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3 weeks after Heller myotomy

Posted , 7 users are following.

eric43861
eric43861

Hey, Im 28 y.o from Israel. 

3 years ago I started noticing my firsh achalasia symptoms (diffucalty in swallowing ...). It became worse with time and finally this summer my doctors diagnosed me and recommended a surgery. 

I see that many people here went through this surgery so I wanted to ask how long I should, in your opinion, wait before I make final conclusions about the results of the surgery..... 

I am still on a diet but I eat almost anything made through the blender..

In general I feel much better. I can dring a glass of water in the morning with no diffuclties (before the operation it was very difficult).

I only eat liquids in the morning but for the first time in my life- with no water accompanied. 

No problems AT ALL with my sleep (before the operation I was very stressed during the nights nad found myself vomiting at least 2 times a week). 

yesterday tried some pizza, 2 days ago tried eating fish, but these two did not go too well....

some days I feel better, some worse. 

But... is there still time to get even better? Or the rsult of the surgery is final now? Some people say it takes 2 weeks to understand, others say it might take 3 months to fully recover....

What have you experienced? 

Thank you in advance and I am so happy I found this place where you can share your thoughts and fears, especially since Achalasia is not as well known as other diseases 

0 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

  • AlanJM
    AlanJM eric43861

    Posted

    I think that whatever the surgery you have, the benefits will be to adjust your system so that food passes through better, using gravity and whatever peristalsis you still retain.   It does not actually cure the condition as such.  

    And regardless of surgery, you will probably still have to avoid certain foods because of its texture, and will need to take care to avoid tension and stress, especially around the eating process.   I think this will remain with you indefinitely.

    So the chances are that you may never return to completely 'normal' eating and digestion / swallowing, but surgery may alleviate the problem for most practical purposes.

    I think that you might try gradually trying food that is more solid, and see how it goes with trial and error.   I imagine that after a few weeks or months you will have achieved a new norm, but I cannot give you a precise period of time.

    It sounds like you have received great benefit and I hope this continues for you.

    • Pinkwarrior
      Pinkwarrior AlanJM

      Posted

      Very true! A great response. Unfortunately achalasia is incurable unless there is some kind of miracle from God! But all of the surgeries are there to help relieve and try to minimise symptoms as much as possible so we can all live a close to normal life with this heartless condition.
  • Pinkwarrior
    Pinkwarrior eric43861

    Posted

    Hi Eric! Thanks for replying to me I hope your symptoms continue to improve and you get some relief soon.

    Well, I noticed results immediately after my surgery. Of course I was on a liquid diet for one week and a soft food diet for one month, but i did not have problems swallowing at it for three years until now. The only problems I had and still have are sever pain. It's frustrating because specialists did not explain that I would / could have pain so badly.

    I'm not a specialist but I would say depending how the surgery was done and how your body reacted to it, each and every person will have a different result. My specialists told me that this surgery was the best option and if successful can relieve symptoms for many years. I was also told that the gullet can heal and the surgery may need to be repeated. If you are having difficultly swallowing I cannot recommend enough that you please seek help from your specialists and get tested to see what's going on. That's what I have to do again as well. It's very frustrating but we must try and remain calm because stress tends to make everything to do with achalasia worse.

    • Pinkwarrior
      Pinkwarrior

      Posted

      Also were you told to stay on a soft food diet such as mashed potato, soups, scrambled eggs for one month after surgery? This was important for me to do after my surgery
    • eric43861
      eric43861 Pinkwarrior

      Posted

      Hey!

      Thank you very much for your reply. 

      Indeed, I was told to stay on a soft diet for a month.

      And I feel much better, swallowing is easier while eating liquids.

      I tried eating fish and pizza (I am not sure if thats allowed during this diet....) and therefore I had difficulties... ).

      I just hope it will be easier to swallow with time (since 1 month has not passed yet). 

      But I dont want to have false illusions. . In your case, as in most cases I guess, 2 weeks after the surgery you already had maximum results.

      Too early for me to visit my specialists, they told me to wait. 

      I am sure your specialists will find another solution for you now, do not worry and stay positive. 

    • Pinkwarrior
      Pinkwarrior eric43861

      Posted

      Thank you but sometimes it can be difficult to keep positive with this condition but I will try.

      Hmm usually you can't eat anything like that until after the four weeks. Did a dietitian give you a food plan / list of what your allowed to eat for the one month? Pizza would have definitely been too hard! Fish is soft though I guess it depends how it was cooked. Try and stick to the more boring stuff and see how you go later on.

      I remember after the surgery when I had severe pain the specialists said the same thing to me. "It's too early to do any tests just see what happens" and the pain became worse. I feel like a lot of medical professionals could be doing more and aren't sincere about their work.

    • eric43861
      eric43861 Pinkwarrior

      Posted

      Believe me I know how difficult it is.. 

      Even now, I am trying to keep positive, but even though I really feel better, it seems that it won't get better and is seems that I give up on hoping. 

      You are right, Pizza and fish might be too difficult for now, but is there any chance it will get better in week 4 or 5? Does not sound logical. 

      I am also experiencing severe pain now like in the begining of the disease, but I don'y think about it because dealing with the dysphagia is more urgent for me... 

       

    • Pinkwarrior
      Pinkwarrior eric43861

      Posted

      I'm sorry to hear that you've having pain as well. Did they give you any pain management?

      If you stick to the soft food diet for the first month I'm sure it will get better for you. If not talk to your specialist. When I was having problems with pain my speciaist was reluctant to helping me and said there was nothing much he could do about it, so I got a referral to a new specialist.

  • kevin78403
    kevin78403 eric43861

    Posted

    Hi Eric, I'm around the same age as you and I had a myotomy 4 weeks ago. I could eat almost anything at the 3 week point, and now at 4 weeks in I'm eating hard bread, sausage...etc without much of a problem. Dysphagia might be there every now and then, but my surgeon said this will be for life since we lack peristalsis. For example, if I swallow the yolk of a poached egg, I notice that I takes a bit longer than other food to go down and causes a slight sensation of choking. However, it's much better than before. Chest pain due to spasms is still there but it seems related to diet and stress. No food 3 hours before bed (meats 4 hours, nuts 5 hours), no water 30 minutes before bed, and sleeping on a slight incline have almost eliminated the chest pain at night. By the way, at the 3 week mark my scars became INCREDIBLY itchy. If that happens to you, try 1% hydrocortisone 1X per day. It's good to use anyway because it's proven to reduce scarring. I also use an antifungal cream because some research shows that severe scarring after surgery is due to fungus. Can't hurt to use it. Anyway, "full" recovery can take some time, and I think it's still too early to say that you won't improve any further. 
    • eric43861
      eric43861 kevin78403

      Posted

      Hi Kyle, thank you for replying! 

      I dont even have to sleep on any incline, I sleep well at nights (unlike before). 

      I am happy to hear that you are already able to eat even bread! Sounds like an amazing result!! 

      I am day 23 now and am still experiencing problems in eating bread/meat/pastas etc. Most probably it won't get better, but some people say it really might. 

      My scars are ok actually and not itchy at all, but thanks for the advice, will use it if anything happens. . 

    • AlanJM
      AlanJM Pinkwarrior

      Posted

      It is a simple and good question but not a stupid one!   It means difficulty in swallowing, especially when food gets 'stuck' in your chest area.
  • meowspace
    meowspace eric43861

    Posted

    Give it at least three months. Don't overeat, take small bites, chew really well, and eat soft foods. It needs time to heal. Don't push it.

    Whenever i do anything to irritate my esophagus, (overeating, eating hard things, etc.), even 6 years out, I heal it by doing all of the above. Chamomile tea works quickly for me to start the healing process.

  • raen_railin
    raen_railin eric43861

    Posted

    Hi eric , I surgery one month ago on 8th january, I was still eating soft foods .next week on 22hb barium swallow again.

    • eric43861
      eric43861 raen_railin

      Posted

      Hey! 

      Do you feel better? Good luck with the barium, let us know what the results are like. 

    • raen_railin
      raen_railin eric43861

      Posted

      better than before surgery. soft foods no problem, everything is ok but hard food I drink plenty of water and sometimes chest pain. hope there will be positive changes. I believe in the name of Jesus we get healing. Amen.
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