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  3. Oesophageal Achalasia and Spasm

New to this site and just need to vent.

Posted , 4 users are following.

Guest
Guest

I was diagnosed with Achalasia in 2009 and had the HM surgery with partial fundoplication in August on 2010. Its 4 years later and I'm back in the boat with all the symptoms again. I have extreme substernal pain and will be just shopping at Target or whatever and out of now where it hits me and I want to rip my bra off in public. Its crazy and has happend to me at work also. It usually passes pretty quickly about a min. or two after I eat tums. But it feel so bad that I want to just call it a day afterwards and I've been feel pretty depressed about it. I so far havn't regurgitated at all, but my sleep is crap and most of the time I try to sleep on recliner in living room. I have to find a new doctor since I've had a change in insurance and go through this whole process again. I've been trying to pretend that I don't have this autoimmune disease for the last 4 years but it just won't do. I am 45 years old women and feeling sorry for myself.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Richard426
    Richard426 Guest

    Posted

    Feels the same but it isn't.  You probably have gerd. It's what I fear, trading one problem for the opposite. PPIs may help. Time to see the doc

    my heart is with you.

  • dorsetgirl
    dorsetgirl Guest

    Posted

    Sending you there there sympathy, it's horrible when in such pain. I was prescribed Nitrolingual pump spray when the pain is fierce I have two sprays under the tongue which helps a great deal .  Maybe this might be helpful when your Esophagus goes into spasms 

    All the best Frannie

  • AlanJM
    AlanJM Guest

    Posted

    I think it is quite understandable that these attacks leave you feeling shocked and traumatised.   I do think you need to return to your specialist doctor and get a proper diagnosis of what has been developing.  

    TUMS is antacid, so if it is the TUMS that is making you feel suddenly better, it may be the amount of acid reflux in your system that is casuing some or all of the problem.   It may be that the acid is causing some or all of the problems;  or feasibly that your original surgical procedure has become ineffective for some reason.   Acid reflux can be worse at night, partly because of gravity, which is why, as I am sure you know, many people sleep sitting up at an angle.

    Can you swallow OK?

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Thanks for your replies and suggestions. I am in the process of going back to see a specialist. My apt. is at the end of July. While waiting for apt. I am trying to eat carefully and as if I had GERD. Which in some ways I do. But some of the things that help would not help a person with GERD, like drinking carbonated water after all meals. It seems to help get the food to go down. I also have to aviod advil and coffee and spicy for the most part. I drink green tea and limit my caffine to 2 cups a day at most. I also drink a lot of herbal tea. I exercise at much at possible which seems to help a lot also. I am very nervous about going through another operation. I'm sure the first one worked it just didn't last for some reason. I will write more after I get some tests and see my new GI doc.
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I have been to see the GI and have done the barrium swallow and had an upper endoscopy done. The verdict....They want me to take ppi's to help with heartburn. I have some narrowing and show some irratation. It feel like it should be much worse, but I'm glad it isn't. The bad news is that ppi's give me migraines. I can only handle Zantac. So I have to be very careful what I eat and drink. Lots of seltzer water helps and food that is watery or slippery. I was told by my doc. that the esophegeal muscle do not contract and the les will quit opening which is why when you do the barrium swallow test it will look like a birds beak.
    • AlanJM
      AlanJM Guest

      Posted

      It sounds like they did their endoscopy thoroughly, and the barium swallow shows the lower oesophageal sphincter being clamped shut, so the next thing is to consider a manometry test that measures the motility (how the muscles work) through your system, and what can be done to relax the sphincter.  It is a bit unusual that with a closed sphincter you are getting reflux rising.   There are different variations of PPI (eg omeprazole, lansoprazole) and one may be more tolerable than another.  Ztanac / ranitidone works against acid in a different way;  it is an H2 receptor antagonist.   There are also things like gaviscon that are alginates that can give you short term relief and they do not generally interfere with other medication.   Hope this helps.
  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I didn't explain myself well. I have been better since my surgery with the swallowing. But the surgery leaves you with GERD. I was trying to tell others how the Doc. decribed diagnoises of Achalasia. I had always thought that you could just be diagnosed by doing the barrium swallow test. But he told me the true diagnoses is when you have the Esophageal manometry test and it show that your natural contractions are not there working the way they should to help pull your food down to the LES. And also the LES stops opening the way it should.

    Sorry I was trying to multitask and didn't finish my thoughts well.

    • AlanJM
      AlanJM Guest

      Posted

      Don't apologise!  No problem!  Yes, I can see that loosening the sphincer might well cause GORD (excuse the UK version), which is a great deal easier to deal woth than the original problem.
    • Guest
      Guest AlanJM

      Posted

      Thanks for the info. on the different PPI's and Alginates. I'm heading to the store today to become my own guinea pig. lol
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