To Hege...Re: What is NORMAL for Achalasia??

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Diverticula are out pouches in your intestines. Most people have them and never

know they do. They are a problem if they get infected (food gets stuck in a

pouch, etc) then it is diverticulitis - an infected pouch needs to be treated. I

had my sigmoid portion of my colon removed a few years back because of repeated

diverticulitis. So I am not looking forward to dealing with A now....but after

12 months it's at least a relief to know what it was.

> > > >

> > > > My daughter, Jessie, was diagnosed with Achalasia in the summer of 2006

when she was 12 years old. She had extended laparoscopic Heller myotomy and Dor

fundoplication done in March 2007 at Seattle Children Hospital.

> > > >

> > > > Jessie has since be able to eat pretty much what ever she wants as long

as she has water to go with it. She seems to use the water to wash down the

food. The amount of water that she needs for a meal is ranging from 500 ml to

1,000 ml ( 1 to 2 bottles of water).

> > > >

> > > > Besides the need of water for just about every bite when she eats,

Jessie has occasionally experienced the kind of discomfort that she refers as

" chest pain " . She will put heating pad on her chest when that happens. I'm not

sure how much that helps, but we really don't know what else we can do to help

her feel better. Most of the time, the discomfort will go away in less than an

hour. Recently, she seems to have experienced this " chest pain " more often

during night time and early mornings.

> > > >

> > > > Jessie is not on any medicine. She had one upper GI barium x-ray in

2008 in our local hospital in southern Indiana since the surgery.

> > > >

> > > > I have tried my best to learn about Achalasia through this group and

other sources on internet, but I still can not be sure if we have done

everything possible to help Jessie live with this condition and not to get

worse.

> > > >

> > > > I have so many questions such as...

> > > >

> > > > --Is it " normal " for an achalasia patient not being able to get the food

down without water? I mean..is it the way it is...there is nothing else we can

do to improve it?

> > > >

> > > > --What does it mean that she needs so much water when she eats? Does it

mean the surgery was not successful? Could it be due to the Dor fundoplication

too tight? Does it mean she might need other procedure such as dilatation? Is

there something we can/should do to improve it?

> > > >

> > > > --What does the chest pain mean? What causes it? Is there something

she can do/take to avoid it or ease the discomfort when it happens?

> > > >

> > > > --What can we do to avoid the condition getting worse? Is she supposed

to have regular check up for this? If so, how often and what need to be done?

> > > >

> > > > I will really apprecaite if you can share your experience with me.

> > > >

> > > > Thank you!

> > > >

> > > > YJ

> > > >

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