Do I just have problems chewing or is it possible to have an unusually small throat?

Have you considered the possibility that your molars don’t occlude properly? You may not be chewing your food as thoroughly as you think you are. Have your dentist check your bite the next time you go.

Is it always the same type of food? Sometimes people develop allergies to certain foods that can cause the esophagus to spasm and cause choking.

@DarkScribe um it happens with breads of sorts or red meat but i thought it was just the consistency of the food. cause i eat bread and meat far more often than I have trouble swallowing

@live_rose um it happens with breads of sorts or red meat

It might seem to be a silly question – but if the bread is not fresh (doughy) does it happens as much. It is beginning to sound like an allergic reaction – yeast (in bread) and some high protein foods can cause it . I know people who cannot eat fresh bread, steak, solid tuna, or chicken at times (not always – usually when not having eaten for a while) but can eat them in casseroles etc., or as a second course in a meal. The reaction seems to come only if it is the first thing that they eat.

You might consider having some allergy tests. Keep a diary of what you eat and when for a while and see whether there is a pattern with time/type of food etc.

@DarkScribe It happens alot when i eat soft pretzels (I should steer clear but I just love them so) and they’re pretty doughy Im not sure if there’s a lot of yeast in it.

http://www.scleroderma.org/medical/gastro_articles/Clements_2002_5.shtm
Check out this sight. My mother had the procedure about a year ago.

I think anything is possible. If you drink a lot while eating the offending foods can you avoid it? I sometimes have small items lodged at the back of my throat that I have trouble swallowing and have to eat a little something to move it down. I have trouble swallowing pills, no one takes me seriously, but I have a very strong gag reflex, which I think is part of the reason. I wound up in the ER once because I had not swallowed a pill well and it burned ulcers into my esophagus over night, I took the pill because my husband was annoyed I didn’t want to buy the more expensive pill that is smaller with a smooth coating. That is the last time I let someone tell me I should be able to do it, that it’s all in my head. I have read that about 30% of people have little to no gag reflex, so they just don’t understand at all I would guess. But, it sounds like your problem is lower, down in the esophagus?

What you describe is called dysphagia. This is a common problem, and yours seems to be related to solids rather than liquids. There are multiple possible causes, all of which should be evaluated by a doctor (and none of them are “allergies”). Food allergies do not manifest as difficulty swallowing solid foods. For example, you could have a diverticulum (a small pouch) within which food is trapped, or an esophageal stricture, or achalasia. I suggest seeing a doctor as many of the causes of dysphagia are treatable and correctable (dysphagia may also be a sign of a more systemic illness, like scleroderma, so a thorough and complete evaluation is necessary).

You are not a moron, this is a medical problem that can and should be corrected.

I second @shilolo‘s reply. I work in an Ear, Nose & Throat office, and my B.S. is in Speech/Language Pathology (SLPs also evaluate and treat dysphagia).

Consult an ENT about your problem, and try to be as specific as possible with the details of your experience. They will order tests, such as looking down your esophagus with a scope, or imaging studies to watch the swallowing mechanism in action.

It is better to get answers sooner rather than later, because things do tend to get worse over time.

Another possibility is an enlarged thyroid gland.

@Marina: Which an ENT can also assess.

If you think it might be your thyroid look in the mirror and swallow if a lump moves up and down it could be enlarged. Other symptoms would be dry skin hair and eyes, muscle or joint pain, needing a lot of sleep or no tbeing able to sleep long enough. Any doctor you go to to assess your condition can order the basic blood test for thyroid which would be at minimum “TSH,” and might add a “free T4.”

Going to an ENT would not be my first move. An internist should be able to start the diagnostic work-up for dysphagia (such as taking a careful history and doing a physical evaluation, then possibly ordering a barium swallow). Dysphagia is an extremely common complaint, and doesn’t necessarily require a highly invasive evaluation right off the bat. Besides, as I mentioned above, systemic issues can easily be the cause, which are more readily understood and managed by internists. In any event, should you need a specialist, a gastroenterologist is more likely to be able to provide the appropriate evaluation, given that their area of expertise is the GI tract (i.e. upper endoscopy, swallow studies, etc.).