Sarah Vaughn94 said:Good afternoon, everyone,
I was wondering if any of you have gone ahead and moved forward with surgery yet? If so, I’m really curious about which specific procedure you opted for—since there are several different methods out there, I’d love to know what you actually had done and whether you’re feeling any better now. Also, have you reached a point where you can go back to eating everything again?
I was diagnosed with AHALAZIJA seven years ago. Right after finding out, I had a dilation... but the symptoms came right back after five days. Then I went in for another one, and I only felt okay for three days. After three dilations, they decided (🤣) I needed surgery. I had the operation six years ago. Even a month after the surgery, I didn't feel any different. I couldn't even swallow liquids properly. The surgeon told me he performed the procedure and that it *had* to be fine, and that I was just imagining things. I just looked at him, said thanks, and walked out. A couple of months later, I was back in Chicago for another dilation, where the doctor told me I'd basically have to deal with these damn dilations for the rest of my life because that's just how it is.
They put me under for laparoscopic surgery, but once they started, they realized the narrowing was too severe, so they had to make a full incision down my abdomen instead.
Lately, swallowing has been getting harder again, whether it's solid food or liquids. The chest pain is back, too. This might sound a little silly, but I've been making these noises that really bother me. They told me it's just air coming up from my stomach. It's been happening more and more often lately.