Angelia, I've had just about every variation of swallow problems imaginable, so I feel your discomfort! First, my speech therapist told me early on that you often don't know exactly when things are making their way down your throat. In my case I often felt that stuff was getting stuck down there. She said that the throat often feels a kind of phantom sensation of material even after it's gone down all the way. (you didn't specifically mention this but thought I'd bring it up anyway)

I too experienced the down/up thing and I know how disconcerting - even frightening - it can be. As others have said, you will get past this... however that being said, if you're really having a lot of trouble you might think about getting a video esophagram (I had one) to determine exactly what and where the problem lies. Like you I often had the feeling I was sending things down the wrong pipe and in fact I might well have been - small bits of water only - based on what the esophagram showed.

Next: in my case (and I'm hoping this is rare) I had a web growing across my esophagus - twice - which along with the radiation damage (temporary) to my swallowing mechanism made it impossible for me to swallow anything other than liquid for awhile. I had two endoscopies to remove the webs and thankfully they don't seem to be growing back.

Third is the possibility of esophageal narrowing, something I believe many of us suffer from. That's something a GI doc can assess through endoscopy, maybe you've already been checked out. In many cases (mine included) a series of dilations is necessary to stretch the esophagus back to normal. Thank god for propophol.

To repeat myself, but it bears repeating, you will overcome these things. As David El Primero said earlier, the dry mouth is more or less inevitable, alas. Oh well.

Courage!
David El Segundo