New Member

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I am a new member here.

I was told I had acid reflux & hiatal hernia at 19. I am now 43. I took reflux

meds my whole life.

In August 2009 I noticed I was having trouble swallowing & started regurgitating

at night. In November of that year I went to my internist with this complaint &

she referred me to a Gastro doctor for a stricture dilation. They assumed I had

a sticture since I had been treated for reflux for so long. When I woke up from

the EGD I was told he thought I had achalasia and was referred to Dr. Wo,

Director of th Swallowing & Motility Center at the University of Louisville.

I had the manometry & was diagnosed with achalasia in December 2009. The next

month I had the dilation, but only got relief for a few weeks. My doctor said I

do not have a hernia & probably had early signs of achalasia not reflex. No one

ever did a berium swallow - just gave me acid reflux pills.

Dr. Wo told me my esophagus is very stretched at the base & he thinks I have

probably had achalasia for 10 years & it was just undiagnosed. I don't remember

having trouble swallowing prior to 2009. He said he would not recommend another

dilation due to the poor shape of my esophagus. I am not excited about the idea

of surgery & have been trying to manage with just changing my eating habits.

I have discovered the foods that I can't eat - bread & beef are at the top of

the list. I eat smaller meals now & chew my food to death. Salty food is the

easiest for me to get down.

I have 2 complaints - #1 - I can't drink water. Prior to my diagnosis I only

drank water. Now I can't. I can't drink anything hot or cold, but cola is the

easiest thing to get down because it makes me burp. Water - even if I sip it -

seems very heavy & painful when I drink it. It usually comes back up.

Complaint #2 - I get large amounts of air caught in my esophagus & it causes

horrible chest pains. I can drink Pepsi to create belching or I stick my finger

down my throat to make the air come up. The pain can be quite intense & when it

hurts the air needs to come out quickly.

I look forward to learning more from everyone here.

Thanks,

Watkins

Louisville, KY