Here's another treatment not discussed here. Ive had dysphasia achalasia since 2012, dx as jackhammer esophagus in 2017, and further dx as Type 3 Achalasia in Aug. 2023. I also have a Diverticulum due to very high eso pressure, and was advised to have 2 surgeries. But I have severe autoimmune issues and always felt this Achalasia was re to my autoimmune issues. So in late Nov. 2023 I began a high dose Empiric trial of Prednisone, starting at 60mg/day for 1 month, 50mg, 45mg, 40mg and tapering 5mg down each week. This Prednisone turned out to be the perfect treatment, and within 4 days of starting I was eating food wo any issues. There's quite a published journal studies on the use of Prednisone for Achalasia. I was also have lots of nausea for 3 yrs with severe vomiting, and severe constipation. All this stopped within days of the Prednisone. But the challenge has been tapering down off Prednisone. Im currently down to 25mg daily Prednisone. Ive managed to stave off the worse of the dysphagia & choke clear vomiting w maybe 30% return of dysphagia. But the constipation return is 70-80%. Some studies report the Prednisone benefit can last for several years or more. I recently switched to Nexium plus still Famotidine which helps with dysphagia & chocking & vomiting up food. I don't know if I'd ever get either Poem or Heller myotomy surgery if i needed it bc of concerns with acid aspiration into my throat & lungs at night. Apparently, that issue is unknown ahead of time. Lastly, a great DISCOVERY I recently made to calm my esophagus when food is stuck & ready to vomit, is these BROOKIES chocolate brownie scquares from my grocery story. I've been using them for a week now when the choking 1st starts. I'll eat a small bite, and within several minutes this brownie food is calming my severe Achalasia. It’s the strangest thing bc Ive tried lots of food & liquids for 12 yrs, and never had anything help like this. It must be the OILS in the chocolate brownie. It is quite soft & moist, made in store bakery with choc icing layer on top. Hope the above helps.
One more point on my Achalasia as an autoimmune disorder. The muscle "hypercontractions" I experience in my esophagus are also occurring in my lower arms & legs. Prednisone can be a pretty wicked treatment too. But if it resolves this for a lengthy period, I'll be pleased. Also, my severe or projectile vomiting that stopped, is re my yet to be dx autoimmune disorder, that caused me to lose 60 lbs & lots of muscle mass. My Ferritin blood lab is also high, indicating inflammation.
I have all the symptoms including horrible below left breast pain. Had many endoscopies which didn't show the problem. I also had fungal infection Next I am asking for barium endoscopy.
Cutting the LES basically destroys the ability of the muscle to function, leading to acid reflux and taking PPIs forever. The LES is controlled by the vagus nerve, so you may want to try rehabilitating that nerve before trying surgery. For the theory behind this approach, see ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7OENyPivWIo.html. I tried vastly improving my posture and massaging the vagus nerve. As I got a little getter, I added effortful swallowing exercises. Over time, my swallowing has improved, although it has not returned to normal. Perhaps over time??? And pray. Pray in Jesus' name. He is there for you if you will call on him!
This condition is rare, so it is not surprising that there is not much information available. Firstly, it is important to consult an experienced gastroenterologist or Upper GI surgeon. Then it is important for your mother to have all the tests that will pinpoint exactly where the problems are occurring (ie endoscopy, barium swallow, manometry). There are quite a few conditions that cause swallowing problems that are not achalasia, so the doctors have to check carefully. Once the test results are available, then it is really a surgical assessment of what treatment would be best in the long term. Dilatations can be effective, but their benefits may not last as long as one would wish - it all depends on the individual. Botox might be an answer for patients who are a bit frail. In general, though, the principle is that it is best to opt for treatment that will give the best long term chances of relief, because delaying things can lead to the oesophagus becoming too stretched to be able to benefit fully from surgery.
The worst is the days when it just says nope today you not going to even drink water deal with it.....the grapes it's the skin it becomes like shards of glass so you find yourself coughing hours even the next day and pieces of grape skin are coming out ....... for the spasms in the back I take gaviskon (antacid liquid) and for some reason after a few minutes all is OK
Magnesium is low in many people. I take it daily in Calm or other brand and feel it helps me not to have spams. I think we should be checked for our magnesium and zinc levels.
I have Achalasia type 2 or A2 and lost 86 pounds before my surgery. I chose the Robotic Heller Myatomy with DOR Fundoplication because it is the gold standard for my A type and age, and has the lowest acid reflux post op. I had it done in San Diego with UCSD with Dr. Santiago Horgan. I'm happy that I found him.
Just diagnosed with this today. So I'm reading up on what they are gonna do to try and fix it. I can't tell you how relieved I am to have an answer finally. People were calling me crazy and telling me it was in my head for years. People have made fun of me being skinny for years. It effects my dating and social life. When your 5 yrs old nephew out eats you it's embarrassing. I'd go days with nothing to eat. Or a slice of bread every couple days. Very malnourished. Back spasms that hurt so bad. Throwing up in front of people cause your food is stuck. It just feels good to have an answer and I pray they can fix it.
I’m having the POEM procedure done on Tuesday. Hoping this can cure me forever. I’ve had difficulty swallowing for 2 years. Hopefully they can schedule you for one of these soon, did they request you to go and see a specialist? I had to travel about an hour to see one at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
@@adamhassan8153 I have my appointment November 17 with my specialist. Luckily it's right near my home here in AZ. I guess we'll see if they want to do the POEM procedure or the Heller Myotomy. Although I'm thinking it will be POEM. My gastro told me that the guy I'm seeing is one of the top in the country. (Hopefully that is true and she isn't just trying to comfort me). I've been dealing with this for 8 years. Only reason I've made it this far is self medication. Even then, it didn't work all the time. I was beginning to accept that this was gonna be for the rest of my life. I started crying when I found out they can help me eat again.
@@blakefrazier3668 I haven’t been dealing with this as long as you have but I was so relieved to hear there is something that can pretty much cure it. My doc told me it was 95% effective. Will def let you know how it goes. I think they would prob do the poem on you if they can, apparently that’s the most popular treatment for it now. Good luck bro
@@jennifernorthcutt6462 like I said above it’s 95% effective. So 5% have reoccurring issues. My surgery went well and I don’t have any issues swallowing anymore. There are now 10 year studies available online if you would like to read about it. Achalasia is progressive if you don’t respond to treatment. I had pain in my chest every morning from esophageal spasms for 8 years. The pain is now gone and has been gone since November 1st when they cut the muscle giving me issues out. Best thing I’ve ever done.
Since the problem is a smooth muscle that won’t relax, could this not be improved with a muscle relaxant such as Buscopan? Dosage and timing of the dosage might be crucial, but should beat a blanket treatment like botox and no scarring. The other question I had was about that pacemaker that is now used (in the USA) to correct sleep apnea: a cuff electrode is placed around the hypoglossal nerve that innervates the soft palate, it delivers a command to contract by a pacemaker implanted under the skin. In the case of accalasia the problem is not that the muscle won’t contract, but rather that it won’t relax, maybe a micro pump could deliver locally a neurotransmitter antagonist/ muscle relaxant?
I am 1 i 100000, I have had achalasia for about 28 years, had an oesohagectomy, after several balloon dilations , Botox injections still have issues, I can’t eat much in one go & struggle. This is a hard disease to deal with & I appreciate the surgeons & staff who have helped me over the years.
I have been dealing with Achalasia for over 43 years. I was originally diagnosed as having an eating disorder which my mother, a nurse and medical professor refused to accept. It took almost 9 years to get a correct diagnosis. This is a great overview. I wish I would have had this years ago.
So I have questions after a person have a swallowing test and if is true about food or drinks getting stuck how long does it take get the poem surgery cause some of these doctors need to know and move fast if a person is expecting truble swallowing foods and drinks it shouldn't take for ever to get cured
Who is the beat treatment the surgery or unsurgery Please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 i treated by unsurgery (balloon ) but i really scare it will came bask or not how mane percentage ...🙏
90% of POEM patients suffer from GERD afterward due to the les remaining open. To lessen their acid reflux, they must use antacid meds for the rest of their lives.
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I've been dealing with achalasia for about 3 years now, my first 2 years where full of mystery, and my last year has been filled with surgery and Edoscopies like POEM. It's very difficult as a 17 year old to explain these symptoms to people not loving with the condition and it's even more difficult on the mind to understand that I can't eat like normal people and need spe spacial treatment. I'm definitely sending this to anyone I know who asks about my conditionand definitely subscribing because you guys are doing great work by showing the world about a condition so rare and hard to explain for the common person Edit- my heart goes out to all of those who spent so much longer trying to get a diagnosis, as a sufferer myself I cannot even begin to imagine the pain of living with this condition for so long and unable to explain why it's happening
Being diagnosed with Cancer has been a major loss of money and has caused major problems in my immune system,but when I came across Dr. Osaka on RU-vid Channel and he recommended his herbal medicine I got completely cured of Cancer...
I suffer from achalasia myself. I have mostly had all treatment every 3 months I have more endoscopy test i have had a HELLER MYOMETRY DOR FUNDALATION PROCEDURE.
Thank you for a very informative video. It really helps to find a simplified version especially to friends and family. I've had it for 14 years now.. Only got diagnosed 2 years ago which made it hard to explain to people why I can't eat. I've had to isolate myself from living life because of it. Still haven't had any treatment done and it's progressively getting worse. Hope I can get something done within a year of saving up.. It's good to know I'm not alone😭. Let's stay strong while we fight our silent battles
My husband has problem swallowing certain foods. He throw them up before they even hit the stomachs it scary. But other foods he is fine!!! Can this be allergic reaction ?
I've had it for 40 years, and for most of that time, it was only triggered by rice. So, for a long time, I thought it was just a reaction to rice. I had it stretched with a balloon about 10 years ago, and it was great. I will need the procedure again soon because I've had about 4 episodes in the last year or so.
Does it make you throw up? My husband only some foods he swallows but won’t get pas the esophagus!! He will throw up what he ate. It’s only a few items not everything. But is scary!!!
It's very important to make the distinction between throwing up (touches stomach acid) and regurgitation (sitting in the esophagus tube). GIs do not seem to help people to understand this because the people often do not know themselves. Sometimes food rots in the esophagus so it can be confusing.
Only wish I'd known more about the condition before being advised to start with botox 😞 then a dilatation... when those didn't take and I opted for the Heller operation, it was unsuccessful due to the scar tissue the other procedures had produced. Ended up in hospital for 11 days, tube fed to rest my oesophagus and had a tube inserted to bypass my oesophagus so I was vomiting into a bag. All I can say is research your condition, make sure you have all the tests possible and available for this condition and have faith in your consultant/surgeon, I had a further 3 dilatations throughout 2016/2017, since then I just cope, good days, bad days and everything inbetween. Wishing all fellow sufferers much love and support ❤
Thanks for such a wonderfully simplified explanation. I’ve had Achalasia for over 40 years. It took years to diagnose and longer to explain what I had to friends and family. This would have been incredibly useful to show them. Once again thanks 🙏
As a sufferer myself, I found this video to be really informative and useful to show people in my life that dont fully understand the condition. Thank you
