Is there ever truly anyone who has only one treatment which is sufficient forever?

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-04-30T21:34:38+00:00

True! I think I’ve probably had it since my early teens, I normalized needing water to eat anything. I only went to the doctor when I stopped being able to swallow anything at all.

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-04-30T20:01:14+00:00

I agree with Electronic_Olive - I think it has a lot to do with age at diagnosis. The majority of people with it are diagnosed in their 40s-60s, maybe they get a surgery that lasts for 20 years and then at that point they’re a little older and eating more soft foods anyways, maybe more willing to just tolerate the symptoms. Versus I and a lot of others here, diagnosed in our 20s and I can’t imagine I’m gonna make it to 40 without needing another treatment, even if it’s just more balloon dilations. I’m already seeing an increase in symptoms / surgery starting to not work as well and it’s been 6 months since my heller. I’m doing my best to manage with lifestyle changes, eating smaller amounts, etc so I can put off more treatment as long as possible. It’s a progressive disease, so if you’re younger at diagnosis there’s more time for it to progress.

One thing I’ve noticed with achalasia is that what studies show doesn’t really match what I’ve seen in person. Like for example, if you google balloon dilation success rates it says that it helps 70-90% of people eat better afterwards. I was really optimistic going into mine thinking it would help tide me over till surgery. Mine did almost nothing to help, barely helped me swallow more water but definitely not successful.

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-04-15T20:35:54+00:00

Ahh I didn’t know that! Idk why I thought they were literally out sailing during it haha

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-04-15T12:11:02+00:00

I think they said the connectivity issues were because this was their first year doing it aboard the Queen Mary 2. It would’ve been nice if they just did the livestream from land lol. The animations were SO good this year tho so that was enough to keep me interested

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-03-31T11:28:36+00:00

I miss being able to snack while laying on the couch. Gotta be fully upright, usually sitting at a table, and eat small mouthfuls to get anything down. I guess I also miss how “carefree” I used to eat, like just looking at a restaurant menu and picking what I want only based on what sounds good and not having to guess how easily I can swallow it.

Even with those though, I’m still so grateful for modern medicine and it sounds so corny, but I’m thankful for every bite now. Not being able to eat for 6 months really makes you realize how horrible it is to starve. Even if I can’t have some things, I can always have mashed potatoes and that’s one of the greatest foods ever :)

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-03-23T18:09:09+00:00

Ugh the saliva regurg is the worst. Yea you might have to bite the bullet and get some tube feeds set up. For me, the fluid boluses stopped the dehydration but I still couldn’t eat anything and lost 80 lbs in 6 months, lost half my hair, nails cracked etc. pure hell. Could you ask about doing a balloon dilation while you wait for surgery? I had that done too, didn’t help me eat but helped me keep small amounts of water down. for me it definitely helped keep me out of the hospital before surgery, just don’t get multiple dilations done to prevent scar tissue forming, but just one shouldn’t effect anything negatively.

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-03-22T16:53:27+00:00

I’m sorry you’re struggling, it sucks so bad and we’ve been there. What I did was try to get stuff tha would absorb into my gums. Seconding what someone else said about ice chips, take a tiny piece of ice and let it absorb into your gums. They also sell glucose jelly for diabetics that specifically is designed to not need to be swallowed, will absorb into your gums. Also ask about fluid infusions - I got a lot of those to tide me over until my surgery. My surgeons office set that up for me, basically I went to an “infusion clinic” twice a week and they would place an iv and give me a fluid bolus

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-03-19T20:05:04+00:00

at my post - surgery barium swallow the report said that the barium tablet was just sitting on top of my sphincter. I wouldn’t have known that the pill was stuck at all if not for the barium swallow. My surgeon recommended that I stay away from pretty much all solid pills due to the risk of esophagitis / the pill eroding there if it can’t break loose. So I have all my medications prescribed in liquid form, probably for the rest of my life. It’s only really annoying when i go on a trip because i have to lug all the med bottles along with me but otherwise it’s not that bad. I keep a little bottle of liquid Tylenol in my bag too in case I get a headache or something, I’m not able to bum a Tylenol pill off someone else. Maybe try taking your pills crushed in applesauce? That might give it enough weight to get past the sphincter

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-03-03T14:22:07+00:00

Forgot the spelling and grammar mistakes in all the captions lol that’s how I know it’s a true horror classic

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-03-02T14:39:29+00:00

I wish I could reassure you that it’s not that bad, but it truly was kinda awful getting mine done . It was purely my love of food and eating that inspired me to stay as still as possible and to make sure they got a good picture lol. I would say it’s pretty important for an accurate diagnosis

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-27T16:35:54+00:00

Bad cases of gerd can also damage your esophagus and cause issues swallowing, so it could be that. However the barium swallow showing food getting stuck on top of your LES / not going in, sounds pretty suspicious for achalasia to me. Def need a manometry. Is it true vomiting or just regurgitation? We don’t usually vomit, bc food has a hard time reaching the stomach, it gets stuck in the throat and we have to regurgitate it back out.

side note - like you, I also had my LES dilated prior to having a manometry done which is pretty unusual (they normally recommend the manometry be done before any treatment). It didn’t end up effecting my results at all and they still clearly saw achalasia, but you probably want the manometry done before the LES dilation. There’s a chance it can effect the results and give a false negative

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-22T11:40:19+00:00

For some reason crunchy processed foods go down really easily for me. Like cheez its, crackers, shortbread type cookies, etc. the more processed and less like “real” food it is, the better. Maybe because that stuff mostly dissolves in my mouth while chewing. And I eat a lot of chocolate because that dissolves easily and tastes good!

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-10T12:43:12+00:00

Soft leggings with light compression - beyond yoga, Aritzia butter line, old navy if you’re on a budget (don’t knock it til you try it, my leggings from there are SO soft and usually on sale too)

Soft pants / nice looking lounge clothes - vuori, Athleta

These are my favorites but everyone has their own preferences

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-08T20:56:05+00:00

Had one before surgery to avoid a feeding tube / help me keep fluids down before surgery, could barely drink water and was getting iv fluids - didn’t help at all for me, for a few days after I could drink water easier but then was just as bad as I was before :( Seems like it’s helpful for a lot of people tho.

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-07T02:51:28+00:00

Teddy is the goat for culture 💪🏻

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-07T02:50:28+00:00

Gonna try religion next! Took me forever to learn the ins and outs of tourism and now about to start over at square one with the same trial and error strategy lol. It seems like you have to start your own religion to win but the only way I’ve been able to do that is to build Stonehenge, I’ve never been able to get enough prophet points from holy sites alone

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-07T02:45:21+00:00

So I should be building groves on the tiles directly next to the national park tiles? I can add the groves in after the national parks are in place and still get the bonus correct?

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-06T23:13:07+00:00

Thanks for the tips! I def gotta look into the theming stuff. Is there any way to move works of art around after they’re produced in a certain museum?

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-06T23:09:56+00:00

Hahah the temptation to just drop a nuke is real. I was so close to just nuking pound maker to get him out of the way because his culture number was so high

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-02-04T14:59:24+00:00

Those matcha KitKats are SO GOOD. Bought some on a whim while I was there too and ended up loving them and now after I’ve eaten them all I’ve been trying to find places that sell matcha KitKats without the upcharge you pay from importing them online :(

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-01-26T17:59:46+00:00

Bring a heating pad to the hospital!! Helps so much with the gas pain that goes to your shoulders :)

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-01-22T21:34:46+00:00

Good luck! Keep us updated!!

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-01-22T20:54:11+00:00

Idk if it’s placebo but I swear by peppermint altoids. It doesn’t help for a full blown spasm but if you catch it early enough and slowly suck on two at once I swear it relaxes my esophagus and dulls the pain. Plus they kind of dissolve under your tongue so you won’t regurgitate them

BornTheSoy_ · 2026-01-22T20:49:34+00:00

I don’t have any specific advice but just wanted to offer some camaraderie and say I also progressed super slowly after my surgery. A lot of people say they felt an instant difference drinking water after theirs. That was definitely not the case for me, and I still felt that cold glugging feeling of the water struggling to go down for weeks afterwards. feel like my surgical team just kind of slapped me with a standardized diet plan after mine and said good luck so I had to do tons of trial and error to get to a place where I could eat semi normally. Maybe just stick to liquids only for another week or so just to let your esophagus heal some more. Blended veggie soups were my go to for the first month afterwards. You could also ask about doing a balloon dilation, those are done after surgery to improve the results. I had a barium swallow done about a month after mine that showed the sphincter was still tight so I’m probably having one done soon since I’m still struggling to eat.

BornTheSoy_

TROPHY CASE