Re: The nature of Achalasia

[Guest guest]

> Hi to all,

> I have learned alot about this condition from being a member of

this

> message board and reading lots of old and current posts and files.

> I have been suffering from inability to swallow most solid foods

and

> during the past two months, starting to have some trouble

swallowing

> liquids also.

> The last barium swallow I had about a month ago,my GI says, shows

> that the swallowing trouble is not all in my head as other docs

have

> said, and shows the middle part of my esophagus is not pushing

food

> or liquid down as it should.

> I'd like to ask those of you who don;t mind me asking: It seems

like

> one thing this condition I seem to have is very unpredictable, and

> quite capricious. One day it seems I can get some food down that

> won't go down on a previous day. Another day, I try to eat

something

> that went down well before, only to find myself gagging on it or

> feeling it stuck in my esophagus forever.

> Is that unusual?

> It seems so cruel,so unprdictable.

> And I've only been dealing with this for a short time.

> Either I feel like I'm starving or I feel miserable with food

stuck

> in my throat.

> I'm sorry to sound so self pitying.

> Thanks for listening.

> Jan in Northern KY

Hi Jan,

You're right " A " can be so unpredictable, especially in the early

stages, but if my circumstances are anything to go by, the success

of getting food down reduces until you can not gat anything down

anymore. (sorry if that sounds so blunt, thats just what happened to

me) My name is Meaghan and I am 24 years old and live in Australia I

have had symptoms of " A " for the past 7 years but have only been

diagnosed for 12 months. I had a balloon dialation 11 months ago and

it has been successful so far, although my specialist has told me

that they never know how long it will last maybe a week maybe 20

years, so I am hoping mine lasts for at least 20 years!! I can eat

anything I want now which is great (although I have put on more

weight than I lost so none of my clothes fit me properly!!)I do get

intergestion and a bit of chest pain, and as much as it is annoying

and often painful, I would never swap it back I love eating so so

much. Good luck with finding a solution that suits you, there is

some light at the end of the tunnell....

[Guest guest]

Jan, my symptoms were sporadic in the beginning, too. From when I first noticed a problem swallowing (which at first I thought was just b/c I took too big a bite, but I later realized it was the onset of the achalasia) to when I got to the point of NOTHING going down at all was roughly four years, I'd say.

It started w/ an episode once a month.... then every three weeks.... then every two weeks..... etc., until it went from "once a meal" to twice, and finally each and every bite.

Debbi