New to the group

June 24, 2003

...

A different type of scoliosis, functional scoliosis, can be caused by

postural problems. Working with a good physical therapist will likely

solve the problem.

Regards,

June 25, 2003

Hi, !

I definitely agree with Katrina. You need to have your back checked.

I have been dealing with my scoliosis since the 1960s. As far as I know, the

cause of scoliosis is not known, but it is usually hereditary. It is more

common in females than males.

Keep us informed.

Janet

----Original Message Follows----

From: " katrina pavelko " <krabcatcher@...>

Reply-Scoliosis Treatment

Scoliosis Treatment

Subject: Re: New to the group

Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 08:42:19 -0500

Hi ,

I think you should definently go to a orthopedic doctor who specializes in

scoliosis. It sounds as if you're doctor doesn't really know what he's

talking about. I never heard of scoliosis being caused by the way a person

sits or stands. I know is affects the way you sit/stand. Making it

impossible to be straight. I wish you the best of luck.

Katrina

New to the group

<tt>

Hi everyone-

I just recently found out that I have scoliosis. A few years ago, I had

started to noticed that my shoulders were at different heights and the hem

of my

pants seem to be uneven. Also, my parents are always complaining about my

bad

posture. My pediatrician just told my parents and me that it wasn't anything

to

worry about. He didn't even tell us what the problem is - just said don't

worry about it.

It wasn't until I seem to have frequent foot and back pain from standing at

one place for too long or walking for a long time that I started to think

more

about it. I examined myself and realized that one of my hips seem to stick

out

more. Then I researched on the Internet and decided that I may have

scoliosis

based on all the observations.

That was when I went to my doctor (a different one from pediatrician since I

am now 19 years old) and he told me that I should get an x-ray. The x-ray

showed that I have mild scolosis and that the curvature was so small that

they

didn't feel the need to measure how many degrees it was. My doctor said we

should

keep a watchful eye on it. He doubts I need a brace or surgery since the

curvature is small and I'm probably near bone maturity.

When I asked him why I have scoliosis, he said it's probably because of the

way I sit or stand - leaning towards one side. I thought the reason was

because

of how I carried my bookbag sometimes - I carried it one side. If I had

known

that it would've caused problems, I wouldn't have done that. But I wonder

though...many of my friends carried their bags on side as well and they seem

fine

- no scoliosis. So could scoliosis be caused by other factors as well?

Right now, I'm keeping a watchful eye on that, but sometimes it's still

tough

to keep a good posture. Any advice on keeping a good posture and

strengthening my back? Thank you. I'm glad I found this group - it's always

great to find

some people who are going through something similar.

~

June 25, 2003

,

I'm not a doctor, but from what I understand, I don't think carrying your

backpack on one shoulder would have caused your scoliosis.

Katrina

<tt>

Hi Katrina-

My doctor said my scoliosis was caused by how I would lean towards on way

when sitting and standing. It sounded weird to me. I mean I know that because of

my scoliosis, I lean towards one side. Do you think that carrying a bookbag on

one side of the shoulder could be a cause of scoliosis?

~

In a message dated 6/24/2003 10:44:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

krabcatcher@... writes:

> Hi ,

> I think you should definently go to a orthopedic doctor who specializes in

> scoliosis. It sounds as if you're doctor doesn't really know what he's

> talking about. I never heard of scoliosis being caused by the way a person

sits or

> stands. I know is affects the way you sit/stand. Making it impossible to

> be straight. I wish you the best of luck.

> Katrina

July 16, 2003

> Is there anyone in the Atlanta area that has A? Any suggestions for

> questions to ask my doctor as I discuss my treatment options?

Please

> help.

Hi Welcome to the group! I am not sure if there is anyone on here

now from Atlanta, but there is someone in South Carolina that went to

Atlanta for treatment - Beverly. Maybe she will see this and

respond, but if she doesn't I have the name of the surgeon that she

went to there.

When were you diagnosed? What are your symptoms?

I lived in the Atlanta area for 6 1/2 years - would love to get back

there - beautiful part of the country!!

August 3, 2003

My tinnitus drives me nuts daily, especially when trying to fall asleep. The constant feeling of my ear being plugged is another thing that bugs me - does anyone know how to help this? Thanks in advance and I look forward to getting to know all of you.Hi

The feeling that your ear is full up is something that surgery will solve. It may not always do a great deal to stop tinnitus though - it does for some people and not others. Sometimes the tinnitus will quieten if you manage to recover any of your lost hearing. Everybody will tell you that tinnitus, however bad it is, is something you learn to live with - and that's correct. The secret to dealing with tinnitus usually about learning to relax with it.

Phil

August 7, 2003

> >Two

> >of the most often mentioned are not enough fluids (including

> >electrolytes)

>

> Could you get into this a bit more? What's missing and how to

discover?

Hi Tara,

Practitoners often find that when a client is dehydrated they do not

respond as well to EFT. It is felt that the body uses it's internal

fluids to transmit bioelectric signals right down to the cellular

level and so this is very important for healing.

Salts and other trace elements in our bodies are also necessary to

carry these signals and are therefore called electrolytes. It is my

feeling that a lot of the water we drink and food we eat nowadays is

quite lower in these naturally occuring substances. So called " sports

drinks " have added salts but many people are on salt restricted diets

so they are not the best.

In my view, two supplements that help are blue green algae and

chlorella but I have no hard evidence to back this. Eating more fresh

whole roots and leafy vegetables are also a good idea, but even they

are not as high in the trace elements as they used to be as the soil

they are grown in becomes depleted.

Your doctor can test for these factors.

Blessings, Nels

August 13, 2003

I haven't found that Paxil or Lexapro have done much to alleviate my social

anxiety. But 10mg of Lexapro seems low. I'm at 20mg Lexapro-- just switched from

Paxil a week ago. Good luck.

Pam

-- New to the group

>

August 13, 2003

-- Re: New to the group

> Hi Murph-- I'd wager your dosage is too low. That is a long time to not have

more positive results. I was on Prozac with no improvement whatsoever because

the dosage was ridiculously low for the severity of my anxiety and depression.

Tell your doc. Good luck!

Pam

September 12, 2003

Hi , What a beautiful daughter. I have had a CI for 16 years as of

last May.

One thing that I really like about my N24 is that it is MRI compatible to

1.5 Telsa, which is the most commonly found MRI today, and has the clearest

picture. The Nucleus is the only implant with that strength MRI tolerance.

I am a person that had to have an implant removed (after I had it 13 years)

in order to have a MRI so this is a big issue for me.

Also I had the N22 with a straight electrode, which was replaced with the

Nucleus Contour, which is the only electrode that hugs the inner wall of the

Cochlea where the auditory nerve fiber are located. My power consumption

needed for stimulation dropped dramatically from the power levels required

with the straight electrode to significantly lower power requirements from

the contour.

The 3G for the N24 has a T-coil. This interfaces with the telephone, and a

magnetic loop that gives wire free access to TV, CD players, Tape players,

and a host of assistive listening devices. I have a magnetic loop that my

husband installed in my study. I can listen to the TV or music, without any

wires attached to me and I can move freely throughout the room. Right next

to the TV I get Electromagnetic interference, in the form of a buzz, but

just moving a couple feet away from it, I am free of the buzz. I have the

option of T coil only, or T-coil with microphone so that I can chose to hear

what is happening around me while listening to TV/Music.

Ruth

New to the group

Hi everyone,

My name is Peffly and my husband and I recently returned from

China to adopt our daughter Jasmine.

Jasmine is profoundly deaf and is being evaluated for a CI. We

expect implantation in either October or November.

Any information, good or bad, about the Medel or the Nucleus CI

would be greatly appreciated!

Also, could anyone recommend some websites I could go to to listen

to samples of what a person with a CI hears?

Thanks so much!

http://geocities.com/sandrapeffly

September 14, 2003

Lexapro should have a less drastic effect though no promises that there will

not be any. How much are you taking? The wellbutrin should help to offset

some of the delayed orgasm if that was at all involved also. Dave

new to the group

Hi,

I'm new to the group and just started taking Lexapro after Celexia

dramatically

affected my libido. I'm also taking 100mg of Welbutrin. can anyone comment

on the

sexual side effects for men of Lexapro?

Thanks

Tom

San

September 22, 2003

Hi the_cat_eating_rat...

You might want to request that the hospital give you the x-rays, so that you

can take to a scoliosis specialist for reading. Or, you might be able to

get the radiologist's report, which will probably include the degree(s) of

your curvature. If your scoliosis is only visible on x-rays, and is not

obvious in the soft tissues of your body, there's a reasonable chance that

your scoliosis is small and that you will never require treatment.

Regards,

October 8, 2003

Hi Fran,

Welcome!! I have the same problem with my mastoid bone and my brain. Let me know if you doctor has any plans to put something there. My doctor said sometimes they can leave it, but sometimes they need to create a barrier...I think when I go for my next surgery he will have a better idea.

I actually think having a surgery date sooner rather than later is better, the waiting is so difficult.

Take care,

Melody fran_webb236 <fran_webb236@...> wrote:

Hello EveryoneThe Internet is a wonderful tool, I would have never guessed when I put "Cholesteotoma" into the Search Engine that I'd find a web site dedicated to this condition! I am a 39 year old female who has had c-toma surgery twice before (once at age 7 and again at age 30. I'm facing my third c-toma surgery on Friday, October 24 (I just found out the surgery date today, October 7). Of course I'm quite nervous but mostly of the anestheasia - my first surgery was a disaster, my second was a breeze. I'm not sure what to expect this time. My biggest concern is my doctor tells me that so much of my Mastoid bone is missing from prior surgeries that there is only a thin layer left separating my inner ear from my brain. He is not going to go near that layer and scrape but get as much out as possible

without getting too close. The risks terrify me: permanent hearing loss (I currently have 30% loss in my left ear) and possible paralysis of the left side of my face - among other, less serious side affects. I've joined this group so I can find out other people's experiences with c-toma surgeries and if anyone has suffered any of the serious side-affects I've mentioned. Plus, it's good to talk to people who've actually heard about this condition let alone been through it! Thanks for listening and I welcome any comments, suggestions. ~Fran Webb

November 5, 2003

Welcome "aboard" this board, !I'm Debbi, I'm 34yo, I live in Michigan, and I'm about 10 years into this disease. I've not had the myotomy (yet -- it's my next step) but I do know that several people here have had post-surgical dilations with varying degrees of success.

As for the chest pains, nobody's sure what causes them but there are SEVERAL different things that you can try to do to stop or prevent them. There's no "one fix" that works for everyone, though, so you have to use trial and error to figure out what will work for you. I'll just list some of the methods/drugs here, and you can read in a bit more detail about them in my message #11586 (I'm super pressed for time today at the office or I'd write it all out again here.)

Drinking something warm (not hot but more than room temperature) or something cold.

Eating something crunchy.

Nifedipine

Nortryptaline or other anti-depressant medications

Neurontin or other anti-convulsant medications

Levsin

Nitroglycerin

There is a lot of info here on the board, and a bunch of really super people too. Welcome!Debbi in Michigan

December 16, 2003

Hello ,

Welcome to our little family. You will find some interesting people in this group. If you have a question , just ask - someone will know the answer & if they don't they will find it. We'll listen to your rants, give you a shoulder to cry on & cry with you Or laugh with you as the case may be.

Now , to get to your question - bringing your own cuffs is frowned upon in the better groups it gives the appearance of arrogance or being too sure of yourself .Of course it also depends on who is going to be the cuffer & who the cuffee. I believe the proper thing to do is go window shopping on the first date & discuss the various implements that you would like to employ. If she is also interested in toys , she will let you know which she prefers & then you can go shopping together for the appropriate equipment , you ,of course , should pay for the impliments since it is all your idea.

Once again, welcome to the group.I think you're going to be an interesting addition to the group .

Have a Merry Christmas

Suzie & Spyke " A. Caruso" <antique_yippie@...> wrote:

I just wanted to say High to all the Fellow Heppers here! I did some Lurking and found that this is a rather Interesting collection of People! :-)I was Invited to join by Who I believe to be a rather long time Member here that goes by the Name of Teri.(Seems like a likable Person, but then again, I have a bad habit of being Suspicious of a LOT of People and yet at the same time TOO Trusting!)Being a rather Shy Person, it might take Me awhile to Jump Right in to this whole "Posting" Thing! So I have to ask that You all be understanding and ABOVE ALL, be Gentle with Me!I try to meet as many other Heppers as I can...In fact, I am hoping to make My way up to see this Teri Person this Month!!!! I must admit, I am more than a little nervous.I mean, is it Proper to bring One's own Handcuffs with, or should We stop at a Local

Store to pick out a Pair of Her Liking?!I've been out of the Dating loop for so long, I just don't remember all the Proper Etiquet in Situations like that any more!Looking forward to many Joyfull Hours of Interaction with Everyone here!Rev.

December 20, 2003

Interesting you mention the lyme test being positive! Years back before I was

diagnosed with Reiters and had gone to a doctor who didn't have a clue....he

ended up having another patient a few months after me with the same condition

I have in my mouth. He asked me if it would be ok for her to contact me, as he

had mentioned he had another patient and she had asked. I said it was fine

and she called me. Well, to make a long story short, she ended up having lyme

disease, which causes arthritis! The catch was that she didn't even test

positive on the normal test, she ended up going to some specialist who does

trace

testing for background infections. Thus, she ended up having a condition like

ReA

and it did not get better after lyme treatment (she had had lyme years prior

most likely).

I believe I may have had lyme disease too, because there are tons of ticks in

my area and I had a suspicious circular bug bite once that my internal med

doctor insisted was nothing. I also believe the infection went unnoticed.

However, I was never able to get this trace test done as it costs alot and

insurance

won't cover it. It wouldn't change anything even if it were positive, but at

least it would give me an answer.

I've NEVER had an elevated SED rate either! Yet I have arthritis all over my

body now. I have no visible swelling and I appear completely fine to anyone

viewing me! Everyone thinks I'm so physically fit, when in reality, I feel like

I can't move some days and I cannot exercise AT ALL! One of my rheumys PA's

felt my ankles really carefully one day and said I have trace inflammation that

is not visible from just looking at me. It's more visible in my mouth though

because people with ReA tend to get mouth symptoms and it never quite heals

down totally in that area.

Bye for now....Debra!

February 6, 2004

Hi Patty, I was just diagnosed. I have had the condition for about 8

months. I will discuss possible treatment options with the doctor

next month. It's not too bad now. So I want to take my time and look

at all the options.

Seems like the surgery is getting to be the prefered treatment.

Pete

> Hi! I have had A for about 6 years. I had lap surgery last July. It

> went well however in Nov. symptoms started coming back. I had a

> dilation last week. Food goes down pretty well but I do have spasms.

> I really do manage very well but my Dr. still worries about long

> term. I think he thinks that I will need a second surgery down the

> road. I guess that this never goes away. As I told him today, I

feel

> to good to be sick. I work and exercise alot and don't have time

for

> this. Good luck with those getting ready for surgery. It was easy.

I

> am in Houston.

>

> Patty

February 6, 2004

Welcome Patty,

What a shame your symptoms are returning. Hopefully this dilatation will be all you need to manage your Achalasia. I'm sure from Houston will welcome another Texan (sp?) Politically correct?

Best of luck with your health,

(Thunder Bay, Ontario)

New to the Group

Hi! I have had A for about 6 years. I had lap surgery last July. It went well however in Nov. symptoms started coming back. I had a dilation last week. Food goes down pretty well but I do have spasms.I really do manage very well but my Dr. still worries about long term. I think he thinks that I will need a second surgery down the road. I guess that this never goes away. As I told him today, I feel to good to be sick. I work and exercise alot and don't have time for this. Good luck with those getting ready for surgery. It was easy. I am in Houston.Patty

February 6, 2004

Hi Patti

Welcome to the group. I am sorry to see that you are needing to have

a dilation after surgery. Who did your surgery there? I know that

in Houston had her surgery by a Dr. Reardon - she raves about

him. I am sure that will be along shortly to welcome you. I

live in the Dallas area, and I had the opportunity to meet last

year on one of our trips to Houston. You will find this group to be

the best!

February 6, 2004

,

What part of the Dallas area are you from?

I lived in Plano for a year and for a year.

Jenifer in Ohio

> Hi Patti

>

> Welcome to the group. I am sorry to see that you are needing to

have

> a dilation after surgery. Who did your surgery there? I know that

> in Houston had her surgery by a Dr. Reardon - she raves about

> him. I am sure that will be along shortly to welcome you. I

> live in the Dallas area, and I had the opportunity to meet

last

> year on one of our trips to Houston. You will find this group to

be

> the best!

>

March 26, 2004

Hello Ask & welcome to the group. I'm from the Great White North myself - Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada . It's not Alaska but it's a reasonable facsimile thereof. It snowed today - thank god not enough to shovel just enough to make you nervous.

SuzieAsk Nice and Ill tell you <alaskaman1953@...> wrote:

I am new to the group and just wanted to say hello...Any other membersfrom Alaska? Drop me a line.....

Next time I'm coming back as a cat .

May 26, 2004

Dawn - Ohhhh, I really feel for you. I will share a couple things I have learned, but I don't have near the "experience" you do. There are hundreds on this board, though, so keep reading posts!

First, one of my several mis-diagnoses was a floating hiatal hernia. Another was reflux (I was also on Aciphex). Now my surgeon thinks I never had reflux, but rather that my LES was spastic & allowed acid into the E. while lying down. Then the acid stayed there because of the narrowing of the E (before my surgery I went OFF the Aciphex, but slept sitting upright). I also have had ulcers in my E (actually, that's what started me getting treatment 3 years ago....bleeding ulcers in my E when I was pregnant!). It seems since my myotomy 5 weeks ago that they are decreasing.

The reason I am telling you all of this is because the key to getting better is FINDING THE RIGHT DOCTOR. Is your doctor experienced in dealing with A? Your surgeon? Where are you located? In your case, is your surgeon/doc experienced in dealing with other esophageal issues? Sorry - I just re-read your post & see you are getting a second opinion. That is excellent. You might consider calling first & asking some questions about the doc's experience before taking the time to go in, particularly if your insurance won't cover 3rd opinions!

I scrutinized my surgeon voraciously (but nicely -hahhahhaa!). I figured if he was going to cut me open & earn thousands of dollars from my insurance company, he darn well better know what he was doing. Just because they have "MD" after their name doesn't mean they are best qualified to deal with your problem.

I'm glad you found us. Keep posting your questions & we will support you any way we can! Cindi in PA

____________________________________________________ IncrediMail - Email has finally evolved - Click Here

May 26, 2004

Hello Dawn,

Welcome to the group! I'm so sorry to hear of all your problems, but I'm

glad you've finally found us. This is the most wonderful group and you

will find a tremendous amount of love and support, as well as tons of

information in the files and from the group members. We may not be

physicians, but I think we know a heck of a lot more than most

physicians do regarding achalasia, so you have definitely come to the

right place!

I'm not sure where you are located, but because of the severity of your

reflux and all that you've already been through, I would strongly

encourage you to make an appointment to see Dr. Rice at The Cleveland

Clinic in Ohio. TCC is a top notch hospital for achalasia, and Dr. Rice

is one of the best surgeons. He's the one that patients go to see when

their myotomies have failed.

There are members in the group who have had more than one myotomy, but I

don't know how many myotomies one could have before needing an

esophagectomy, I think that might depend on the individual

circumstances.

You can request an appointment with Dr. Rice at the following link.

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/staff/getstaff.asp?StaffId=718

I wish you all the best, Dawn.

Please keep us posted and welcome again to the group!

Sandi in No CA

New to the group

Hi...I am looking for any answers anybody may have! I just started

to try to research achalasia on the i-net. Not sure what has taken

me so long. I was diagnosed (mis-diagnosed which I have heard is

common) back in 1996 with a floating hiatal hernia. Well my symtoms

progressively got worse to the point that I could not stand the

chest pain/food getting stuck! Well, I had upper GI's, dilitation,

swallow studies, etc. done. I was diagnosed with achalasia in August

of 2000. They said it was a pretty severe case. I had already at

that point been having the food getting stuck, chest pain, acid

reflux, and daily occurences of vomitting. They tried me on

prevacid, prilosec, nexium, others too I am sure...finally aciphex.

Well, the aciphex seemed to work for a bit, then stopped as all of

the others did. They sent me to a surgeon. I had a left thoracotomy

with heller myotomy and partial anti-reflux repair done Nov 8, 2000.

Seemed to go pretty good, I recovered fast, and felt great! Could

actually eat " normal " again. Well, then seems about 14 months later,

my reflux came back even worse! I now was waking up aspirating at

night, even with sleeping with 2 pillows, and not eating before bed,

and taking 2 aciphex a day. Doctors increased to 4 aciphex a day,

did not totally help, but got better. Well, then I needed a

different surgery in March of 2002, they gave me pain medication

post op which caused me to have so much vomitting, wreching that I

was vomitting a ton of blood. I needed 2 units of blood, and they

did another emergent EGD. Showed I was full of bleeding ulcers in my

esophagus because of all of the acid reflux. I again was sent back

to my surgeon that summer, and had a repeat thoracotomy with a

Belsey wrap. This was so the reflux would be diminished. Needless to

say, I am 20 months out of that surgery and I have been again

dealing with reflux daily...no matter what I eat, or dont eat...and

I now have had for the last couple months food getting stuck, and

having the urge to vomit. I am going for another opinion soon, but I

don't know how much more I can take of this. I will be 30 this year,

and quite frankly...this is way to young to be dealing with feeling

this miserable! They have already talked to me about the procedure

of removing the esophagus and rerouting the stomach..moving it into

your chest, and using the intestines as the passage. They said that

was radical and wanted to wait...but I wonder how many times I can

do the myotomy? Does anyone else have these recurring problems? Is

this something that I am gonna just have to live with? Any

suggestions at all???? Please help if anyone can...advice is

appreciated. THANKS!!

Dawn

May 26, 2004

Dawn, welcome to our group!

Like Sandi, I also really recommend you see if you can go to The Cleveland Clinic to see Dr. Rice. It's possible to get an exemption for "network" requirements if there isn't anyone who is truly experienced in that particular procedure, but you have to really PUSH your insurance company to get them to approve it. (Dr. Rice does about 1 myotomy per WEEK, not one per month... he averages 50+ per year, plus he does fundoplications for GERD, plus "re-do" myotomies and "re-do" fundoplications, etc.)

Even though I live in Michigan, TCC is considered "in-network" for my insurance b/c they participate w/ Ohio's Blue Cross, so that makes them "in network" for my Michigan Blue Cross. Also, depending on your insurance, you can go "out of network" if you have the necessary referrals to the out-of-network specialist, and they cover it as if it were an in-network claim, as long as the referral was from their in-network physician.

I know that some people have been happy w/ a doctor at Froedtert -- this info is from the Doctor Database on our site:

Dr. Blom @ Froedtert in Milwaukee: 414-805-5710

Surgeon in Esophageal Motility, Esophageal Cancer, etc.

Performed my second myotomy after a botched first one. Told me there was a 50/50 chance of being converted from laproscopic to open procedure. Kept it under control and performed the whole thing laproscopically.

You might want to check into that, esp. since he has experience with doing "re-do" surgeries.

Here's another one:

Dr. Toth @ Meriter Hospital, Madison WI: 608-287-2100

General Surgery. Also Vascular and Peripheral Vascular surgeon

Had done 10-20 myotomies as of 4/02. My GI doc said she had the best hands for lap surgery in the region.

Have you tried ALL of the PPI medications at the highest dosage to see if they help with your acid production? Also, I noticed that you seemed to use the words "reflux" and "stuck food" as if they are the same thing (not sure if that's what you were writing, or if that's just the way I interpreted it, though...) It can be hard to decipher what everyone is talking about when we all use different terms for things, so we try to always clarify what *exactly* we are talking about. Here's my own personal "glossary of terms" that get used a lot on this board:

Regurgitation = food coming up that never made it to the stomach; food that was chewed and swallowed, but then got stuck in the esophagus before coming back up.

Vomiting = food coming up that did make it all the way to the stomach, so that it includes stomach acid when it comes back up.

Reflux or GERD = acid from the stomach coming up into the esophagus.

Heartburn = pain from acid in the esophagus due to reflux/gerd.

NCCP = Non Cardiac Chest Pain; also called "spasm pains"; pain due to achalasia that is often misdiagnosed as "heartburn" or "GERD". Sometimes appears to respond to swallowing antacid medications, so that helps to perpetuate the misdiagnosis (it's actually the ACT of swallowing, not WHAT is being swallowed, that stops the pain in these cases.) For NCCPs that don't respond to swallowing warm or cold drinks or food, various medications generally alleviate the pain. (I have a whole list, if you experience NCCP and need help in alleviating them.)

Have they ever determined that your esophageal ulcers are due to GASTRIC acid and not due to acid from decomposing/fermenting food in your esophagus? Did you have a 24-hour pH monitor study done?

Given that you have already had two surgeries w/o relief, I think that you have an excellent case for an insurance exemption to see a TRUE esophageal specialist. (Mayo Clinic also has great docs for this; people from the group who went to Mayo were very happy with their choice.) And while I hope that it doesn't come to the point where you need an esophagectomy, there are a few people on this group who have had one and are functioning well. With an experienced surgeon, it can be a beneficial procedure if it's the only choice left.

Debbi in Michigan

June 16, 2004

I had a version of one of these way back when the quack was trying (and failed miserably, BTW!) to diagnose my problem. Mine was the kind where they just had me swallow barium and then wait and come back in every 15 minutes for a snapshot -- I think they did this for two hours or so (it was over ten years ago, so sorry I'm not too sharp on the details.) I don't know if everything left my stomach in 2 hours or if they just saw enough of what they wanted to see in that period of time, though.

Debbi in Michigan

Hi this is Sacora,

I was wondering who has had a gastric empty study? And how long did it take for you stomache to empty? Anyone have any information??Thanks Sacora

July 11, 2004

In a message dated 7/11/2004 1:25:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, s_ayres2003@... writes:

Hi..My name is Suzi and I live in California.. I have had achalasia since 1987..Back then..it was NOT a well known subject.. I lost 100 lbs in one year..and was all but dead..They drugged me with valium, said i had an emotional disorder and that was it. Almost 20 years later..I am much more informed..Life has gone on I was officially diagnosed in 1991..I have since married, had 2 children..3 dilitations..and still take meds to help relax the esophagus..The last few days..I have been experiencing the "wave" of chest pains.. It is becoming concerning..as I don;t want to go through the tough stuff anymore..I just happened to look into to see if there were any others out there lke me.. I see a LOT more than I did even 5 years ago..Glad to meet you..I look forward to sharing info and finding out things I may not know about.Blessings,SuziQ

SuziQ-

Welcome to the group! Here you will find lots of shared support and compassion,

as I have found. Check out the web page for lots of info and use the search engine to find information on things like diet and doctors that other members have shared.

It's great to have you with us!

Jan from Northern KY

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