Re: Hi...I'm new

[Guest guest]

Hi Imokalla, I live in Minnesota too. I had the band placed on March 8 with Dr. A and his team. I am soooooo happy with it. Please feel free to call me anytime (or just keep asking questions here on this forum and you will be well taken care-of). My cell: 952-270-8315. PB means productive burp. It's kind of like a burp that is solid, if ya know what I mean. It tend to happen only if we eat something we shouldn't (bread, rice, pasta can sometimes cause problems as you may know) or it may happen if your band has been filled a bit too tight. HOWEVER, ideally, PB'ing doesn't happen that often. I am learning how to live with my band and don't PB very often at all. TOM means "time of month." For us women, sometimes our band gets tighter during our period. . . so, we need to eat very very slowly and chew like mad. I take a few of those days and do "mushies" only just to be on the safe side. PBing is not

fun. Plus, it can irritate the stoma. Ask away and welcome to the world of bandsters. It is a wonderful journey. You are in the best of hands. . . Really. imokalla <imokalla@...> wrote: Hi all. Nina told me about this site. I have decided to banded with Dr A. Hopefully in August if wverything goes OK. Even with all the research I've done I still have so many questions. I live in Minnesota and I am a nurse and I feel very confident in going to Dr A after all I have

read. I have a few questions if anyone would care to explain. I have seen PB and TOM mentioned on this site a lot but never in anything I have read. What do the initials mean?Regarding the post-op diet from what I'm reading I should have a supply of protein shakes to have at home? Anything else the first few weeks?How about vitamin supplements? Do I need a multivitamin and calcium? Anything else?Thanks for all your help. I'm looking forward to this new journey in my life!!

[Guest guest]

Where do you get your fills? Do you go back to Dr A or somewhere in

MN?

> Hi all. Nina told me about this site. I have decided to

banded with

> Dr A. Hopefully in August if wverything goes OK. Even with all the

> research I've done I still have so many questions. I live in

> Minnesota and I am a nurse and I feel very confident in going to Dr

A

> after all I have read.

>

> I have a few questions if anyone would care to explain.

>

> I have seen PB and TOM mentioned on this site a lot but never in

> anything I have read. What do the initials mean?

>

> Regarding the post-op diet from what I'm reading I should have a

> supply of protein shakes to have at home? Anything else the first

> few weeks?

>

> How about vitamin supplements? Do I need a multivitamin and

> calcium? Anything else?

>

> Thanks for all your help. I'm looking forward to this new journey

in

> my life!!

>

[Guest guest]

Welcome Lynn! 

 

Suffering with a swallowing disorder is awful, I suffered for years.  You

really explained it well when you said that you were fighting to push the food

down while your E is trying to push it back up!  Please try and have the

manometry test done if possible, that is the most important test to confirm

achalasia and once you have that you can get treatment.  When my achalasia

first started symptoms I remember feeling that food would feel stuck midway in

my chest.  I would drink lots of water or soda to power swallow and push it

down.  This worked most of the time, but other times it would just " all " come

back up. 

 

Most of us will tell you that eating bread toasted is better than not toasted. 

During my worst time, I ate small amounts every couple of hours to keep up my

energy levels, also I survived on peanut butter for many years....weird huh? 

Last year I finally had the manometry test and finally they believed me and

confirned achalasia!!!  I had surgery last year, a wonderful surgeon who did a

wonderful job and now I am eating very well. 

 

Hang in there and I hope to hear that you are finding the answers you need! 

 

Julee (Now living in Oregon).

From: lynnej73 <lynnej73@...>

achalasia

Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 10:54 AM

Subject: Hi...I'm new

 

Hi all. Not sure if I am dealing with Achalasia or not. I started having

swallowing problems in June. Went for Endoscopy at the beginning of October. Dr.

told me everything was fine. All biopsies (celiac, stomach polyp, EE) came back

negative and they put me on prevacid thinking it was acid reflux. After

increasing the does of prevacid at 6 weeks, I still had no improvement so I went

to ENT thinking they could help. They did a scope of larynx and said it looked

consistent with laryngeal reflux. He also ordered a barium swallow. The

radiologist told me he saw food particles in my esophagus even though I hadn't

eaten since the night before. He also said the barium is staying in my esophagus

and that when that happens they suspect a blockage. Since my endoscopy was

normal, he said it looked like achalasia. The muscle was very tight. I had to

walk the halls until the barium pill dissolved. I'm not sure it ever went into

my stomach.

I have health anxiety and was handling this all pretty well. Now, I am starting

to get scared and anxious. The ENT called and wants me to go in to discuss

results on Friday. I am nervous that there was a blockage that they missed

though I realize that is not likely or achalasia which is scary in and of

itself. Sometimes, I have to work to swallow, sometimes food gets totally stuck

til I bring it back up and lately I've been coughing alot (choking?) when

eating. I also burp a lot when eating. It is like my body is working against me

trying to swallow. I'm trying to push it down and it's trying to bring it up.

Other times it is not too bad. I am watching what I eat and rarely eat bread

snack type crackers or fried foods and I try to eat by 6 at night or I end up

miserable and cough and burp all night long. Ginger root tea seems to help as

well.

I can't figure out how I ended up with this. When I was pregnant, both of my

kids were up under my ribs causing lots of pain and I've suffered for years with

a cramping pain under my rib that would wake me up at night. It never lasted

long enough to go to the ER and would be ok after drinking lots of water and

burping. Gall bladder always came back fine. Dr.s couldn't figure it out and I

figured if it hadn't killed me yet then it must be ok. Now I think those were

spasms that could've finally affected my swallowing.

Sorry for the rambling. It feels good to get all this out to people who

understand what is happening. It is crazy to tell people, you can't swallow and

choke on food. I eat so slow too. Doesn't help that I have two school age kids

and we are always on the go with one thing or the other. Eating is so social as

well. The world revolves around food!! It is so frustrating!!! Lynn

[Guest guest]

Prescribing meds for Reflux and taking out gallbladders seem to be quite normal

before discovering what the real problem is. I also changed meds frequently and

stayed on the highest dose for 6 years.

>

> It is scary but we all find a way to deal with it. The best move was to join

> this group because they are the best. I would have been lost dealing with

> this by myself. I started out seeing my family doctor because of the

> symptoms and ended up having my gallbladder removed because we thought that

> was the problem. When that didn't stop my symptoms my doctor said he was

> stumped and sent me to a specialist. I too had endoscopies that came back

> normal. At least the doctor I am seeing now knows about achalasia and I will

> be having surgery sometime after the first of the year. Acid reflux meds

> seem to be the first attempt doctors make at diagnosing this. I have had 3

> different prescriptions for acid reflux. I also was put on a low dose

> antidepressant to see if it was muscle spasms causing the problem. Hang in

> there we are here for you.

>

> S

>

>

>

>

> -- Hi...I'm new

>

> Hi all. Not sure if I am dealing with Achalasia or not. I started having

> swallowing problems in June. Went for Endoscopy at the beginning of October

> Dr. told me everything was fine. All biopsies (celiac, stomach polyp, EE)

> came back negative and they put me on prevacid thinking it was acid reflux.

> After increasing the does of prevacid at 6 weeks, I still had no improvement

> so I went to ENT thinking they could help. They did a scope of larynx and

> said it looked consistent with laryngeal reflux. He also ordered a barium

> swallow. The radiologist told me he saw food particles in my esophagus even

> though I hadn't eaten since the night before. He also said the barium is

> staying in my esophagus and that when that happens they suspect a blockage.

> Since my endoscopy was normal, he said it looked like achalasia. The muscle

> was very tight. I had to walk the halls until the barium pill dissolved. I

> m not sure it ever went into my stomach.

>

> I have health anxiety and was handling this all pretty well. Now, I am

> starting to get scared and anxious. The ENT called and wants me to go in to

> discuss results on Friday. I am nervous that there was a blockage that they

> missed though I realize that is not likely or achalasia which is scary in

> and of itself. Sometimes, I have to work to swallow, sometimes food gets

> totally stuck til I bring it back up and lately I've been coughing alot

> (choking?) when eating. I also burp a lot when eating. It is like my body

> is working against me trying to swallow. I'm trying to push it down and it

> s trying to bring it up. Other times it is not too bad. I am watching what

> I eat and rarely eat bread snack type crackers or fried foods and I try to

> eat by 6 at night or I end up miserable and cough and burp all night long.

> Ginger root tea seems to help as well.

>

> I can't figure out how I ended up with this. When I was pregnant, both of

> my kids were up under my ribs causing lots of pain and I've suffered for

> years with a cramping pain under my rib that would wake me up at night. It

> never lasted long enough to go to the ER and would be ok after drinking lots

> of water and burping. Gall bladder always came back fine. Dr.s couldn't

> figure it out and I figured if it hadn't killed me yet then it must be ok.

> Now I think those were spasms that could've finally affected my swallowing.

>

> Sorry for the rambling. It feels good to get all this out to people who

> understand what is happening. It is crazy to tell people, you can't swallow

> and choke on food. I eat so slow too. Doesn't help that I have two school

> age kids and we are always on the go with one thing or the other. Eating is

> so social as well. The world revolves around food!! It is so

> frustrating!!! Lynn

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

> As a member of this group, you are invited to join the HealthShare Groups

> community center located at http://healthsharegroups.org. The community

> center brings together members from over 1200 disease specific support

> groups for sharing of information and support.

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for your warm welcome and support. It is great to hear your

stories and know that there are people out there who understand what you are

going through!!

I can so relate to the restaurant and the waitress seeing if everything is ok.

We went on a cruise earlier this month. It was booked before I started having

this swallowing issue. I was thinking...won't this be fun, you eat all the time

on the cruise We had the same waiters all week for dinner and I really had

them unnerved. I kept telling them I ate slow but they would freak out over me

not finishing or taking forever and want to bring me something else. Even my

kids would say, " she just eats reeeeallly slow! " Lynn

[Guest guest]

Hi, Lynn!

Welcome!

If I look back over my life, I have to wonder if somehow it (IT!) wasn't always

there, just waiting. . . . I remember so clearly being 8 or 9, having dinner at

my Aunt's, and sitting alone in the kitchen, eating, long after everyone else

had finished and was in the living room watching TV. She even went to far as to

praise me for not gulping down my food like my cousins (and the grownups, lol!)

In my mid thirties, I started having esophageal spasms. They seemed to cluster,

and then disappear for a year or two. Always to return.

So maybe, whatever the setup is, it was simply always there? In my case, the

most *important* part seems to be the huge closure of the LES. The

" unswallowing " seems to simply be a way the body is protecting itself against MY

FORCING down food that there *isn't* room for in the esophagus.

During my first pregnancy, when I was vomiting many times every day for 8

months, it got easier and easier. It finally got to the place where a simple

cough would start the whole process. Seems like the body is saying: well, this

can't be fixed, so let's make it *easier.*

THIS year, I kinda thought I was home free: the awful inability to swallow, and

that whole clutching feeling in the neck pretty much went away. What I *didn't*

notice, was that the *unswallowing* had increased, exponentially. When I

noticed, I was days away from ER, messed up electrolytes and massive

dehydration.

I don't thin Achalasia is the most awful thing that could happen to any of us,

though it is indeed a life changer. Still, my sister in law who died of breast

cancer at 44 after five years of fighting it, and leaving six little boys, had

it a whole helluva lot worse than I do, and I try to remember that when I'm

headed for a pity party.

So if it IS Achalsia, try and think about what a pretty sounding name for a

major icky condition, lol!

BTW, I'm up tonight because I'm hongry, and nothing will stay put. Nothing's

gone down and stayed down since around noon. Going to try to sleep it off in a

bit, and hope tomorrow's better.

Again welcome. Lotsa love in this place, and lotsa very good info!

xpx

>

> Hi and welcome to the site.

>  

> I was undiagnosed for over a year and a half and was finally diagnosed this

past July and had my HM surgery in August and I have been pretty good with

eating since then. I do have a few foods which I still have a little trouble

eating but as long as I can eat I am great.. I had alot of tests done also

(endoscopy, barium swallow, etc.) and everything was always normal. Usually the

manometry is the test that can tell if you have achalasia which is how I was

finally diagnosed. Good luck with everything and I hope you figure all of this

out soon.

> in Philly

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: lynnej73 <lynnej73@...>

> achalasia

> Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 10:54 AM

> Subject: Hi...I'm new

>

>

>

>  

>

> Hi all. Not sure if I am dealing with Achalasia or not. I started having

swallowing problems in June. Went for Endoscopy at the beginning of October.

Dr. told me everything was fine. All biopsies (celiac, stomach polyp, EE) came

back negative and they put me on prevacid thinking it was acid reflux. After

increasing the does of prevacid at 6 weeks, I still had no improvement so I went

to ENT thinking they could help. They did a scope of larynx and said it looked

consistent with laryngeal reflux. He also ordered a barium swallow. The

radiologist told me he saw food particles in my esophagus even though I hadn't

eaten since the night before. He also said the barium is staying in my

esophagus and that when that happens they suspect a blockage. Since my

endoscopy was normal, he said it looked like achalasia. The muscle was very

tight. I had to walk the halls until the barium pill dissolved. I'm not sure

it ever went into my stomach.

>

> I have health anxiety and was handling this all pretty well. Now, I am

starting to get scared and anxious. The ENT called and wants me to go in to

discuss results on Friday. I am nervous that there was a blockage that they

missed though I realize that is not likely or achalasia which is scary in and of

itself. Sometimes, I have to work to swallow, sometimes food gets totally stuck

til I bring it back up and lately I've been coughing alot (choking?) when

eating. I also burp a lot when eating. It is like my body is working against me

trying to swallow. I'm trying to push it down and it's trying to bring it up.

Other times it is not too bad. I am watching what I eat and rarely eat bread

snack type crackers or fried foods and I try to eat by 6 at night or I end up

miserable and cough and burp all night long. Ginger root tea seems to help as

well.

>

> I can't figure out how I ended up with this. When I was pregnant, both of my

kids were up under my ribs causing lots of pain and I've suffered for years with

a cramping pain under my rib that would wake me up at night. It never lasted

long enough to go to the ER and would be ok after drinking lots of water and

burping. Gall bladder always came back fine. Dr.s couldn't figure it out and I

figured if it hadn't killed me yet then it must be ok. Now I think those were

spasms that could've finally affected my swallowing.

>

> Sorry for the rambling. It feels good to get all this out to people who

understand what is happening. It is crazy to tell people, you can't swallow and

choke on food. I eat so slow too. Doesn't help that I have two school age kids

and we are always on the go with one thing or the other. Eating is so social as

well. The world revolves around food!! It is so frustrating!!! Lynn

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynn, I am new here too. My husband's swallowing problems also started in

June and his story is similar to yours. He has always been a slow eater too and

has always had a hard time swallowing pills. We found a knowledgeable GI who

immediately suspected achalasia. His surgery was Nov 21st and he's doing

fantastic. His follow up appt is this Thurs and we think he'll graduate from

liquids to soft foods. He's gained 10 pounds so far.

>

> Hi all. Not sure if I am dealing with Achalasia or not. I started having

swallowing problems in June. Went for Endoscopy at the beginning of October.

Dr. told me everything was fine. All biopsies (celiac, stomach polyp, EE) came

back negative and they put me on prevacid thinking it was acid reflux. After

increasing the does of prevacid at 6 weeks, I still had no improvement so I went

to ENT thinking they could help. They did a scope of larynx and said it looked

consistent with laryngeal reflux. He also ordered a barium swallow. The

radiologist told me he saw food particles in my esophagus even though I hadn't

eaten since the night before. He also said the barium is staying in my

esophagus and that when that happens they suspect a blockage. Since my

endoscopy was normal, he said it looked like achalasia. The muscle was very

tight. I had to walk the halls until the barium pill dissolved. I'm not sure

it ever went into my stomach.

>

> I have health anxiety and was handling this all pretty well. Now, I am

starting to get scared and anxious. The ENT called and wants me to go in to

discuss results on Friday. I am nervous that there was a blockage that they

missed though I realize that is not likely or achalasia which is scary in and of

itself. Sometimes, I have to work to swallow, sometimes food gets totally stuck

til I bring it back up and lately I've been coughing alot (choking?) when

eating. I also burp a lot when eating. It is like my body is working against me

trying to swallow. I'm trying to push it down and it's trying to bring it up.

Other times it is not too bad. I am watching what I eat and rarely eat bread

snack type crackers or fried foods and I try to eat by 6 at night or I end up

miserable and cough and burp all night long. Ginger root tea seems to help as

well.

>

> I can't figure out how I ended up with this. When I was pregnant, both of my

kids were up under my ribs causing lots of pain and I've suffered for years with

a cramping pain under my rib that would wake me up at night. It never lasted

long enough to go to the ER and would be ok after drinking lots of water and

burping. Gall bladder always came back fine. Dr.s couldn't figure it out and I

figured if it hadn't killed me yet then it must be ok. Now I think those were

spasms that could've finally affected my swallowing.

>

> Sorry for the rambling. It feels good to get all this out to people who

understand what is happening. It is crazy to tell people, you can't swallow and

choke on food. I eat so slow too. Doesn't help that I have two school age kids

and we are always on the go with one thing or the other. Eating is so social as

well. The world revolves around food!! It is so frustrating!!! Lynn

>