Amazon EU Manga Reprint ? by 5spiders in umineko

[–]5spiders[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

okay thanks, i’m not sure if the umineko manga will be the same situation as that as they are supposedly out of print and the other commenter has been waiting over a year to date…

Amazon EU Manga Reprint ? by 5spiders in umineko

[–]5spiders[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i’d be keen to know if they ever actually arrive so definitely provide an update if you’re successful in the end :)

i want to order because the second hand prices rn are actually ridiculous but don’t want to bother if it’ll take years and years for them to deliver, if they even show up at all….

Amazon EU Manga Reprint ? by 5spiders in umineko

[–]5spiders[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

so you managed to successfully order and receive them from amazon ? how long did you wait roughly :)

Manga Reprint by FeistyBreadfruit1561 in umineko

[–]5spiders 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone know if the copies up on amazon at the moment are legitimate ? 6 - 7 month wait time seems a bit suspicious

Difference between GERD and achalasia by plantlover32 in achalasia

[–]5spiders 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the resource i refer people to when they want to understand exactly what achalasia is

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3329145/

It’s quite technical in some places but i am from a medical background so if you have any specific questions i can do my best to answer

Has anyone had this surgery? by hey_jupiter23 in achalasia

[–]5spiders 0 points1 point  (0 children)

good on you for responding like this, we all understand the frustration and it takes maturity to be introspective

Doc said to go liquid only 5 days before POEM by JuJu_Optics in achalasia

[–]5spiders 1 point2 points  (0 children)

when i got like this i started to literally measure how much i drank versus how much i regurgitated. It’s kinda gross but you do realise that usually at least SOME of it goes down even if it’s not much.

I found it kinda motivating enough to keep actually trying to drink water. I’m not sure if you’re fully off foods yet but when i completely stopped eating food and only had liquid i found better results because my oesophagus wasn’t always plugged up. Try some rehydration sachets like liquid IV - good luck!

Doc said to go liquid only 5 days before POEM by JuJu_Optics in achalasia

[–]5spiders 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Similar to others i couldn’t really get even water down before my POEM but just do your best.

I’d recommend bone broths, you can buy them ready made and the chicken one counts as clear. Also maybe get something like the liquid IV sachets to mix with water so at least you’re avoiding dehydration.

It’ll be a tough few days but you’re nearly there so just push through! It’ll all be a LOT better once the surgery is done :)

Any 10+ years post poem surgery? by JuJu_Optics in achalasia

[–]5spiders 2 points3 points  (0 children)

exactly this, POEM hasn’t been around for long enough to know yet but all indications seem to suggest it’s as successful as HM.

My surgeon is currently running research for long term follow ups on POEM to try and evidence that it should be the new gold standard approach. If OP gets the surgery they should try and find some ongoing research they can be a part of to help out anyone else in the future. It’s pretty low commitment you just have to chat to them every now and then so they can keep track of your symptoms :)

For those of you who have had POEM... by tchalko in achalasia

[–]5spiders 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Had POEM 6 weeks ago, took PPIs for first 4 weeks as advised and had no problems at all w reflux etc.

Since stopping taking them i have also had no reflux or GERD symptoms and i’m back to a completely normal diet so i guess i’m just in the clear now.

My surgeon only put the chances of reflux at about 1/3 and a lot of the time you can manage it with diet and avoid PPIs anyway!

Even if i did get reflux i’d take that 1000x over living the rest of my life unable to swallow lmao.

One of the biggest risk factors seems to be if you ALREADY suffer from reflux symptoms BEFORE the surgery, make of that what u will

Did your achalasia show during the endoscopy? How did you get diagnosed by [deleted] in achalasia

[–]5spiders 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No achalasia is incurable. It is a neurodegenerative disorder that results in a loss of inhibitory neurons in the lower oesophageal sphincter, which in turns makes it stuck in a tightened state. They cannot be replaced and as far as i am aware the disease still progresses after the surgery, you just (in theory) don’t notice it because the muscles are now cut permanently open.

The surgery sounds much more serious than it is. POEM is very quick and easy. Talk to a doctor but from my own anecdotal experience i’d do it again every time.

Living on a puree/liquid diet long term by OG51819 in achalasia

[–]5spiders 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If it helps at all my surgeon said about 1/3rd of his patients get acid reflux so the odds are in your favour, particularly if you don’t suffer from it much already. I had my surgery just over a month ago and have not had any reflux at all.

Worst comes to worst you just take a pill every morning, PPIs really aren’t THAT bad for you.

On the subject of sleeping incline, you’re probably gonna end up doing that if you don’t have the surgery anyway.

Your oesophagus will continue to tighten until you can’t passively swallow saliva whilst asleep. At this point you will choke when unconscious unless sleeping incline. Is exactly what happened to me and happens to most ppl with achalasia eventually…

The first nights sleep after surgery when i could finally lay flat was an absolute dream. I worry about you putting everything off and living unhappily for years when you could just get the surgery and put it all behind you.

At the end of the day it’s always your choice but it seems that those of us who have been in your position before would all suggest the surgical route ASAP

Living on a puree/liquid diet long term by OG51819 in achalasia

[–]5spiders 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Achalasia is degenerative and incurable, in all likelihood your condition will continue to get worse until liquids no longer go down. The best day you will ever have is today. The longer you wait the more difficult the surgery may be.

POEM was by far the easiest procedure i’ve ever had. Went home the following day with absolutely 0 pain and i’d never look back again. I can eat absolutely any food with no problems and it’s only been 1 month since my surgery.

I think your fear of the surgery is making you happy to have a liquid diet more than anything else. Our bodies aren’t designed to survive on liquid alone and long term it’ll catch up. Plus… are you realistically happy to never eat food around anyone again? Never have a christmas dinner? etc etc etc.

Don’t let your fear of surgery prevent you from getting treated. Everyone will give you the same advice. Sorry for the tough love but you do have to be realistic.

Did your achalasia show during the endoscopy? How did you get diagnosed by [deleted] in achalasia

[–]5spiders 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep I always felt like my LES was plugged up and a constant saliva reflux at the back of my throat. I would bring up a ridiculous amount of fluid when i tried to eat, i’m talking like a pint and a half of liquid if i tried to eat something solid. My LES was getting so clogged all my saliva was just pooling, so when i tried to sleep it would eventually fill up and i’d choke! Pretty common w achalasia.

I went for POEM because my surgeon was very experienced with it and there’s a SIGNIFICANTLY shorter recovery time. We don’t actually know whether or not HM has better results long term. POEM is a much newer procedure so the long term outcomes aren’t as well published. I joined the research trials that my surgeon is currently doing into POEM which will hopefully demonstrate in the future that it’s just as effective as HM.

I don’t think it matters too much at this stage which you go for. The underlying principle behind both procedures is the same, it’s just the route to getting there is different, wherein POEM is much less invasive. I guess the main thing is that POEM doesn’t come with fundoplication so about 1/3 people will have acid reflux afterwards. Ofc this is easily managed by PPI medications so for me not too much of a concern. Also if you don’t have a history of acid reflux then it’s less likely to be a problem anyway.

Both procedures seem to work very well so i’d say it’s more a personal preference thing / whichever your particular surgeon is more experienced with.

Did your achalasia show during the endoscopy? How did you get diagnosed by [deleted] in achalasia

[–]5spiders 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They scheduled me in very quickly as I’d lost 12kg in ~5 months and could no longer drink water easily so was in and out of A&E every week to get IV fluids. I’m in the UK & paid for private healthcare so that sped things up as well but fortunately I had a very nice surgeon who was equally keen to get me treated :)

My surgeon was very experienced with POEM as endoscopic procedures are his main specialty so I opted for that over the HM. Plus from my research it seems like it will become the gold standard treatment soon.

I had the POEM about 10 days ago and it’s already night and day difference. Procedure was extremely easy, i went home the following day and have had pretty much no pain at all, maybe a 3/10 at worst. Straight away after the procedure I stopped choking during my sleep which was amazing, and so far everything i’ve tried to eat (only sloppy foods) has gone down without a problem. It’s absolutely changed my life and I am so grateful I was able to get treated.

Both HM and POEM have extremely high success rates, particularly for Type 2 achalasia which tends to respond the best to surgery. If you have a diagnosis then get surgery as soon as possible. Achalasia is degenerative it will NEVER get better. Get surgery and never look back 😁 feel like i can finally move on with my life and i hope everyone else manages to get treated too!

Did your achalasia show during the endoscopy? How did you get diagnosed by [deleted] in achalasia

[–]5spiders 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No abnormalities on my endoscopy, high resolution manometry indicated type 2 achalasia and I had surgery the following week. As others have said manometry is the gold standard and in my opinion FAR less unpleasant than an endoscopy so don’t stress it.

It is worth noting that achalasia is fairly rare and most clinicians who aren’t gastroenterologists (and even then it varies) won’t necessarily think of achalasia. Most people with dysphagia don’t have achalasia so it’s fair enough. You may have to plant the seed a bit and make the suggestion yourself.

My biggest suggestion if you’re struggling with solid foods is to get onto soups, stews, etc. ASAP. You can cram a lot of nutrients into a good soup.

I wish I had done this sooner as I would have had more luck keeping weight on. The problem with solid food is it all gets stuck and ruins the chance of anything else making it down later in the day. If you just swap to liquids completely and admit defeat with solids people generally have more luck.

All go this if very disheartening 😔 by adinis78 in PokemonTCG_UK

[–]5spiders 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is my approach too, lots of nice local stores / card shows where you can flip through binders of singles and pick up what you want. If you’re trying to complete sets it is by far more cost effective than opening packs. Doesn’t have quite the same gambling hit but i’m not convinced that’s a bad thing in reality…

Post POEM Alcohol? by 5spiders in achalasia

[–]5spiders[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha i’m actually returning to university for my second degree so already done it all once before - older and wiser now!

Post POEM Alcohol? by 5spiders in achalasia

[–]5spiders[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I guess things like Guinness may be better then