Re: hey all (Sharlene- how long does it last?)

[Guest guest]

<cut>

> I've had achalasia for 20 years, had 1 open Heller, and am

scheduled

> for a 2nd open Heller on July 7th.

Sharlene.....Can you tell me how long does a Heller expect to last

for? I was under the assumption that it sort of " fixed " the

problem. Does it not? Why have you required a second?

Thanks for enlightening me.

Joy

ps. Penny...That Dr. was pretty crummy to you - it is hard to go to

a Dr. you lose confidence in because of poor bedside manner.

[Guest guest]

Sorry.... I wish I could tell you.... The first Heller that was

done didn't really work. I've learned to deal with it all these

years by forcing my food down with water, and carrying ice water

with me everywhere to ward off chest pains. Recently the chest

pains started really getting to me so I went back to my GI. My GI

said that the motility study showed no peristalsis, with a NORMAL

(believe it or not) LES pressure. (by the way, this is 1 month

after a dilation) He said that with no peristalsis, even though the

LES pressure was normal, the LES just wasn't letting food go down.

Right then, he consulted with a surgeon and the surgeon saw me the

same day and scheduled the surgery for next Wednesday. (the nurse

was going to schedule it for this coming Wednesday, but I was so

shocked I told her I needed a week for it to sink in!)

Funny thing though….. when the surgeon examined me he looked at my

stomach first, and then the middle of my left side for the previous

scar. He seemed surprised that the scar from the previous Heller

was along my bra line on my left side, across to the middle of my

back, then up. He didn't say that much about it, but the look on

his face kind of showed surprise. After he saw the scar he also

changed his mind about getting a copy of the records from my

previous surgeon. He also told me that even though he's doing the

open procedure it should be much easier than the first one because

the incision will be in the front and he doesn't have to move

everything out of the way like they did the first time.

I always suspected that the first surgeon probably didn't know what

he was doing. But now I suspect that he REALLY didn't know what he

was doing and operated on the upper part of my Esophagus instead of

the lower! I don't really blame the first surgeon though because 20

years ago it was hard to find a doctor who even believed I had

problems or knew what to do about. (the same problem a lot of

people on this board are still facing).

My GI did mention something like operating on muscles is hard

because they tend to heal over time. (not a direct quote). He also

didn't seem surprised that I needed a repeat operation.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. You may want to ask your doctor what

he thinks. I'll try to remember to ask my doctor about it when I'm

in the hospital. If I find out anything I'll post it when I get

home.

Sharlene

(sorry I was so long winded!)

> <cut>

> > I've had achalasia for 20 years, had 1 open Heller, and am

> scheduled

> > for a 2nd open Heller on July 7th.

>

> Sharlene.....Can you tell me how long does a Heller expect to last

> for? I was under the assumption that it sort of " fixed " the

> problem. Does it not? Why have you required a second?

> Thanks for enlightening me.

> Joy

>

> ps. Penny...That Dr. was pretty crummy to you - it is hard to go

to

> a Dr. you lose confidence in because of poor bedside manner.

[Guest guest]

Jan,

You're right. My motility study in the '80's showed a high LES

pressure. Most likely the dilation that was done 1 month prior to

the motility study lowered the LES pressure (my guess anyway).

My doctor said that the radilogist called him during the barium

study that was immediatly after the dilation because he was worried

that the barium was not going down. My doctor laughed a little and

said that he told him to be paitent, and have her drink more... it

will.

From what my doctor said with no paristalisis, even a normal LES

pressure is just not enough to let things go down.

Sharlene

>

>

> Sharlene,

> I was surprised at the above post. For one thing, I always

thought that a

> diagnosis of " A " meant that: 1. Peristalisis is absent or non

functional in the

> esophagus and :2., that the LES has higher than normal resting

pressure. In

> other words, the LES does not relax normally to let the food pass

into the

> stomach.

> Is that correct?

> Jan in NKY

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Darn, there goes my theory about a botched myotomy! I wonder if in

the 80's there was more of a problem in the top part of my E.

The surgery he's doing on the 7th will be on the just the LES and

he'll be doing a wrap. He said he'll be cutting just below my ribs

down to my navel.

Thanks for your advice. I will ask my doctor about it.

Sharlene

> Hi Sharlene,

>

> I've had two open myotomies with the same incision along the

bra line. I was told the recovery time from a broken breast bone

was much longer. (Maybe they have discovered a way to do the

procedure without breaking your breast bone, but please ask in

advance.) I hate alarming anyone, but so many people are not fully

prepared for the recovery process.

>

> Could a few people who have had the open myotomy through the chest

offer some encouraging advice please? (or anyone who had an open

myotomy through the ribs)

>

> Sorry to bring this up Sharlene, but it's better to go in fully

aware of the procedure and recovery.

>

> .

> Re: hey all (Sharlene- how long does it

last?)

>

>

> Sorry.... I wish I could tell you.... The first Heller that

was

> done didn't really work. I've learned to deal with it all

these

> years by forcing my food down with water, and carrying ice water

> with me everywhere to ward off chest pains. Recently the chest

> pains started really getting to me so I went back to my GI. My

GI

> said that the motility study showed no peristalsis, with a

NORMAL

> (believe it or not) LES pressure. (by the way, this is 1 month

> after a dilation) He said that with no peristalsis, even though

the

> LES pressure was normal, the LES just wasn't letting food go

down.

> Right then, he consulted with a surgeon and the surgeon saw me

the

> same day and scheduled the surgery for next Wednesday. (the

nurse

> was going to schedule it for this coming Wednesday, but I was

so

> shocked I told her I needed a week for it to sink in!)

>

> Funny thing though... when the surgeon examined me he looked at

my

> stomach first, and then the middle of my left side for the

previous

> scar. He seemed surprised that the scar from the previous

Heller

> was along my bra line on my left side, across to the middle of

my

> back, then up. He didn't say that much about it, but the look

on

> his face kind of showed surprise. After he saw the scar he also

> changed his mind about getting a copy of the records from my

> previous surgeon. He also told me that even though he's doing

the

> open procedure it should be much easier than the first one

because

> the incision will be in the front and he doesn't have to move

> everything out of the way like they did the first time.

>

> I always suspected that the first surgeon probably didn't know

what

> he was doing. But now I suspect that he REALLY didn't know what

he

> was doing and operated on the upper part of my Esophagus instead

of

> the lower! I don't really blame the first surgeon though

because 20

> years ago it was hard to find a doctor who even believed I had

> problems or knew what to do about. (the same problem a lot of

> people on this board are still facing).

>

> My GI did mention something like operating on muscles is hard

> because they tend to heal over time. (not a direct quote). He

also

> didn't seem surprised that I needed a repeat operation.

>

> Sorry I couldn't be more help. You may want to ask your doctor

what

> he thinks. I'll try to remember to ask my doctor about it when

I'm

> in the hospital. If I find out anything I'll post it when I get

> home.

>

> Sharlene

> (sorry I was so long winded!)