still no clearcut diagnosis.....

[Guest guest]

Hello all. I haven't been on here for awhile. I have been going

back and forth to The Cleveland Clinic for several months now for

appointments and testing. At first my local Doc thought I had

achalasia then Dr. Falk in Cleveland thought it was GERD. I had some

abnormal test results. My manometry showed weak esophageal muscles and

a low pressure in my sphincter. My barium swallow showed the tablet

obstructing several times on the way down. My esophageal ph test

showed essentially no acid reflux. However my biopsies from my scope

showed evidence of acid reflux. The prevacid I was prescribed helped

somewhat but not a lot. I have lost 4 more pounds and my hair is

starting to fall out. I am unsure if it is from the Prevacid or from

the weight loss??? I also have a hiatal hernia. For now Dr. Falk told

me to go off the Prevacid to see how I do. He said he wouldn't be

offended if I got a second opinion. He seems puzzled by my symptoms.

I feel very let down and have spent a ton of money already. I still

have trouble swallowing and a lot of pressure in my esophagus when I

eat. Some times it feels like things just aren't going down so I have

to stop eating. I get really bad pains between my shoulder blades when

I eat also. Any thoughts on getting a second opinion???

[Guest guest]

Hi

Sounds as if Dr Falk is trying to offload you onto someone else. I have had

experience of this myself during the turbulent years of my diagnois. You could

have Achalasia. Please get a more experienced GI Dr. who has experience with

Achalasia and DES a form of Achalasia. Good Luck.

________________________________

From: geminiblue_99 <trouble6162@...>

achalasia

Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 5:30:50 PM

Subject: still no clearcut diagnosis......

Hello all. I haven't been on here for awhile. I have been going

back and forth to The Cleveland Clinic for several months now for

appointments and testing. At first my local Doc thought I had

achalasia then Dr. Falk in Cleveland thought it was GERD. I had some

abnormal test results. My manometry showed weak esophageal muscles and

a low pressure in my sphincter. My barium swallow showed the tablet

obstructing several times on the way down. My esophageal ph test

showed essentially no acid reflux. However my biopsies from my scope

showed evidence of acid reflux. The prevacid I was prescribed helped

somewhat but not a lot. I have lost 4 more pounds and my hair is

starting to fall out. I am unsure if it is from the Prevacid or from

the weight loss??? I also have a hiatal hernia. For now Dr. Falk told

me to go off the Prevacid to see how I do. He said he wouldn't be

offended if I got a second opinion. He seems puzzled by my symptoms.

I feel very let down and have spent a ton of money already. I still

have trouble swallowing and a lot of pressure in my esophagus when I

eat. Some times it feels like things just aren't going down so I have

to stop eating. I get really bad pains between my shoulder blades when

I eat also. Any thoughts on getting a second opinion???

[Guest guest]

geminiblue_99 wrote:

> ... My manometry showed weak esophageal muscles and

> a low pressure in my sphincter. ...

Part of your doctor's difficulty may be that this is a difficult

combination to treat. If the LES is already weak what is the benefit of

weakening it more, which is what they do for achalasia. If you have acid

reflux now weakening the LES would not only not be likely to help the

swallowing much but would likely make the acid reflux worse, unless a

fundoplication was done. There is a type of DES called RDES

(reflux-associated esophageal spasm). As the name implies, it is

possible to have reflux associated spasms, but if that was your case

then what more can you do besides the PPI you are taking?

notan

[Guest guest]

read with interest your post. a girl I know has similar complaints. the docs she

see are thinking sacroidosis. are you have any kind of peripheral neuropathy? do

your hands feel cold and/or weak?...angela

[Guest guest]

>

> read with interest your post. a girl I know has similar complaints.

the docs she see are thinking sacroidosis. are you have any kind of

peripheral neuropathy? do your hands feel cold and/or weak?...angela

You all have given me something to think about. I never heard of the

RDES before and never considered sarcoidosis either. I have had

tingling in my hands before....hmmmm makes me wonder. I think Dr. Falk

is waiting to see if I get worse or better. Right now I am on no

medication. Went to see my regular family Dr. yesterday. She seems to

think it is my gallbladder causing my pain between my shoulder blades

after eating. Am scheduled for an ultrasound of it on Monday. She

said it can be difficult to pinpoint with people because people get a

variety of symptoms from it. She also did labs on my thyroid, liver,

and pancreas. It is all very frustrating. Thanks for all your input!

>