. I know illneed an allergy test- but I'm hoping to get an answer on this issue. It's almost like choking- but in my chest. It hurts, and it's emb having to spit until I throw up. It happens at work, at home, and sometimes when I'm out to dinner. I hope there's something I can do to make it go away for good. I'm a 28 year old woman, and I also suspect thyroid problems are involved in whatever is going on inside my body.

I'm having the same problem every time I eat it feels like it's getting stuck in my throat so Went to the doctor and found out its strep infection and he gave me antibiotics for it

Just reading the first page there are a lot of different symptoms being described.  I'm not a doctor.  However, I've had various health issues so I've read a ton about digestive and respiratory issues.

First things first: SEE YOUR DOCTOR.  Write down all your symptoms so you don't miss telling them any.  Tell them how long it's been going on.  Tell them if it only happens when you do something.  Distinguish between pain that is "sharp" or "dull" or "aching" or "prolonged"..... that kind of information will help.  Hopefully you'll be referred to a specialist so you can get peace of mind.

A few comments:

- Dyspepsia is essentially a heartburn episode, often caused by GERD  (like how sneezing is often caused by allergies)

- Swallowing problems are common with GERD, but it may be other things as others on the thread have suggested.  However, GERD will likely be one of the first things a doctor will investigate as it's extremely common now.

- GERD is a treatable condition. Don't let it scare you. ALSO you don't always need medicine to manage it - you might have to start watching what you eat and how you eat.  There are a ton of acidic foods out there (tomatoes, many citrus fruits, sour foods, soda, etc.) that aggravate heartburn.  Spicy foods do as well, and some people react to dairy negatively too.  While you wait for doctor's appointments, try a BRATTY diet to see if it helps calm your digestion (bananas, rice, apples/applesauce, tea, toast, yogurt).  If nothing else, it will hopefully give you a little digestive relief.  Also make sure your bowel movements are regular and not strained - if strained, you'll want to increase your insoluble fibre (not soluble) and water intake to make sure you push things along.  I find my IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) acts up if I'm not getting enough fibre, and interestingly makes my GERD act up too (my guess is because things get pushed upwards and there's less room for food, but I don't know).

- There are a few different tests for GERD, though I've had doctors not even do them sometimes because I've had it in the past, so they just prescribe the medication for it.  One test is a barium swallow, which essentially is swallowing a liquid that is visible in X-rays, so they can see if there are any issues in the esophageal tract.  Not scary.  Another test is an endoscopy, which someone mentioned on here is basically they put a tube with a camera on the end of it down your throat and look around.  Creepy, but not scary either.

- If your symptoms are new, occasional, and not potentially serious (black stool is always reason to see a doctor just in case), you may be suggested to try an over the counter heartburn medication like Tums or Gaviscon and to alter your eating habits as I mentioned above.  Try a small amount first, and try not to take it regularly (your body can get used to its digestive help).  And just because one kind doesn't work, doesn't mean another won't.  Gaviscon does nothing for me, but Tums has been helpful.

- If you feel like you have a lot of burping/gas/bloating, try a gas-relieving over the counter like Gas-X.  I would occasionally get panic attacks because my chest felt tight, when I realized a lot of the time, it's gas.  I chew a Gas-X, drink some water, and actually wiggle my shoulders back and forth because I feel it helps the gas release if it's stuck somewhere.  That may just be me though :)

NONE OF THESE IDEAS SHOULD REPLACE GOING TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR.  You can ask your doctor about doing any of them though, and they can recommend or advise against for your particular case.  Best of luck, and remember that worrying will actually increase your pain, so take a few deep breaths and realize it's most likely nothing serious and your doctor will look after you.  :)

I should have mentioned, if you have other symptoms, like a sore throat all the time, or nasal congestion, or breathing difficulties, it very well could be an infection - strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, post-nasal drip...... lots of options. I was just mainly addressing the GERD possibility, for the people who've had the symptoms of difficulty swallowing/tight chest for a while.
Strep is pretty painful, and frequently has whitish spots at the back of your throat. Easily diagnosed with a swab test.
Bronchitis can be acute or chronic, meaning occasional or recurring. Tightness of chest is common there too, and I've found it actually feels similar to GERD.
Sinusitis is inflamed sinuses and can cause post-nasal drip, meaning you feel like you're constantly swallowing. It's annoying as heck, but I find sinus rinses (NeilMed or neti pots) really help.

Of course when you see your doctor though, they'll be able to tell you all that :)