Guest guest Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Welcome to the group!! I agree it is a relief to find a support group like this when you think you are alone with this rare mysterious illness. When you see the doctors ask what stage is your Achalasia and the current condition of your esophagus. These two factors will help you determine your most favorable treatment options. Good luck. Barb > > Hello, > I am a new member to the group. I do not have a definitive diagnosis yet but am having my first endoscopy on Friday and my monometry next week. I live in San , CA. I suppose I am lucky in that my PCP referred me to a GI who identified my symptoms during my first conversation with him. Based on the wealth of information in this group and some other things I've read, my symptoms are very similar. I finally went to the doctor because I have been losing weight pretty rapidly. The first 10 pounds were great, but now it is a bit alarming. Looking backwards, I have been having symptoms for a couple years, but they we're intermittent and hard to describe or predict so I just lived with it. The past couple months I have been regurgitating lots of solid foods and even water. The foamy, mucous filled spit up is a common one too. Then in the past month it has been happening at night and waking me up. I don't get chest pains all the time, but if I do, it is while eating. Regurgitating is a bit of a relief. While I realize I should be patient and let the diagnosis be confirmed by the tests before thinking through all the possible options, some days I am so hungry and frustrated that I want to start understanding the path to a solution. I am a 44 yr old mom to two young boys ( 5 & 7). My husband has been great through all of this so far. > > Mostly I want to express my gratitude for all the information that the members have posted. It is by far the most useful stuff I have found on this bizarre condition. And such relief to hear the stories of others with similar symptoms. > > I am interested in exploring some alternative options before diving into surgery and will likely send out s separate email on those questions. > > Cipresse > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Thanks Barb. On Jun 20, 2011, at 2:05 PM, Barb C. wrote: > Welcome to the group!! I agree it is a relief to find a support group like this when you think you are alone with this rare mysterious illness. When you see the doctors ask what stage is your Achalasia and the current condition of your esophagus. These two factors will help you determine your most favorable treatment options. Good luck. > Barb > > > > > > Hello, > > I am a new member to the group. I do not have a definitive diagnosis yet but am having my first endoscopy on Friday and my monometry next week. I live in San , CA. I suppose I am lucky in that my PCP referred me to a GI who identified my symptoms during my first conversation with him. Based on the wealth of information in this group and some other things I've read, my symptoms are very similar. I finally went to the doctor because I have been losing weight pretty rapidly. The first 10 pounds were great, but now it is a bit alarming. Looking backwards, I have been having symptoms for a couple years, but they we're intermittent and hard to describe or predict so I just lived with it. The past couple months I have been regurgitating lots of solid foods and even water. The foamy, mucous filled spit up is a common one too. Then in the past month it has been happening at night and waking me up. I don't get chest pains all the time, but if I do, it is while eating. Regurgitating is a bit of a relief. While I realize I should be patient and let the diagnosis be confirmed by the tests before thinking through all the possible options, some days I am so hungry and frustrated that I want to start understanding the path to a solution. I am a 44 yr old mom to two young boys ( 5 & 7). My husband has been great through all of this so far. > > > > Mostly I want to express my gratitude for all the information that the members have posted. It is by far the most useful stuff I have found on this bizarre condition. And such relief to hear the stories of others with similar symptoms. > > > > I am interested in exploring some alternative options before diving into surgery and will likely send out s separate email on those questions. > > > > Cipresse > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hi and Welcome! I was 30yrs old with 2 children when my symptoms started. My very first symptom was the chest spasm (which is REALLY painful), then the intermittent food getting constantly stuck, lots of pain and drinking all kinds of fluid to push it down. Soon I had to sleep propped up on two pillows because sometimes I would awake choking. I was passed from doctor to doctor over the years, I put up with a long span of time dealing and trying to cope with it. For me, they tried so MANY things because they didn't know what I had...I tried calcium channel blockers, which relax smooth muscle tissue (such as the esophagus), no workie for me. Then the awful nitrate pills, which gave me horrible headaches and it was always hit and miss with them too. The situation cycled alot, some weeks or days were better and I would just press on, other weeks it seemed like nothing was wanting to go down. Yes, the regurg is the most annoying, as a meal can linger for hours wanting to come back up, and it usually does! The foam is awful too! Socially embaressing as well. I've done it all!!!!  For me, it did get worse over time. I was completely freaked out by the surgery, but in the end I was so sick and tired of not eating that I did do it. This group taught me so much and armed with good research and knowing the kind of surgeon to look for helped. I was able to find a great surgeon at UCLA and she fixed me. I am so thrilled with my results, my life has changed dramatically, I don't know why I did not do this sooner (in my case it was successful). This illness is no joke, taking care to make sure that your E doesn't stretch out over time is extremely important...otherwise you could end up having to have it removed. When the flow of food sits there, it stretches out the esophagus over time. The surgery basically opens the blockage and it drains into the stomach faster. The manometry test will be the deciding factor. Please keep us posted, glad you found us! Julee So. Calif.  ________________________________ From: stephcipresse <steph@...> achalasia Sent: Mon, June 20, 2011 12:27:04 PM Subject: New membeer intro  Hello, I am a new member to the group. I do not have a definitive diagnosis yet but am having my first endoscopy on Friday and my monometry next week. I live in San , CA. I suppose I am lucky in that my PCP referred me to a GI who identified my symptoms during my first conversation with him. Based on the wealth of information in this group and some other things I've read, my symptoms are very similar. I finally went to the doctor because I have been losing weight pretty rapidly. The first 10 pounds were great, but now it is a bit alarming. Looking backwards, I have been having symptoms for a couple years, but they we're intermittent and hard to describe or predict so I just lived with it. The past couple months I have been regurgitating lots of solid foods and even water. The foamy, mucous filled spit up is a common one too. Then in the past month it has been happening at night and waking me up. I don't get chest pains all the time, but if I do, it is while eating. Regurgitating is a bit of a relief. While I realize I should be patient and let the diagnosis be confirmed by the tests before thinking through all the possible options, some days I am so hungry and frustrated that I want to start understanding the path to a solution. I am a 44 yr old mom to two young boys ( 5 & 7). My husband has been great through all of this so far. Mostly I want to express my gratitude for all the information that the members have posted. It is by far the most useful stuff I have found on this bizarre condition. And such relief to hear the stories of others with similar symptoms. I am interested in exploring some alternative options before diving into surgery and will likely send out s separate email on those questions. Cipresse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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