I wish I was a doctor and could give you some professional advice, but I'm not. I do know, as I'm sure you do, that quitting nortriptyline cold turkey after even just 2 weeks will most likely cause anxiety-like withdrawal symptoms. Throw in lack of sleep and the perfect storm you mentioned has arrived.

Racing thoughts and fear will most likely intensify your symptoms, we all know what effect it has on nerves in sfn. I think you need to try to rationalize your situation from a clinical perspective. (I know, not easy) If you have no symptoms of pneumonia, you most likely did not aspirate any food. Keep in the back of your mind, you can always call your doctor if needed for reassurance, or to ask advice. I'm sure they are reachable on a weekend.

I think the swallowing issue will be hard to ignore going forward since it's such a normal daily occurrence and something we can do involuntarily. Have you been checked by an ENT? In an office visit they can examine your throat for issues and even diagnose GERD which could be a cause. It's not nearly as expensive or time consuming as an upper GI or upper endoscopy.

I know you said the gaba did nothing, but amitriptyline/nortriptylene will definitely cause more dryness than gaba. And the gaba does provide some anxiolytic relief and would probably help at night with sleep. Perhaps you did not have a strong enough dose? It might be worth discussing with your doctor.

I've been in similar situations in which I've experienced strange irregular heartbeats that have caused anxiety, which of course made the situation worse.
Doing things to take your mind off the current situation can be a big help, just reassure yourself if you needed help, it's available.

It's strange that these weird things seem to occur right before, or on a weekend when we feel access to healthcare is not instantly available. Lastly, I don't know how populated your location is, but if you're not happy with your neurologist, or reluctant to call them for fear of being labeled a "hypochondriac", it may serve you well to begin a search for a more sympathetic doctor. The more I read about sfn, the more it appears it's a journey to find the right one.

So please chill. I hope you feel better as the weekend progresses.

P.S. If you're a teacher, you probably knew all this. My daughter's a teacher and she knows everything.