I want to share something with you guys that has helped me A LOT

[jo317]

About a year ago or so I saw a naturopath who had me do a stool sample, tested me for vitamin deficiencies and tested me for food intolerances.

She believes that the issues that I have : sinus inflammation, mucus stuck in the throat, dry mouth etc. are from a combination of at least 2 problems. She stated she believed my biggest issue was a food intolerance and second biggest issue was an anatomical problem with my neck and jaw that was exacerbating the inflammation and swallowing issues.

My stool sample showed that I tested NEGATIVE for h pylori, NEGATIVE for candida but positive for a large amount of bad bacteria –– and I also tested positive for a certain type of bacteria that is an indicator of an auto immune disorder (whether I have one already or will develop one in the future because of that).

My food intolerance test was very enlightening. They are not always 100 % accurate but it was a good place to start. I got a test that tested me for hundreds of different types of food. If your test listed a particular food as 0 it meant you had no reaction, 1 a slight reaction 2 a large reaction and 3 a really really really bad reaction. I tested at a 1 for multiple foods : oats, coconut, basil, cinnamon etc. Surprisingly, I am having no reaction to gluten or wheat of any kind. The thing I was having the largest reaction to (at a 2) was brewers yeast. This means I would have been reacting to any alcohol other than vodka and gin (because they are distilled enough).

I stopped drinking beer/wine/tequila etc. and also cut out the other foods that were listed on my test and I lost about 8 pounds last summer without doing anything else. I was still drinking (vodka and gin) so it was not because I cut out alcohol altogether. Clearly my body was struggling with processing the yeast. I also do still struggle with dry mouth and a white tongue but if I brush and scrape my tongue it is pink. Before, I would brush and brush and brush and scrape and scrape and it would still be white. Now I can brush and scrape and my tongue is PINK. It doesn't last forever but it has made a world of difference for me.

With cutting out these foods, I can now practice my oral care diligently and if I use something like therabreath, I taste okay for a decent amount of time. I know things are still not PERFECT but they are much more manageable and I am currently working on healing my gut even more.

I hope this helps. Please don't give up. This a symptom of a larger problem.

[Thiscantbelife]

What did they tell you about the bad bacteria?

[Peach]

Can you tell me more about the swallowing issue. I have this weird thing when i swallow too. There's a loud popping sound in my ear everytime i swallow.

[jo317]

Hi! Im not exactly sure what the problem is but I really feel like my swallowing is compromised and I can't swallow down food or the thick mucus I had/sometimes still have very well. It sort of feels like I'm feeling MORE of the act of swallowing than I should, as if its not very natural. And also always feels like something is a bit stuck.

I know that this can happen for a number of reasons, but I personally have a lot of neck and jaw issues that have caused the left side of my neck to be EXTREMELY tight. The back of my neck as well as my shoulder blades, tops of my shoulders and even the front of my neck. I'm assuming that having overused, tired and extremely tight muscles would affect swallowing abilities. I have been doing neck stretches and I swear swallowing feels more natural after I've done it. Don't know if thats in my head though.

[jo317]

To be honest, I was a bit frustrated about that. She didn't give me a copy to keep of my stool sample test so I am not sure what exact type of bacteria it was. She basically said it looked like one type of bacteria was dominating, when there should be more of a balance. She gave me herbal supplements that have antibacterial properties. I used to eat a vegan diet and I know eating a certain type of food all the time can actually change your microbiome, so I decided to put my ethics to the side for a bit.

If your tongue is consistently white its highly possible its due to bad bacteria in the gut. The microbiome in your gut and mouth are apparently connected.

Going forward I'm going to try prebiotics, which help feed the good bacteria and are supposed to be more effective than probiotics.

[jo317]

Also another interesting possibility is that I tested extremely low in omega 3's. Low enough that she was worried about me.

[Peach]

Hi! Im not exactly sure what the problem is but I really feel like my swallowing is compromised and I can't swallow down food or the thick mucus I had/sometimes still have very well. It sort of feels like I'm feeling MORE of the act of swallowing than I should, as if its not very natural. And also always feels like something is a bit stuck.

I know that this can happen for a number of reasons, but I personally have a lot of neck and jaw issues that have caused the left side of my neck to be EXTREMELY tight. The back of my neck as well as my shoulder blades, tops of my shoulders and even the front of my neck. I'm assuming that having overused, tired and extremely tight muscles would affect swallowing abilities. I have been doing neck stretches and I swear swallowing feels more natural after I've done it. Don't know if thats in my head though.

Oh ok i see.That's different for me. Well I'm glad the diet is doing something. That's good to hear.

[KL123]

Sorry but it doesn't relate to me.
Drinking alcohol is against my religion so I have never drank. Not even beer.
But I still enjoy being the cursed one bastard who suffers from fecal chronic halitosis that began in early teens and NEVER left me.

[jo317]

You may be intolerant to something completely different though

[twirlycharly]

Hi! Im not exactly sure what the problem is but I really feel like my swallowing is compromised and I can't swallow down food or the thick mucus I had/sometimes still have very well. It sort of feels like I'm feeling MORE of the act of swallowing than I should, as if its not very natural. And also always feels like something is a bit stuck.

I know that this can happen for a number of reasons, but I personally have a lot of neck and jaw issues that have caused the left side of my neck to be EXTREMELY tight. The back of my neck as well as my shoulder blades, tops of my shoulders and even the front of my neck. I'm assuming that having overused, tired and extremely tight muscles would affect swallowing abilities. I have been doing neck stretches and I swear swallowing feels more natural after I've done it. Don't know if thats in my head though.

I have this same problem, it feels like I have to manually swallow, food doesn't go down as smoothly as it should. I also have a really tight neck too. Could this be anxiety related?