Re: My brother and I both have Achalasia

[Guest guest]

wrote:

I haven't run into anyone else

whose sibling or other immediate family

member has achalasia. My brother was diagnosed when he was 15 (in

1984), and I was diagnosed when I was 18 (in 1992).

Primary achalasia is generally considered to not be genetic. There may be

some genetic predisposition to it, but even if you have that it is still

very, very unlikely that you would get achalasia. A lot of people have

said that they first noticed symptoms during or after a period of great

stress. There is probably a connection to stress, but stress does not

cause it, or there would be a lot more cases. Likewise, there may be some

genetic link, but it does not cause achalasia. My brother, who does not

have achalasia, and I, were both struck by lightning. While rare even for

one person, it is not all that strange that both of us were struck. We

had some things in common. Mainly that we were in the same place at the

same time when it happened. It may be that you and your brother have

things in common, other than your genetics, that have, so to speak,

resulted in you both being struck.

notan

[Guest guest]

In addition to Notan's comments. I suggest re-visiting your GI to

request a closer inspection to determine if perhaps your achalasia is

secondary to some other disorder that IS genetic. This may then give

you better insight into how/if you may pass this to your own children.

-Jess

>

> I haven't run into anyone else whose sibling or other immediate

family

> member has achalasia. My brother was diagnosed when he was 15 (in

> 1984), and I was diagnosed when I was 18 (in 1992).

>

> If anyone who has achalasia also has a family member (brother,

sister,

> parent, child) who has achalasia, please let me know.

>

> My husband and I are thinking about starting a family and want to

> consider the possibility of me passing this on to our children. My

> brother and I are also on the alert to see if his kids start up with

> some of the symptoms we had.

>

> I'd appreciate anyone's advice or personal stories on this.

> Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

My father does have a mobility problem in his E, but not achalsia as

yet. He was bad for a few years and found many foods difficult to

eat and would often choke and some times reguitate. He says that now

he has few problems but his reflux is quite bad at present. He use

to gag a lot even when drinking water and has really bad breath.

Perhap my fathers problem is linked with my Achalasia?

ps my parents do not really believe I have a medical problem - they

like to ignore things and hope they go away - I find it really

annoying that they do not even want to know the name of the problem

and do not like me talking about it - they keep suggesting it might

go away or that it taking losec caused it so it was my own fault

since they do not think taking medication is wise.

Joanne

>

> I haven't run into anyone else whose sibling or other immediate

family

> member has achalasia. My brother was diagnosed when he was 15 (in

> 1984), and I was diagnosed when I was 18 (in 1992).

>

> If anyone who has achalasia also has a family member (brother,

sister,

> parent, child) who has achalasia, please let me know.

>

> My husband and I are thinking about starting a family and want to

> consider the possibility of me passing this on to our children. My

> brother and I are also on the alert to see if his kids start up

with

> some of the symptoms we had.

>

> I'd appreciate anyone's advice or personal stories on this.

> Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

Joanne

I feel for you with the whole " parent's don't believe " syndrome. Believe it or

not, my

parents did the same thing. Even though they had my brother go through it all

less than

10 years before me. Luckily, I had a great husband who would hold my hair back

and be

on standby with a wet washcloth every time I got sick (which was a lot), and

always have a

handy bottle of water whereever we went, ready for me. I leaned a lot on

him, and

learned that my parents would believe it when i was in the recovery room from

surgery.

Know in your heart that you ARE STRONG ENOUGH to get through this, and you have

over

600 supporters on this website who believe everything you're going through.

And like Jan said, maybe you could leave articles around. Heck, leave your

x-rays around.

haha

My first dr. told me that there might be a recessive gene in both our parents to

cause this

to come out in me and my brother. I've done research, but have only found a few

snippets

on this idea, so I'm not sure how relevant it is. That's why I wondered if I

could pass it on

to any kids I have.

>

> In a message dated 10/22/2004 10:20:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

> joanneauckram@y... writes:

>

> My father does have a mobility problem in his E, but not achalsia as

> yet. He was bad for a few years and found many foods difficult to

> eat and would often choke and some times reguitate. He says that now

> he has few problems but his reflux is quite bad at present. He use

> to gag a lot even when drinking water and has really bad breath.

>

> Perhap my fathers problem is linked with my Achalasia?

>

>

> ps my parents do not really believe I have a medical problem - they

> like to ignore things and hope they go away - I find it really

> annoying that they do not even want to know the name of the problem

> and do not like me talking about it - they keep suggesting it might

> go away or that it taking losec caused it so it was my own fault

> since they do not think taking medication is wise.

>

> Joanne

>

>

>

> Joanne,

> It does sound like it's entirely possible that your father may have a.

> Don't feel bad about your family avoidance of the issue of your having a,

> it's a common problem with many people. My husband found it easier not to talk

> about my motility problems than to talk about it out loud. It's as if not

> talking about it will help it to go away! The best thing you can do is to

find

> out things for yourself and be educated about it. Perhaps you can print out

> information about it and leave it lying around so they can read about

> themselves.

> Take care,

> Jan