RE: Achalasia and Jaw Problems?

[Guest guest]

Hello Oonagh!

Welcome to

the group! What a great father –checking out info for his son.

That’s awesome. As for jaw pain, the only thing that comes to mind

is spasms. Some people when and if they get spasms, feel them in their

back, neck, jaw, chest, almost anywhere. My guess would be he’s

having spasms. I hope you get him some help for his spasms, or at least

have it checked into further, just in case its not.

If you have

any questions, please feel free to ask, that’s what we’re all here

for!

Hugs,

in BC

From:

achalasia [mailto:achalasia ] On Behalf Of kitchener62

Sent: August 28, 2005 2:40 PM

achalasia

Subject: Achalasia and

Jaw Problems?

Dear Friends

Have you heard of jaw problems or TMJ as a

complication of

achalasia? I don't think they are

related, but you never know with

all the gyrations required to get the food down.

My 21 year old son was diagnosed with Achalasia

earlier this year.

He is planning to have Heller Myotomy surgery as

soon as possible.

He had a meeting scheduled with the surgeon a

couple of weeks ago,

but it was cancelled due to an

emergency. We have another

appointment on September 6. We're

worried that he can't do the

surgery until the jaw is fixed.

I joined the group a few weeks ago and have really

enjoyed reading

all of your messages. They have been very

helpful....scary at

times, but very informative.

Sorry to those of you who sent me welcome messages

which I deleted

as I was distracted didn't realize they were

personal messages.

Please send along another note and I promise to

respond personally.

It has been a very rough year for our family. My

son went through

about 7 visits for tests & consultations in Hamilton earlier this

year. At the same time my

sister-in-law was diagnosed with a

primary, malignant brain tumour. I can say

that my visit with her

and my brother to the neurosurgeon in January to

hear the news was

the worst day of my life. She passed away

peacefully a few days

ago. It helps put things into

perspective. I think there's lots

of hope for a meaningful, happy life in spite of

the challenges of a

serious, chronic illness or even a terminal

illness.

I look forward to your replies.

Regards, Oonagh

[Guest guest]

Oonagh, welcome to the group. So sorry to hear your son

has Achalasia and also about the illness and death of your

sister in law. You are so right about things like this

putting things into perspective.

Has your son actually been diagnosed as having TMJ. The

reason I ask is, as someone else has mentioned, some of us

get jaw pains along with the spasms we have.

If you have other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Maggie

Alabama

[Guest guest]

Ooangh:

So sorry to hear of your loss. My blessings to your family. Others may know

about any connection to TMJ and achalasia, but I wanted you to know our

hearts are with you during this difficult time.

Peggy

> Dear Friends

>

> Have you heard of jaw problems or TMJ as a complication of

> achalasia? I don't think they are related, but you never know with

> all the gyrations required to get the food down.

>

> My 21 year old son was diagnosed with Achalasia earlier this year.

> He is planning to have Heller Myotomy surgery as soon as possible.

> He had a meeting scheduled with the surgeon a couple of weeks ago,

> but it was cancelled due to an emergency. We have another

> appointment on September 6. We're worried that he can't do the

> surgery until the jaw is fixed.

>

> I joined the group a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed reading

> all of your messages. They have been very helpful....scary at

> times, but very informative.

>

> Sorry to those of you who sent me welcome messages which I deleted

> as I was distracted didn't realize they were personal messages.

> Please send along another note and I promise to respond personally.

>

> It has been a very rough year for our family. My son went through

> about 7 visits for tests & consultations in Hamilton earlier this

> year. At the same time my sister-in-law was diagnosed with a

> primary, malignant brain tumour. I can say that my visit with her

> and my brother to the neurosurgeon in January to hear the news was

> the worst day of my life. She passed away peacefully a few days

> ago. It helps put things into perspective. I think there's lots

> of hope for a meaningful, happy life in spite of the challenges of a

> serious, chronic illness or even a terminal illness.

>

> I look forward to your replies.

>

> Regards, Oonagh

[Guest guest]

Hello Oonagh

welcome to the group. I live in Cambridge, just a few miles from

you. What surgeon is your son seeing. I had surgery 3 years ago

with Dr. Anvari in Hamilton as did a couple of other members here

and I am now seeing Dr. Darling at Toronto General. Can't help with

the TMJ question but if there is anything else please feel free to

ask!

Liz

Cambridge

> Dear Friends

>

> Have you heard of jaw problems or TMJ as a complication of

> achalasia? I don't think they are related, but you never know

with

> all the gyrations required to get the food down.

>

> My 21 year old son was diagnosed with Achalasia earlier this

year.

> He is planning to have Heller Myotomy surgery as soon as

possible.

> He had a meeting scheduled with the surgeon a couple of weeks ago,

> but it was cancelled due to an emergency. We have another

> appointment on September 6. We're worried that he can't do the

> surgery until the jaw is fixed.

>

> I joined the group a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed reading

> all of your messages. They have been very helpful....scary at

> times, but very informative.

>

> Sorry to those of you who sent me welcome messages which I deleted

> as I was distracted didn't realize they were personal messages.

> Please send along another note and I promise to respond

personally.

>

> It has been a very rough year for our family. My son went through

> about 7 visits for tests & consultations in Hamilton earlier this

> year. At the same time my sister-in-law was diagnosed with a

> primary, malignant brain tumour. I can say that my visit with her

> and my brother to the neurosurgeon in January to hear the news was

> the worst day of my life. She passed away peacefully a few days

> ago. It helps put things into perspective. I think there's

lots

> of hope for a meaningful, happy life in spite of the challenges of

a

> serious, chronic illness or even a terminal illness.

>

> I look forward to your replies.

>

> Regards, Oonagh

[Guest guest]

Oonagh wrote:

Have you heard of jaw problems or TMJ as a complication of achalasia?

I have both but I have not heard of a connection.

...I think there's lots of hope for a meaningful, happy life in spite of the challenges of a serious, chronic illness or even a terminal illness.

Many people have joined this group soon after hearing that they have

achalasia. In time they have treatment and it is so succesful that they

no longer need the support of a group like this and we no longer hear

from them. This is not always the case, but treatment should make

achalasia much less of a problem. Some of us have had achalasia for

twenty to thirty years. One of the tricks to dealing with chronic

deaseses, (I have have a few) is to only think about them when thinking

can be productive. It may possess the body at times but it does not

have to possess the mind at those times. I may choke when eating with

others but I don't have to think about it, or how I hate it, or wonder

what everyone else is thinking. In that time I can think about the

converstation or what I could reply with. I can let it pass and go on

as if nothing happened and enjoy everything else. If I can learn to do

that so should the people around me.

notan

[Guest guest]

Hi Oonagh,

I'm a new member, just joined a few days ago, and while I don't get

much of a chance to review the messages, my heart ached when I read

your e-mail. Your family certainly has been through alot, more than

you deserve.

I too suffer from achalasia, but certainly, I don't have much to

complain about, I've been very fortunate, I've never experienced

pain from my condition.

In regards to TMJ, I am a dentsist, and I will offer some background

information. TMJ stands for " temporomandibular joint " and TMJ

Dysfunction is a common but often misunderstood disease. It can be

chronic, painful, and debilitating (sound familiar!?). It can also

be related to stress. It can be but not always associated with

clenching/grinding. Normally, daily eating doesn't usually cause

significant wearing of teeth - but clenching and gringing does. The

pressure from clenching and grinding can be 10 to 15 times as what

can be expected from every day eating. There may also be associated

symptoms of sensitive teeth when biting, or to hot and cold. Check

the biting surfaces of your son's teeth, if they are planed smooth,

he may have a paranormal habit such as clenching and/or grinding,

especially when he sleeps (you may or not hear his grinding at

night, especially if he is going through a particularly stressful

time in his life).

The source of pain can be from a number of contributing factors,

from muscle pain, to to the joint itself, to a form of arthritis, to

ligament strain, to a neural cause, such as a neuralgia.

Regardless, if your son is experiencing TMJ type symptoms, your

surgeon may want to evaluate the cause so that they are aware, prior

to the surgery, if there is reason for concern. They will be

placing an endoscope through his mouth and he may want to be extra

sure that the jaw is not over-extended during the procedur. A pre-

surgical evaluation will be able to tell the surgeon what the normal

range of movement is for your son. Given his young age, if there is

a TMJ related pain, it would most likely be muscular, and there are

several treatment options ranging from physiotherapy and gentle

massage, to anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen works well), to sleeping

on his back so that there is not extra side pressure at night (most

of sleep elevated because of achalasia), and monitoring his diet

(again, most of us eat soft foods already!) to splint therapy (there

are new theories regarding splint therapy, you may need a referral

to an orthodontist, or oral surgeon, or oral pathologist, depending

where you live).

There may also be other sources of pain, a Trigeminal Neuralgia for

example. TMJ Dysfunction is sometimes confused with a neuralgia

because the pain from the Trigeminal Nerve - Cranial Nerve number 5

(Roman Numeral V in scentific literature) is in close proximity to

the TMJ. Sometimes the pain is referred.

Then there is achalasia. The innervation to the esophagus is from a

branch of the Vagus Nerve - Cranial Nerve number 10 (Roman Numeral

X). This Vagus Nerve has quite a complex distribution in the body

and it's associated functions and relationships are many. The

segment that follows to the esophagus takes the form of a web or

plexus, from the front and the back of the esophagus at three main

sites. In order for peristalsis to function properly, the nerve

needs to fire in a co-ordinated manner at these three sites.

Achalasia occurs when the nerve misfires, or stops to fire, or fires

in a disorganized fashion, and when this occurs, there can/may be

tremendous pain in the form of a spasm. If your son has pain near

the top part of the esophagus, it may be reasonable to confirm if

this pain is not occurring simultaneuosly with another source of

pain, either TMJ, or a neuralgia, or ???.

I did a quick Google search, these sites seem to be pretty good for

more background on TMJ:

http://www.tmj.org/

http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/topics/tmj.cfm

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001227.htm#visualCont

ent

I would suspect that the best case scenario would be that the

surgeon feels around his jaw and if he determines that there is

muscle tenderness (and a muscular cause to the pain) but that there

is a normal range of motion, and a normal functioning jaw, then he

may decide to continue with the surgery, but being as gentle as

possible to not over extend the jaw. As in most treatment planning,

it does become a decision based on judgement and experience.

Oonagh, this may be way too much information - clearly a sign that I

have been off work far too long!

My thoughts are with you and your son. If either of you need more

information, please don't hesitate to ask. I look forward in

hearing a positive resolution!

Best wishes for your family.

Tony

BC, Canada

> Dear Friends

>

> Have you heard of jaw problems or TMJ as a complication of

> achalasia? I don't think they are related, but you never know

with

> all the gyrations required to get the food down.

>

> My 21 year old son was diagnosed with Achalasia earlier this

year.

> He is planning to have Heller Myotomy surgery as soon as

possible.

> He had a meeting scheduled with the surgeon a couple of weeks ago,

> but it was cancelled due to an emergency. We have another

> appointment on September 6. We're worried that he can't do the

> surgery until the jaw is fixed.

>

> I joined the group a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed reading

> all of your messages. They have been very helpful....scary at

> times, but very informative.

>

> Sorry to those of you who sent me welcome messages which I deleted

> as I was distracted didn't realize they were personal messages.

> Please send along another note and I promise to respond

personally.

>

> It has been a very rough year for our family. My son went through

> about 7 visits for tests & consultations in Hamilton earlier this

> year. At the same time my sister-in-law was diagnosed with a

> primary, malignant brain tumour. I can say that my visit with her

> and my brother to the neurosurgeon in January to hear the news was

> the worst day of my life. She passed away peacefully a few days

> ago. It helps put things into perspective. I think there's

lots

> of hope for a meaningful, happy life in spite of the challenges of

a

> serious, chronic illness or even a terminal illness.

>

> I look forward to your replies.

>

> Regards, Oonagh

[Guest guest]

I wish I had seen that program and no, Dr. Darling is a she not a he

so would not have been her. She is a thoracic surgeon at Toronto

General who is very experienced in this field as well. I consulted

with Dr. Anvari on the Heller this past winter but he felt that in my

case it could not be done abdominally so I needed to see a thoracic

surgeon. I did some research and with the kind help of found

Dr. Darling who I like very much. Dr. Anvari is an excellent surgeon

and I have read about his work with NASA and telerobotic surgery. He

is not the most personable guy but you aren't looking for a new friend

are you!

Liz