Re: Questions about esophageal dilation

[Guest guest]

Hi Spiderfan (hopefully not your real name),

 

Glad to hear you survived the dilatation, but sorry to hear you had it so rough.

Lots of people will probably respond to your questions since so many of us have

lived it.

 

It does appear that for all intents and purposes you have GERD, but also keep in

mind that the LES may not always stay as open as it is now, so symptoms might

lessen.  Prevacid is used primarily for GERD (acid reflux), and depending upon

your degree of suffering you may be on the medication for some time now (perhaps

until you have the surgery, if needed).

 

There is no answer you " can take to the bank "  as to how long the dilatation

will last for. Results vary between men and women, old and young. In this case

you want to be old. A ruptured muscle just does not usually heal so well in an

older person, which is to their benefit. The skill of the doctor performing the

dilatation may also play a major role in how long it lasts. My first one lasted

2 days. Two weeks later I had another one which lasted 3 years. If the doctor

screws up, you pay the price for it. Then there are times nobody can figure why

it didn't last too long or why it continues to last.

 

But, instead of trying to figure out how long it may last, you should begin to

focus your attention upon doing everything you can to make it last as long as

possible. Sometimes, there is nothing we can do about it, while at other times

we probably can make a difference. Problem is, you don't know which category you

fit into.

 

I don't know much about burping or farting, but logic says that if you didn't do

much of either before the dilatation, then you can blame the dilatation for your

current outbursts.  In time your body should adjust to your new situation and

your friends should return.

 

Until your next doctor visit I suggest you keep a diary of everything going on.

It may prove helpful to alleviate symptoms after speaking with the doctor.

 

________________________________

From: spiderfan108 <spiderfan108@...>

achalasia

Sent: Thursday, June 7, 2012 11:53 PM

Subject: Questions about esophageal dilation

 

Hello!

I just got home from my esophageal dilation. It was pretty scary and exciting. I

had to stay overnight at the hospital because they might have teared the

esophagus, so they wanted to make sure that my esophagus was all right. It was

really intense, because right after I woke up, I was a bit queasy, and they

rushed me to radiology to do a test, where I had to drink this watery liquid

while they took x-rays. I didn't know what was going on at the time, so I was

scared. The worst part was, I threw up on the radiology table while they were

moving me on it, but after that, I was fine. They apparently gave me a little of

everything to stop the nausea. Luckily, my esophagus was ok, and I was able to

go home the next day. It is so awesome to finally be able to eat things easily

again! After 5 years... I almost forgot what it felt like to eat normally.

Sadly, I just had the worst heartburn I have ever had a few minutes ago. The

heartburn lasted for almost 30

minutes, and I must have ate almost 4 tums, extra strength. I am now out of

tums for the night.

Luckily, after drinking some milk, it finally went down. This is partially

the reason why I am posting here. I just have a few questions.

1. Since they opened up my LES, does that mean I have GERD now? My doctor gave

me a few heartburn medicine, one to protect the esophagus, and the other is

prevacid. Does this mean I am going to have a lot of heartburn?

2. How long does the effect of the dilation last? My doctor says that if my LES

closes up again, I will have to have surgery.

3. Also, I have been burping and farting a lot lately, does this have anything

to do with the dilation? It is so weird, I hardly ever burp or fart, but now I

have to a lot, lol.

Thank you for answering the questions!

[Guest guest]

Nice to be able to eat again, eh? Congrats!

I'm going to make a *guess* here that the gas phenom (burping/farting) is being

caused by the fact that your tummy is finally getting some food. And is likely

" out of practice " -- that is, a lot of the normal digestive flora/fauna in your

gut has died off and is now insufficient to digest all it's being asked to

digest. Enzymes helped me. You might want to be googling around for

" probiotics " . . . .

As for the GERD, I had some right after the Heller. But not a whole lot, and

even that has mostly gone. However, it certainly varies from person to person,

so stay prepared.

WV

>

> Hello!

> I just got home from my esophageal dilation. It was pretty scary and exciting.

I had to stay overnight at the hospital because they might have teared the

esophagus, so they wanted to make sure that my esophagus was all right. It was

really intense, because right after I woke up, I was a bit queasy, and they

rushed me to radiology to do a test, where I had to drink this watery liquid

while they took x-rays. I didn't know what was going on at the time, so I was

scared. The worst part was, I threw up on the radiology table while they were

moving me on it, but after that, I was fine. They apparently gave me a little of

everything to stop the nausea. Luckily, my esophagus was ok, and I was able to

go home the next day. It is so awesome to finally be able to eat things easily

again! After 5 years... I almost forgot what it felt like to eat normally.

Sadly, I just had the worst heartburn I have ever had a few minutes ago. The

heartburn lasted for almost 30 minutes, and I must have ate almost 4 tums, extra

strength. I am now out of tums for the night.

> Luckily, after drinking some milk, it finally went down. This is partially

the reason why I am posting here. I just have a few questions.

> 1. Since they opened up my LES, does that mean I have GERD now? My doctor gave

me a few heartburn medicine, one to protect the esophagus, and the other is

prevacid. Does this mean I am going to have a lot of heartburn?

> 2. How long does the effect of the dilation last? My doctor says that if my

LES closes up again, I will have to have surgery.

> 3. Also, I have been burping and farting a lot lately, does this have anything

to do with the dilation? It is so weird, I hardly ever burp or fart, but now I

have to a lot, lol.

> Thank you for answering the questions!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Spiderfan,

I usually do not post on here a lot but I wanted to weigh in on your question

about gas. My daughters doctors have always said to expect to have a lot of it

afterwards because they pump air into the stomach during scopes and dilations.

That's a pretty scary 1st dilation. Glad to hear though that you are ok.

Shamira

Sent from my Motorola ATRIXâ„¢ 4G on AT & T

[Guest guest]

Hi Spiderfan

I had a dilation nearly two months ago. Here's my experience in response to

your questions. Your mileage may vary.

>1. Since they opened up my LES, does that mean I have GERD now? My doctor

gave me a few heartburn medicine, one to protect the esophagus, and the

other is prevacid. Does this mean I am going to have a lot of heartburn?<

There was some heartburn in the middle of the night for a week or two after

the dilation, but then it went away. When heartburn was a problem,

Tums-like pills and walking around helped.

>2. How long does the effect of the dilation last? My doctor says that if

my LES closes up again, I will have to have surgery.<

That's the big question. Immediately after the dilation, there was a huge

improvement in ability to eat. Two months later the effect of the dilation

are still good, although there are clear limitations. What has worked best

are soft foods, such as oatmeal, mash potatoes, meatloaf, well cooked

carrots, pasta -- but not big pasta pieces, for instance, bow-ties. Dense

foods, such as fish or chicken, may result in a slightly uncomfortable

feeling that things aren't moving down. Eating slowly and balancing it well

with fluids has helped. Bread, pizza and red meat can cause problems. So

how long will it last? Just don't know. The experience seems to be

different for everyone.

>3. Also, I have been burping and farting a lot lately, does this have

anything to do with the dilation? It is so weird, I hardly ever burp or

fart, but now I have to a lot, lol.

Thank you for answering the questions! <

Can't help you here, but best guess is this will be short-lived.

Sounds like you had quite of an experience and handled it very well.

Best,

Pat

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 10:58 AM, shareedanieal@... <

shareedanieal@...> wrote:

> **

>

>

> Hi Spiderfan,

>

> I usually do not post on here a lot but I wanted to weigh in on your

> question about gas. My daughters doctors have always said to expect to have

> a lot of it afterwards because they pump air into the stomach during scopes

> and dilations.

>

> That's a pretty scary 1st dilation. Glad to hear though that you are ok.

>

> Shamira

>

> Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™ 4G on AT & T

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

spiderfan108 wrote:

>

> ... I had to stay overnight at the hospital because they might have

> teared the esophagus, ...

>

That could mean a couple of things. It sounds like they were afraid that

they perforated the esophagus. That could have been a big problem and

the drink at radiology was to make sure it was not leaking. It sounds

like there was no leak. A tear can also happen by dragging the lining of

the esophageal wall. That tear may not go through or leak but it could

easily be irritated. Everyone, even without achalasia and treatments,

refluxes some acid. Most of the time it does not cause any heartburn. If

you have something like a tear even a little acid on it could be

painful. If you are having a problem with acid it may be temporary.

Tears, and even perforations, are also a risk from just having an EGD.

One of the risks versus benefits of routine surveillance after

treatment. The risks are much smaller with an EGD than dilatation but

they do exist.

Sometimes there is pain after dilation that may be spasms or other NCCP

from the esophagus reacting to the dilatation. These usually stop

happening over time.

Dilatation can lead to GERD though. Usually is does not, but like with a

myotomy, it is a risk.

notan