Obligatory not today, but two weeks ago ish.
So. I have a lot of difficulty eating healthy. The only way I’ve found to get myself to eat berries/fruits/vegetables before they go bad is by eating them frozen. And honestly they taste better that way. And, well, the whole strawberries are too hard to chew all at once when they’re frozen. So I get them sliced.
Two weeks ago I was happily chowing down on some frozen strawberries when I guess one ended up too far back in my mouth and I just… reflexively swallowed it. Whole. Now, I’ve swallowed some things that weren’t chewed enough before, as I’m sure we all have. It hurts to swallow it, but it goes down. Either that or you choke and die I guess. But no!
It hurt to swallow it all right, but I could feel it stuck in my chest for ages afterwords. Not in my throat, but in my chest. Definitely not my trachea, thank god, so I could breathe normally. So I start looking up symptoms and tips and stuff. Drink both water and carbonated drinks, soft foods, etc etc etc. 24 hours go by. I nibble on some food at work and swallowing starts hurting BAD. I’m talking my entire chest is on fire. So I call my stepmom and ask for a ride to the ER/Urgent Care before work the next day. Because yes, I still intended to go to work. Your guy’s got loans to pay.
It takes like 3 hours to get seen since I’m fine except the pain, which is only when I swallow. Medical staff is a little surprised I have no other typical symptoms. Point is, I miss my shift. My bosses are chill though. The ER doc eventually goes “yeah this could be that the strawberry is stuck OR it’s just an abrasion.” My gut says it’s the strawberry still in there, so I insist on a scan. Still not sure what’s up afterward, but she recommends I stay until the morning when they can do an endoscopy. Fine, whatever.
The morning comes. They tell me they won’t do the endoscopy because now it’s the weekend and the GI Lab isn’t open and they won’t call people in unless it’s an emergency and I’m breathing fine. They put me on a liquid diet, which was hell on Earth, and the IV placement sucked. But I lived to have the operation on Monday!
Before the operation, the new doc says he’ll talk to me before they send me back to my hospital room just to discuss what exactly it was. Sick! I’m curious as hell.
But. The next thing I remember is waking up in my hospital bed. I’m sure he probably talked to me post-op, but I don’t remember it! I STILL DON’T KNOW IF IT WAS AN ABRASION FROM THE STRAWBERRY OR IF IT WAS STUCK IN THERE
Anyway now I’m on meds for 8+ weeks. I’m sure they’ll tell me what was up at my check-up but I AM lowkey still suffering because it hurts to swallow still sometimes. But it’s a different kind of hurt so I guess I’m fine! And I can still sing so that’s all I care about. My coworkers have a go at me when I nibble on the strawberries we have at work, which is fun. It was a hilarious experience.
TL;DR chew your food
ETA: I’m very aware it’s probably somewhere in my paperwork. However, I am lazy and busy. I have a follow-up with my Primary Care I think literally tomorrow that I forgot about, so I don’t even need to bother my uncle to read my MyChart and translate it. To the person who pointed out the Clinical Notes as opposed to the After Visit Summary, you’re awesome. After work, I’ll sift through the records and see if I can find anything. But I should have an update tomorrow either from the Notes or my PCP.
And to the people who think it’s fake, tell that to my protonix and carafate. This shit SUCKS WHY IS IT SO CHALKY-
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Glad you’re okay(ish), but next time maybe give it a warm-up round in the microwave before it tries to reenact The Revenant in your esophagus
I wonder if it the strawberry was lodged, whether they just pushed it down. Dont know why, but I am finding that thought berry amusing. “Oh. Yup, there is a strawberry boop“
Blend the strawberry with frozen banana and or any other frozen fruit w/ yogurt….healthy without hospital bill.
Do you have MyChart or a similar patient portal? If so, the endoscopy notes will be in there. You’ll be able to find what you’re looking for.
I was eating fish once and had pain in my upper chest like that and figured I had a bone stuck somewhere. It was during the pandemic and I really didn’t want to go to a hospital. I tried all these things I read online for dislodging fish bones like swallowing chunks of bread soaked in olive oil but it still felt the same. I waited it out a few days and it got better so it probably was just an abrasion but it sucked. I never told anyone about it because I didn’t want anybody to push me to go to the hospital.
The culprit (the second cold foods stop hurting my chest I WILL be returning to eat these and my beloved mangos)
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Ahh please update us when you find out what it was from results! I hope you feel better soon! 🍓
This probably happens more than you think. That, or I just so happened to be there when someone else was experiencing this rare phenomenon.
I went to the ER once with my best friend when her son hurt his arm. We were checking in and you could hear and see the lady in the next little cubicle over and she was there with her teenage daughter who was clearly embarrassed. And she said, “I have a…. a piece of pork chop… stuck… right here…” and like pointed to the area at like the base of her neck/top of her chest. And then she continues on, “… the last time this happened…” and I don’t know if I was just tired or in a mood that day but I almost lost it after the mentioned that this wasn’t her first time having this happen. I felt bad for the lady but at the time it was just so ridiculous and funny. I held in my laughter so as not to embarrass her further. But I think it was just the combination of the way she was like so timidly explaining what happened, and her teenage daughter with her look of embarrassment for her mother. And the fact that this may not have been her first time in the ER because she doesn’t properly chew her food. I wonder if she had the same experience that you did. I still occasionally think about that. I hope she’s doing well and that she chews her food better now lol.
Good luck to you on your recovery.
I had the same thing happen, but it was a GIANT almond. I accidently swallowed it whole, then quickly forgot about it until the next morning, when I awoke with an intestinal obstruction. Had emergency surgery and 6 days in the hospital (3 of those with a gastric tube through my nose). I wish I had thought to try and make myself throw up when I first swallowed the fucking almond.
Hon why don’t you call the place up with the truth ? I don’t really know what the medical terms in my chart mean. What happened to my chest? Did they pull it out or not? A lot of places will just give you the short and narrow if you ask for it. Please don’t feel shameful regarding your health. Death to the frozen berry.
could also be that the frozen strawberry gave your esophagus frostbite…
Was it frozen when you swallowed it? It could have stuck to the lining of the esophagus (in a frozen sticking to wet way and not in a large thing stuck in a small space way) and caused damage to the delicate tissue.
Bro, they need your consent before going anything invasive, endoscopy and surgery included, so it’s hard to believe you went through that without knowing the extent of your problem and what they propose do to you.
An endoscopy is not an operation, it’s a procedure. They didn’t give you discharge paperwork? There would be a summary of the findings on the paperwork.
Once, when i was around 7-8 years old, i got a jolly rancher ( hard candy) stuck in my throat. It was bad. The candy had been sucked to the point that all the sides were a thin slicing sliver when it got stuck I was coughing up blood and all,we finally got it dislodged, and I have never eaten a jolly rancher since.
In the military I broke the top flap of my stomach eating fast, so every once in a while if I am super hungry or I don’t chew properly I get things hung up on it. Usually I have to drink something to dislodge it occasionally I have to throw it up to get it clear
Have you considered a blender? Make smoothies with all that fruit.
TBF, they may have told you but made the mistake of doing it after they give you the drug that makes you forget (seriously. 10+ years ago I got in a motorcycle accident and had to go weekly for debridements. At one point, the only time I remember, they didn’t sedate me until after I get to the operation room and help them move me on the table (I had to be moved lying down from a bed to lying down on the table). I told him I had never been awake for this part and he said I always was and I always helped put myself on the table, just they give me a drug that makes you forget so apparently that is the only time I remember doing it!).
So wait, did you have an operation, or an endoscopy? And, why didn’t you ask any of the many professionals who likely entered your room between procedure and release what the result of the procedure was, which was certainly written in your chart?
Why did you get general anaesthesia for an endoscopy? It sounds very strange considering what the procedure normally entails
I had a piece of steak get stuck in my esophagus. Same feeling you are describing, however I couldn’t swallow anything, including saliva. Spent the night in the hospital. I’ve had other stuff get stuck as well, and experienced the burning sensation, but eventually went away when the food went down.
They didn’t give you paperwork at your checkout?
So as a youngster I did something similar with really dry chicken. My treatment was not surgical, but was gross (skip to next paragraph if you’re squeamish about vomit). I was told to sip Coke on top of the blockage (overnight care) and when my oesophagus was full to vomit the slurry of chicken and coke into a kidney bowl. Coke is apparently acidic enough to do that.
Anyway afterwards I went through diagnostic procedures and came out the other end with eosinophilic oesophagitis. I just remember that it’s some kind of immune cell reaction that results in sections of the oesophagus being weak and prone to food sticking.
My husband’s grandmother had a piece of chicken stuck in her esophagus. MIL rushed her to the hospital. They gave her a can of Coke, said food went down.
I got an advil stuck there once and it burned my esophagus, it was SO PAINFUL. I had to be on acid suppressants for a while. Never dry swallow advil! Common sense but i was hungover and lazy.
When I was younger I swallowed a lifesaver whole. It was ironic as shit lol. But for like a day afterwards I felt something deep in my throat and it was super uncomfortable to breathe and exist. I’m glad you got yours figured out!
Oh look! A strawberry. – endo doc, probably
I feel you. It totally sucks! Also, I’ve had this happen with pills, but luckily, they dissolve enough to go down. Btw it’s a procedure, not an operation.
On one hand I’m glad I live in a country where I have fully paid sick leave and never need to ok my sick leave with my employers. On the other hand being seen within 3 hours in ED. ……
You’re still in the hospital? Ask your nurse. It’s in your endoscopy notes, which should be part of your chart.
The information would be in their notes and you could have asked the nurse who likely got a verbal report about what was found
Can you update when you know? Suspense is killing me tbh
Sounds like Steakhouse Syndrome. I had that with a piece of steak several years ago. Any fluids I drank couldn’t get past the steak and I immediately puked it up. Drooling constantly. Horrible indescribable feeling in my chest. Went to the ER after several hours of misery, and explained exactly what happened hoping they could extract it.
Explained the problem to the assistant at the ER desk and he looked at me like I was nuts. Got triaged by two nurses, and explained it to them, and they looked at me like I was nuts. Got and X-Ray, and they didn’t see anything. I guess because steak looks like the rest of me. X-Ray tech just said I had big lungs. Hours later still in the ER, the steak passed into my stomach, and then I was totally fine. I saw the doctor a little later just in case, and told them everything. After a couple minutes with the doctor we agreed I was fine and I left.
They charged me $1k after insurance after all of that, even though they were totally useless, even after telling them exactly what the problem was.
If you don’t purchase everything Strawberry Shortcake and adopt that name, what are you even doing with your life?
OP, please tell us what the problem was!!! And get well soon!
Funny enough something similar happened to me a few years back. Choked on a piece of hamburger that got lodged in my esophagus below the trachea and yeah it hurts like hell. Problem what it fully blocked the esophagus so any fluids I drank or simply saliva running down my throat would eventually pile up and start seeping into my lungs. Every few minutes I would get this sensation or drowning and would start coughing and throwing up said fluids. Went to a local hospital that sent me to another one about two hours away. Get to the urgent care of new hospital and it’s absolute chaos. People bleeding, covered in bandages, others lying on the floor. Don’t know what was happening that day but the place was packed. After a few hrs, a nurse comes to see me and tells me I’ll have to wait until morning. I’m pissed at this point cause of how stupid my situation is and start chugging water and puking it up in the bathroom. It was hell but I eventually threw up the hamburger. Told the nurse and they did a quick check on me. I now have scar tissue in my esophagus making it even smaller and choke in the same fashion pretty regularly. I can’t eat without a drink and I go through 2-3 glasses of water a meal. Had a server once ask if I needed an iv because of how often he refilled my glass lmao.
I work in a pathology lab and regularly pick up from the endoscopy wing. I HAVE to know if it was lodged or not the curiosity is killing me 😭
Wait, medication for 8 weeks?? What medication? What’s the diagnosis on your discharge paperwork?
you really almost died doing the most wholesome thing ever like… frozen fruit betrayed you. that strawberry sent you to the ER with no regrets 💀 chew responsibly king
How much did that end up costing in the end? Like for all the hospital and scans and such. Just curious.
I know this is besides the point but for education purposes, an endoscopy is not an operation or surgery. It is considered a “medical procedure” since it’s non invasive aka you’re not getting cut open and are not on anesthesia but sedation.
I come here reading these posts to feel better about myself… I chew my food, and I don’t try to eat food whole like a fucking snake
A liquid diet is not hell on earth.
This exact thing happened to me as a kid lmao but I was able to get it out
Chew and swallow a bite of banana. It’ll slide right down.
This happened to me as a kid when visiting friends of the family on holiday. Their daughter told me she liked raw potato and offered me a chunk. It was so revolting I (dumb) just swallowed to make it go away. It felt like it never went down and everybody blew their evening worrying over me instead of visiting with each other. Your have relieved some of the guilt I’ve carried for fifty years. So, thanks for that!
They could have taken you yo x-ray, gave you a drink of barium and either fluoroscoped you or taken plain films. Either way, they would have known if you were obstructed in less than 5 minutes.
Fuckin rookies….
My dude, a brief summary of the operation and what they found should be on your discharge or aftercare instructions.
If it was stuck you wouldn’t have been able to eat or drink anything after the strawberry. I bet you just got some irritation from the frozen berry being stuck for a while. Kind of a frostbite.
It may have gotten stuck then left you with frostbite in that spot. Essentially an internal burn.
This story sucked. You swallowed a strawberry – didn’t have the whereabouts to tell us what happened to know if you just scratched your throat or not and had an OPERATION? To fix what – we still don’t know. This story seems like an utter crap post. Sorry but if you’re “too lazy” to tell the whole story, just don’t. it truly is that simple.
Updateme
I had this happen with a lemon drop. I suddenly sneezed and inhaled. I felt it go and thought I was going to choke and die but I was able to breathe. My mother would not believe me. I had lied a lot to get out of school before my severe anxiety diagnosis so I can see why she wouldn’t. Six days. Six. Stinking. Days. Later, I threw up for unrelated reasons and there’s a whole stupid lemon drop on top of my puke. So I understand and I’m sorry you had that happen.
That’s was the most anticlimactic post I read today…
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My son swallowed a quarter and thankfully he was still able to breathe ok. They tried everything to get it to go down too and it wouldn’t budge so surgery it was. This was 7 months ago and he still complains every now and then about pain where the quarter was.
Dude. Read your paperwork or ask the Dr.
To the naysayers: I also don’t remember talking to the doctor after my endoscopy (for reflux). I had no idea what the result was until they sent me a report a week or so afterwards. Obviously my case was much more routine, but I don’t think the lack of info is unusual.
Maybe it got stuck because it was frozen, like licking a lamppost in winter. Or it caused an ice burn.
This happened to me once when i swallowed a lime wedge on a dare. The doctor gave me the lime wedge to keep.
New fear unlocked, thanks
This post not having the final diagnosis is like not sharing what’s in the safe after it was finally opened.
If you can get liquid down, the strawberry was not stuck. When something is stuck nothing goes down. I’ve had an esophageal abrasion and can confirm it really really sucks.
I had this happen to me once when I swallowed a large amount of rice at once. But I just forced myself to throw up to get it out..
Dude! I just had my esophagus expanded. Food would get stuck about 1/2 way down and the only way I could get it out was to barf it up. This went on for about 10years until it got worse
You can ask for carafate as a pill if you’re able to swallow pills. I have to take it four times a day and carrying the liquid around was untenable
Is an endoscopy considered a surgery in America? I’m English and had one a few years ago and they just sprayed a numbing spray in the back of my throat and cracked on
Fun fact: My mom went to the ER once because she had some chicken stuck in her esophagus that she could not swallow. The doctor had her drink some warm soda, and it went right down.
I sometimes have problems with specific foods getting stuck in the same manner (sandwiches and rice are big ones, along with chicken and steak), and a medium-sized sip of soda almost always resolves it. The doctor told her that the carbonation relaxes the esophageal spasm and allow peristalsis to resume normally.
Could be Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Very similar situation with my husband. Good luck! The Protonix will help.
Please, please tell me what hospital you went to so I can go work there. I am so tired of being called in inappropriately for cases like this on the weekend 😂
My guess would be an abrasion, the strawberry would have long been melted by the time they scoped you.
I wonder if you got frost bite in your throat
UpdateMe!
It’s so ridiculous that it’s standard in healthcare to brief/debrief patients as they are going under or coming out of anesthesia. This happened with my dad during his knee surgery, and he didn’t remember the outcome either! Had to call the surgeon and see because the notes weren’t published in the system yet and nurses didn’t want to share unpublished notes (likely due to liability concern).
I went to sleepaway camp with a girl who had to get sent home because her throat was hurting her like crazy. She came back a few days later and it turned out it was a piece of pineapple that had gotten stuck.
Updateme
> the whole strawberries are too hard to chew all at once when they’re frozen. So I get them sliced.
You’re supposed to thaw them before eating! Gah!
What the hell. This healthcare quality sucks completely ass.
Everyone is talking about the physical damage caused by the fruit/object but I didn’t see anyone mention the fact that it was frozen. It’s my contention that the frozen strawberry caused frostbite in the esophagus
OP I’m sorry healthcare professionals are being buttheads on here lol it sounds like you were failed by your medical team in terms of patient education (I.e. wtf was going on with you, procedure results, discharge papers that were not gone through when you were not drugged up). It’s not your job to know surgery vs procedure, the order stuff happened in, the medical terms – you’re a patient someone else had the duty to explain that. I eat frozen fruit all the time it’s not a reckless choice lol idk why folks are acting like it is! I’m very sorry this happened it sounds scary & painful 🙁 I hope your meds work & tbh liquid diets are disgusting I hear you
UpdateMe!