I suspect it's difficult to tell as this is flu season. I started OP about two weeks ago (with excellent results); but I will say I too suffered from a sore throat for the first week. However, my daughter was home sick from school at the time and one of her symptoms was a sore throat, so I do not know the origin of mine. I treated my sore throat by gargling with Colloidal Silver ; I also tried putting droppers of tobasco on it and I ate fresh minced garlic by the spoonful (with a water chaser). Many people use cayenne pepper on sore throats with good success, but I was out of Cayenne, hence I used tobasco. As for difficulty swallowing, I didn't really feel that, but I have noticed that OP pulls a lot of crappola out through the nasal cavity in the back of the throat, that can make you feel clogged and choked.