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I have Achalasia and have zero motility now in my esophagus. I have been vaccinated with Pfizer (no booster) and am positive for Covid. My symptoms are quite many, considering 2 vaccine doses. The most concerning is Very Very sore throat and Laryngitis for 3 days. My dysphagia is worse and I seem to have more mucous or saliva in response to the swelling and I am choking on it. I have zero lower respiratory symptoms, no cough, except this choking like my dysphagia, no runny or stuffy sinus to mention. O2 sats remaining good. But I choke when I am not even eating or drinking. Not as bad when I take a pain med, probably because I swallow more, but eating and drinking more difficult. Have you heard of this dysphagia or do you think it's primarily because of my Achalasia (S/P Heller/fund AND subsequent POEM). If other people (not intubated) develop dysphagia and choking does it go away?
The Covid symptoms that you describe (the prominent sore throat and laryngitis) are very consistent with infection with the Omicron variant. Because of your history of achalasia AND the infection localized to the throat area, your body makes more mucous secretions as part of the defense mechanism. Normally, the increased saliva and secretions would be swallowed and result in quick elimination from the body. But, due to your achalasia you are experiencing secretions that cannot be eliminated downward through the gastrointestinal tract. In the hospital, we manage excessive secretions with a suction tube that you can put into your mouth to eliminate the secretions—Just like when you go to the dentist and they frequently suction while cleaning your teeth (especially during the high-velocity water jet cleaning). A low-tech solution is to use a suction bulb. You can easily find one at the local pharmacy and this is commonly used for young infants suffering from upper respiratory infections and who have a lot of nasal and mouth secretions. Good luck, I wish you a rapid recovery.
