Re: Thank you for this resource

June 1, 2012

Welcome Andre! I think some of us have been down the same road as you, I

know I have been down it like you. I had issues for years and was not

until last year that they finally got it right in their diagnosis. This

past April 25th I had an HM with dor surgery and life has returned to a

great quality of life so I can enjoy my daughter (3 yrs old) growing up. I

hope you find an experienced doctor who knows how to treat properly for A.

The best advice I got from my doctors is have the HM asap because it is the

fastest way to improving quality of life for the longest duration.

Wish you best!

Geoffrey (42yrs old | Woodbridge, VA, USA)

PS - there is a great support group also on Facebook

(AchalasiaSupportGroup), you might want to check it out.

On Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 9:17 AM, aandre7373 <aandre7373@...> wrote:

> **

>

> My name is Andre. I'm 38 years old, in Sydney, Australia, and yesterday I

> was diagnosed (barium swallow) with a " grossly dilated " esophagus and

> Achalasia. A couple of weeks ago I'd never even heard of the name, despite

> TWELVE YEARS of the medical merry-go-round to find the cause of weird

> symptoms I'd been experiencing since that first sharp, stabbing pain in the

> side of my neck back in 2000.

>

> I had an " all clear " upper endoscopy (probably my fourth or so over the

> years) back in late 2010 - and a month later started having trouble

> swallowing for the first time ever (as far as I knew). Since the endoscopy

> yet again failed to find any reason for the various pains in my neck and

> chest, I tried to live with the swallowing issue for over a year.

> Eventually it got to the point where I was choking during meals, and my

> wife convinced me to go to the doctor one more time. Barium swallow (second

> one - previous was 5 or 6 years ago) this time clearly detected a " bird's

> beak " and a " grossly dilated " esophagus. I imagine I can even see the

> begginings of a sigmoid shape, but I don't really know. The report says

> nothing on that score.

>

> Now I'm waiting to see the doctor again, in a few days time, scared, angry

> at myself and the world for not going back straight away after the

> dysphagia started about 18 months ago, and looking at my two beautiful

> infant daughters with a fair amount of fear that I may not get to watch

> them grow. My wife has been very supportive, and if it wasn't for my family

> I don't know what I'd do.

>

> Thank you all for contributing to this site, and for making me feel

> slightly less alone and worried.

>

> All the best to all of you,

> Andre

>

June 1, 2012

Andre,

You WILL watch your children grow. Many of us started out with sxs that were

misdiagnosed. The army misdiagnosed me for about 5 years before my esophagus

closed down completely and it became a medical emergency. That was in the early

1990s. I'm having trouble again. I just found out that the Army did the wrong

techniques for my HM and fundlipication and I am now too high risk for surgery.

I am scheduled for a pnumatic dialation next month. I'm scared for my future

too. I have limited options. I've read the posts on this list and have found

some hope as well as new techniques for eating/drinking. I hope you will find

some hope as well. I learned in the military, there is strenghth and support in

numbers. I've NEVER joined an on line support group or any type of support

group. Sometimes they can make things worse. This group seems to be very

helpful. Also, I hope you find a good GI doc and surgeon.

Take care,

Faith

Thank you for this resource

My name is Andre. I'm 38 years old, in Sydney, Australia, and yesterday I was

diagnosed (barium swallow) with a " grossly dilated " esophagus and Achalasia. A

couple of weeks ago I'd never even heard of the name, despite TWELVE YEARS of

the medical merry-go-round to find the cause of weird symptoms I'd been

experiencing since that first sharp, stabbing pain in the side of my neck back

in 2000.

I had an " all clear " upper endoscopy (probably my fourth or so over the years)

back in late 2010 - and a month later started having trouble swallowing for the

first time ever (as far as I knew). Since the endoscopy yet again failed to find

any reason for the various pains in my neck and chest, I tried to live with the

swallowing issue for over a year. Eventually it got to the point where I was

choking during meals, and my wife convinced me to go to the doctor one more

time. Barium swallow (second one - previous was 5 or 6 years ago) this time

clearly detected a " bird's beak " and a " grossly dilated " esophagus. I imagine I

can even see the begginings of a sigmoid shape, but I don't really know. The

report says nothing on that score.

Now I'm waiting to see the doctor again, in a few days time, scared, angry at

myself and the world for not going back straight away after the dysphagia

started about 18 months ago, and looking at my two beautiful infant daughters

with a fair amount of fear that I may not get to watch them grow. My wife has

been very supportive, and if it wasn't for my family I don't know what I'd do.

Thank you all for contributing to this site, and for making me feel slightly

less alone and worried.

All the best to all of you,

Andre

June 2, 2012

Thank you for your kind and supportive message Geoffrey. The 3 days since my

diagnosis have been some of the hardest in my life, and I am trying to come to

term with this rapid transition from vague symptoms that I've been carrying most

of my adult life to a diagnosis of a progressive and incurable disorder.

It is very encouraging to hear that you're doing well post the HM, and now I'm

in a rush to get mine done as soon as I can to try to arrest further dilation.

My wife and daughters (4 and 1) give me strength.

Regards,

Andre

>

> > **

> >

> > My name is Andre. I'm 38 years old, in Sydney, Australia, and yesterday I

> > was diagnosed (barium swallow) with a " grossly dilated " esophagus and

> > Achalasia. A couple of weeks ago I'd never even heard of the name, despite

> > TWELVE YEARS of the medical merry-go-round to find the cause of weird

> > symptoms I'd been experiencing since that first sharp, stabbing pain in the

> > side of my neck back in 2000.

> >

> > I had an " all clear " upper endoscopy (probably my fourth or so over the

> > years) back in late 2010 - and a month later started having trouble

> > swallowing for the first time ever (as far as I knew). Since the endoscopy

> > yet again failed to find any reason for the various pains in my neck and

> > chest, I tried to live with the swallowing issue for over a year.

> > Eventually it got to the point where I was choking during meals, and my

> > wife convinced me to go to the doctor one more time. Barium swallow (second

> > one - previous was 5 or 6 years ago) this time clearly detected a " bird's

> > beak " and a " grossly dilated " esophagus. I imagine I can even see the

> > begginings of a sigmoid shape, but I don't really know. The report says

> > nothing on that score.

> >

> > Now I'm waiting to see the doctor again, in a few days time, scared, angry

> > at myself and the world for not going back straight away after the

> > dysphagia started about 18 months ago, and looking at my two beautiful

> > infant daughters with a fair amount of fear that I may not get to watch

> > them grow. My wife has been very supportive, and if it wasn't for my family

> > I don't know what I'd do.

> >

> > Thank you all for contributing to this site, and for making me feel

> > slightly less alone and worried.

> >

> > All the best to all of you,

> > Andre

> >

>

June 2, 2012

Thank you for your message Faith. I have nothing except around 72 hours of solid

achalasia reading since my diagnosis, but the one thing that stands out is that

it is NOT lethal. The doctors will find a way.

I look forward to reading about your improvement after the procedure next month.

Hopefully it'll give another twenty years of fine eating, by which time another

treatment is practically guaranteed to surface, courtesy the staggering advances

in robotic surgery that are happening presently.

Regards,

Andre

>

> Andre,

>

> You WILL watch your children grow. Many of us started out with sxs that were