My Achalasia Journey

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It all began the day before I was moving to Australia, April 2000. I woke up the night before my flight with what I initially thought was heartburn (common mistake). Grabbed some cold water and that it was it - or so I thought. In Sydney, my first day in my new job....just after I'd had my lunch, which as I remember, was just a sandwich. I had this 'blocked' feeling my chest, my food was stuck. I panicked and ran to the bathroom, I vomitted prefusely for 10 mins. I knew something wasn't quite right. Then the weight started dropping off - and fast! I was still vomitting after every meal.

I went to the doctor, they fobbed me off with GORD (Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease). They gave me SOMAC to stop me vomitting, monitor how I went with that and go back in a week. His diagnosis just didn't sit right with me....I knew something was wrong. For two years, I struggled to get any answers to why I was feeling like this.

Before long, I was booked in for a Oesophageal Manometry - that in itself was probably THE lowest point for me. A procedure (an archaic one at that!) that usually takes 45mins, took nearly 2 and a half hours - one tube the nurse couldn't get in and down my throat, the second much smaller tube (used for small children) went in, but I'd had enough, I grabbed and pulled the tube nearly rupturing everything on the way up! I came out of there totally horrified and exhausted. Gradually, my symptoms worsened to the point I could only eat mashed potato and gravy - through a straw! That went on for next 3 years. It got so bad I dropped 12kgs in 6 weeks, became totally withdrawn, weak, sullen faced and couldn't even swallow a mouthful of water - totally malnourished.

My then-husband took me to the doctor (he wouldn't let me drive myself), sitting in the doctors office, the doctor held his head in his hands, his answer? 'I really am at a loss - we've tried everything I think it could be and had you on every drug trial available'. He then picked up the phone and spoke to a consultant gastroenterologist at the local hospital and got me an appointment for the following day.

At this point, I was just relieved that SOMEONE may be able to help me. I walked into his office feeling anxious, nauseous - the usual. He called me in, stated that based on my notes he'd been sent I would need to go have a 'barium'. Laying on the bed, trying soooo hard to hold the 'chalk' in my mouth - the nurse told me to swallow it. They turned the monitor towards me so I could see what was happening - they were horrified. I had approximately 3 days worth of food stuck and the 'barium' was sitting on top! It was trickling through the food and trying to get into my stomach.

They rushed the results back up to my Consultant - he called me. Asked me 3 very easy questions and said ' I know exactly what's wrong with you, you have probably one of the worst cases of achalasia I've ever seen in someone of your age (I was 34)' - I weigh just 44kgs. He then said 'if you had not come to see me today, you would've been dead in 8 weeks'. Yep, it was THAT close! I was booked in for my first dilation, the following day.

One year later, the second procedure - neither have been overly successful however I have a way better quality of life now than I did before.

It's now 2017, I'm a healthy 67kgs, I weight train - I have the odd relapse where I'm awake at 4am with a spasm, chewing on antacids but other than that, I lead a relatively normal, happy, healthy existence.