About a month after my surgery, I had a sore throat, hoarse voice and cough. I thought for sure I had something growing in my throat and had my ENT scope it (interesting to watch!) There was nothing, which was a relief. My ENT diagnosed acid reflux. I was very skeptical, but over the next several months I would wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare that I was drowning, or choking on something, only to find myself actually choking on stomach acid bubbling up! I tried Prilosec (which helped but can only be taken temporarily) and Pepcid at night, and slept nearly sitting up for many months. It seems better right now but comes back occasionally, and I really should see a gastroenterologist when I have time to fit in another doctor. But then I remembered for a couple years before I discovered my tumor, I would start choking on my own saliva for no reason. And after my surgery I had swallowing/choking issues for about 6-9 months, but it seems quite a bit better now. (Sometimes I have to look back to realize how much better things have become.) But I do think the whole swallowing mechanism is very closely related to that area of the brain and nerves that affect it, and may also be related to extra stress.
