Finally gonna be done with this?

Achalasia
#1

Hello,

I found this group when researching laproscopic Heller Myotomy. I am a suffer of achalasia and have had it since the early 90s. In 1995 I had a balloon dilation and was ok for a few years after that then it returned but not so bad. I mean I had really good days and really bad days. Im 39 years old.

In the past 7 months or so my achalasia has really been bad. Im regurgitating my food nearly every night and not just what I ate for dinner…lunch comes up too. I have alot of chest pain and can sometimes not even drink a glass of water without severe issues or vomiting first.

About a month ago I had an endoscopy and my gastroenterologist said that my esophagus was huge and spread out, not really a tube at all anymore. she made an appointment for me to meet with a surgeon which I did. My surgery is scheduled for October 15th and I wish it could be sooner. I have a few questions though. For those of you who have had this done, are you feeling much better since?

I mean to say that I know it does not help with the contractions of the esophagial muscle so does food still get stuck? Also, are there pain med prescriptions when you are released from the hospital, or just while in the hospital? Will I be able to drink water the day after the surgery? What foods are ok to eat in the first month. I feel as if Im starving lately and dont really eat well as Im afraid of what might happen that night. I cant wait to be able to eat what I want assuming that is the case.

Anyway, thanks and its great knowing there are others out there.

#2

Hi @tonypal

I was diagnosed with a just a few months ago. i’ve had it for a few years but was originally told it was something else until the symptoms started getting worse. i was vomiting up everything i ate almost daily. once that went on for 4 days straight and i knew it was something else. the doc originally thought i had a stricture but when he did my egd and found nothing but my dinner from the night before he knew immediately what i had. i had tests to confirm the dx but didn’t have any other treatments. i went straight for the surgery.

i spent 2 days in the hos, my surgery was very late in the day so i didn’t have anything until the next day but i was eating/drinking the next day, two weeks and home then back to work. for the first 2 weeks i was on liquids, and then two weeks on soft solids. i had my post op at 4 weeks and was told i could pretty much eat what i want as long as i felt i was up for it. i’m still not eating meat unless it’s ground and i have to chew really well so it does still take me longer to eat but it’s not painful and i don’t get sick. a couple of times during week 3 i ate something that i wasn’t ready for and it got stuck. no big deal it just felt like i was really full and i had to stop eating i waited a few hours and then i was fine.

Hands down it was the best thing i could have done. i’ve only known about this condtion for a few months but it is by far the hardest thing i’ve ever dealt with. i lost 30 lbs in about 2 months i had it to loose but still it’s scary when you go for days without eating or drinking b/c you can’t keep it down. every body deals with surgery differently i’ve talked to others who said that it took them longer to recover. just take it slow and don’t rush yourself. it was hard for me because 4 days after surgery i felt pretty normal but i had to remind myself that i had surgery and needed to take it slow.

i hope all goes well and you get some relief.