can any one help

The operation!!! Its the best thing I have ever done. I hope this helps.

Gemmalou.

I have the same condition, but not as bad as you. I have only been offered botox at the moment. However this is a good site for help and support and I am sure that someone will offer good advice. I would suggest go for the 'balloon' now an see how it goes. Best wishes.

Hi, my consultant said cause i was young(ish),.should go for op straight away.. have no regrets.

my sympoms werent as bad as some,i could still eat and drink with lots of water.and only got mild heartburn with certain foods.so .

Listen to your consultant and read peoples experiences, and go with what you feel comfortable with. personally i wanted a longer term solution rather than balloon for a perhaps years relief and then more intervention.

you can only have op twice i think in a lifetime so way up your symptoms and age.

there is not a simple answer im afraid, its what you feel will be best for you.with all info you have...but read literature and peoples stories.check you have a surgeon whp is experienced in dealing with achalasia.thats most important.

I had the laprascopic hellers procedure but unfortunately this didn't go well...won't scare you with the details. Hospital tried different things and then ran out of ideas so transferred me to a specialist in Newcastle. He decided to try the balloon dilatation and it's the best thing that could have happened. It worked first time!! I now have an endoscopy once a year to keep an eye on things but have not needed it stretching for over 2 years now! :D

its always good that people see the other side of the op....ive had chronic pain post hellors 8 months ago.im still having tests and getting a second opinion in newcastle in june....my op was done by an expert 20 mins from newcastle..

however my swallowing is good so im still pleased i went ahead..the alternative was not an option.

your op sounds scary...can you explain wot went wrong at all?. was your surgeon experienced? its good that you had it made good.

im please you got it sorted.

Will tell you what went wrong with my hellers op but please (anyone who is waiting to have this done) don't be put off, this is only what happened to me!!

Had the op done on the Tuesday and everything was fine. Went home on the Thursday and even ate a small meal on the Friday. So far so good... However on the Saturday morning I got up, felt fine and made a cup of tea. Had a mouthful of tea and could feel it dripping inside me and then the pain hit. I managed to telephone for help and the next thing I can remember is my GP and the paramedics being in the house. Was taken to hospital where it was found that I had perforated badly and was taken back into theatre. Came round from theatre to find 3 tubes down my nose and 2 drains in my side together with heart monitors etc.

The doctors took blood over and over and my temperature was through the roof...turned out I had a chest infection from the anaesthetics and also blood poisoning. Spent a fortnight in hospital and still couldn't eat. This is when I was referred to another hospital who performed the dilatation.

Hi everyone

I am newly diagnosed and am going for a dilation on 1st July. Anything I ought to know before I have it done?

I can't swallow very well - I have liquidised food - or things like custard and yogurt - not very exciting.

I would appreciate advice. Thanks

Sandra

Hi - I had my first dilation on Wednesday. All went fine - they dilated the oesophagus under XRay control and took biopsies- I had a general anaesthetic so knew nothing about it until I woke up. All the staff were great - you have to wait for 2 hours before they will let you sip water and ehen you realise just how sore your throat is - but it is bearable! A couple of painkillers help. I found that very cold or very hot drinks hurt - but luke warm tea was just right and easier to swallow - and still is - 3 days on.

The sore throat gradually goes - so nothing to worry about.

My GP has advised me to 'Challenge' my oesophagus with bigger bits of food - but I am not trying that until my throat feels a bit better - even then - it is a scary thought when you have not had much in the way of solid food for 2 years.

If anyone is having a dilation - don't worry - the chances are it will go as smoothly as mine did.

I will have to wait and see if it improves at all - I will let you know.

Thanks

Hi Sandra,

Glad you finally got something sorted and good to hear it went well :-)

Yeah, keep us posted on how it progresses.

Did you get to discuss the possibility of the operation and what did they have to say?

Hi Richard

Thanks for the message. No one has mentioned the possibility of the operation yet but I have a outpatient appt in 3 months time.

It is 4 days since the dilation but my throat does not seem as good as it was before and is still tender- even soft things come back - I don't really know what to try to eat. I have some sparkling water that may help push things down - it is worth trying.

I am hoping it will settle down more with a bit of time - any suggestions on diet?

Many thanks Sandra

Hi Sandra,

Well, after I had the op, I was told to start on only soft foods.

We experimented with liquidising all sorts of things including whole meals (a little bit of veg, meat, etc. all together).

To cut a long story short, I loved liquidised veg, just on their own.

And best of all ..... peas.

I know it doesn't sound appetising, but when your desparate you'll try anything, and I suggest you do just that, try anything.

Also, experiment with the temperature. It may be hotter or hot food is better, or it may be cooler or icy is better.

We tried all kinds of food, textures, temperatures and found a few things that worked better than the rest.

I know it's not much help but worth a try.

Let me know how you get on.

:-)

Hi Richard

My swallowing is starting to improve - I think my thraot must have been swollen last week.

I am eating small amounts with big gulps of sparkling water. That helps. I am still on liquidised meat - bread is out of the question and so is meat unless it is liquidised. I am planning on trying meat that is finely minced ans see how that goes. I am experimenting with food at the moment to see which is okay. Liver and kidney are fine - very easy to swallow - but not a diet to live on! Plenty of fizzy drink helps also and gaviscon. I think it is a case of trying new things out - also a tried a small bit of smoked salmon - that was easy! I think it depends on the texture and consistency of things.

Anyway - thankfully it is much better than before the dilation - and hopefully will improve more - so I would encourage those that are worried about the dilation to go ahead and try it - it should make things a bit better. :D

Best Wishes Sandra

[quote:fd9614088d=\"ellis emmerson\"]you can only have op twice i think in a lifetime so way up your symptoms and age. [.[/quote:fd9614088d]

I have had the balloon operation more than twice, there is no limit to how many times they can do it. And after each time the time in between each op gets longer and longer after each stretch

Hi sorry i didnt mean the balloon dilation, i meant the hellors myotomy operation...sorry for misunderstanding

[quote=\"licklerotti\"] i have finally been able to look on this site since having my op as like yourself licklerotti had difficults after op, as my asoph split and liked in to my chest i ended up with 6 drains from my boady and ended up in intensive care the expericen i have had was shocking but it is so rare for this to happen as i have came to realise i was in hospital for a month and a half but am now able to eat any thing i was just one of the unlucky ones in this case but find it funny how i had read your comment licklerotti befor going in its been 7mnths and i can eat everything now i lost intottal 5st 7lbs and have regaind 7lbs since i am just glad to be here and be able to eat again x