Hello again from

[Guest guest]

Thank you all for reading my message and writing me back. I feel like

we are all connected in this very intimate way.

When I first started to have trouble swallowing in February 2001

everyone just assumed it was stress related. My sister's pre-

adolescent son was suffering with ticks, throat sounds and obsessive

compulsive behavior. We were concerned that he may have Tourette

Syndrome. I was reading way too many books about Tourettes and trying

to comfort my worried sister. With a book in one hand and a carrot in

the other the birth of my swallowing problem began. Out of nowhere I

just could not swallow. I panicked because I thought I was choking

and I was home alone. I got on all fours and rocked back and forth.

Then it dawned on me, " I can breathe so I must not be choking to

death " . I had to fish the carrot out with my fingers. I told

countless people about this weird experience and they all said the

same things, " you must not have chewed well enough " , or " you were

stressed about your nephew " and my favorite, " well… you do eat kind

of fast " . But in my gut I knew something was very wrong. I had always

been a fast eater and I have always had to deal with some type of

stress, that's life. From then on I never swallowed properly again.

It was like a switch was flipped and my peristaltic muscles and

L.E.S. went haywire from that moment on.

It took months for me to overcome the belief that my problem was

purely stress related and finally saw a G.I. Unfortunately upon

telling my G.I my symptoms she suggested that maybe they would go

away as " mysteriously " as they appeared. When I told her that I

frequently wake in the middle of the night with spasms that create

intense back pressure and my husband has to massage me until they

subside. She joked, " Oh that sounds like a good deal. I wish I could

get my husband to massage my back " . It was like my G.I. was a hack

comedian. My husband and I couldn't believe our ears. This was nuts

to us that a doctor would make light of a patient's problems. I told

her that I didn't believe that this problem would miraculously go

away and that I wanted to have tests done. She ordered an E G.D. The

results were normal. I asked her to explain what might be the cause

of my swallowing problems. She suggested " stress " and sent me on my

way.

It took two more years of regurgitating and suffering before I

sought a second opinion. This new doctor lacked sympathy and spoke

abrasively. She would keep me waiting for over an hour in a cold

exam room while I turned into an icicle then give me less than two

minutes of her time. She ran all the tests except the Manometry. She

said there was only one machine in Western New York and it was

broken. She stated that my Barium results showed strong signs that we

were looking at Achalasia.

I was dilated in December 2003, my front tooth was cracked during the

procedure and the next day it chipped off. Not pretty! When I later

told my doctor about my tooth she said, " Your L.E.S was very tight. I

had to use some force to get through " . It cost me four hundred

dollars to repair my front tooth. The dilation lasted 4 months tops.

This month I sought a third opinion and I had all of my tests done

including the Manometry. My new doctor seems nice. He definitively

diagnosed me with Achalasia and thoughtfully discussed my opinions.

But I must admit I've become a bit cynical in these past few years

and have lost my faith in doctors. That is why this website is so

invaluable. I trust all of you because we are all in the same boat

having to cope with the same obstacles.

I'm still waiting on my insurance company's answer about the

Cleveland Clinic. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for all your support!

[Guest guest]

Hi !

Everyone said the same thing to me when I first had problems. My

problems came on very sudden too, I had just had a baby and was

having gallbladder problems and EVERYBODY said...YOU " RE JUST

STRESSED OUT!

And what the heck??? You got your tooth chipped to boot??? Oh DEAR!

Sometimes the road to a diagnosis is a long one. And to be honest, I

was relieved when it was this. The first thing I thought is...It can

be fixed. THANK YOU, GOD!

I do not regret one minute that I got the surgery. The dilations

just weren't working... and Dr. Rice said I was malnourished. What's

a gal to do?

Good luck with yourself. It seems you have quite a story too!!!

Don't we all???

Dawn in Ohio

>

> Thank you all for reading my message and writing me back. I feel

like

> we are all connected in this very intimate way.

>

> When I first started to have trouble swallowing in February 2001

> everyone just assumed it was stress related. My sister's pre-

> adolescent son was suffering with ticks, throat sounds and

obsessive

> compulsive behavior. We were concerned that he may have Tourette

> Syndrome. I was reading way too many books about Tourettes and

trying

> to comfort my worried sister. With a book in one hand and a carrot

in

> the other the birth of my swallowing problem began. Out of nowhere

I

> just could not swallow. I panicked because I thought I was

choking

> and I was home alone. I got on all fours and rocked back and

forth.

> Then it dawned on me, " I can breathe so I must not be choking to

> death " . I had to fish the carrot out with my fingers. I told

> countless people about this weird experience and they all said the

> same things, " you must not have chewed well enough " , or " you were

> stressed about your nephew " and my favorite, " well… you do eat

kind

> of fast " . But in my gut I knew something was very wrong. I had

always

> been a fast eater and I have always had to deal with some type of

> stress, that's life. From then on I never swallowed properly

again.

> It was like a switch was flipped and my peristaltic muscles and

> L.E.S. went haywire from that moment on.

>

> It took months for me to overcome the belief that my problem was

> purely stress related and finally saw a G.I. Unfortunately upon

> telling my G.I my symptoms she suggested that maybe they would go

> away as " mysteriously " as they appeared. When I told her that I

> frequently wake in the middle of the night with spasms that create

> intense back pressure and my husband has to massage me until they

> subside. She joked, " Oh that sounds like a good deal. I wish I

could

> get my husband to massage my back " . It was like my G.I. was a hack

> comedian. My husband and I couldn't believe our ears. This was

nuts

> to us that a doctor would make light of a patient's problems. I

told

> her that I didn't believe that this problem would miraculously go

> away and that I wanted to have tests done. She ordered an E G.D.

The

> results were normal. I asked her to explain what might be the

cause

> of my swallowing problems. She suggested " stress " and sent me on

my

> way.

>

> It took two more years of regurgitating and suffering before I

> sought a second opinion. This new doctor lacked sympathy and spoke

> abrasively. She would keep me waiting for over an hour in a cold

> exam room while I turned into an icicle then give me less than two

> minutes of her time. She ran all the tests except the Manometry.

She

> said there was only one machine in Western New York and it was

> broken. She stated that my Barium results showed strong signs that

we

> were looking at Achalasia.

>

> I was dilated in December 2003, my front tooth was cracked during

the

> procedure and the next day it chipped off. Not pretty! When I

later

> told my doctor about my tooth she said, " Your L.E.S was very

tight. I

> had to use some force to get through " . It cost me four hundred

> dollars to repair my front tooth. The dilation lasted 4 months

tops.

>

> This month I sought a third opinion and I had all of my tests done

> including the Manometry. My new doctor seems nice. He definitively

> diagnosed me with Achalasia and thoughtfully discussed my

opinions.

> But I must admit I've become a bit cynical in these past few years

> and have lost my faith in doctors. That is why this website is so

> invaluable. I trust all of you because we are all in the same boat

> having to cope with the same obstacles.

>

> I'm still waiting on my insurance company's answer about the

> Cleveland Clinic. I'll keep you posted.

>

> Thank you for all your support!

>

>

>