My mother has this. Hers is caused by acid reflux. It causes scar tissue in the esophagus and prevents it from stretching. Food gets "hung" and she can't swallow at all. Get is checked out by an ear, nose, throat physician. They can find your problem. Sometimes there are nodules in the throat that keep the trachea (windpipe) from closing completely. When you swallow, there is a flap that covers the trachea to prevent choking. If it doesn't close, water or food goes "down the wrong way" and causes choking. Your body will cough until the substance is out of the trachea. If you don't have a strong cough, the substance can go down into your lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia. It may be something an office visit can fix, so don't suffer with this. We have enough problems with the blasted RA.

I struggled with this as a first sign of RA...I couldnt eat at all....I went in for tests and they diagnosed a " Spasmic Esophogas"... I went on lose dose of Celexa...It helped....

I feel for you RebeccaL, I sometimes will choke when I'm not even eating or drinking anything. So frustrating.

I have the same problem with food and pills. My ENT doctor said I have a small esophagus so I eat small bites and drink water with my food. With pills I have to take one at a time I've found sitting up straight when eating helps alot.

Try foods that you feed toddlers medical professionals call these foods mechanical soft, or ground your meat in a food processor. Try taking oral pills in pudding, ice cream or applesauce, they are tasty & go down easier. Another trick is do not use a straw when drinking fluids. You can also tuck your chin when you swallow. However if you are like me your neck is usually stiff & my chin does not touch my chest. So look at your left shoulder when swallowing. Try it, you'll be surprised how many muscles are involved in swallowing. One more thing make sure you are sitting up straight, & stay straight up 1/2 hour after eating!!!