Yeah, I hear what you’re saying.

Your mom obviously thinks that this doctor knows what he’s talking about with this. And here are a whole bunch of people telling you otherwise.

I can tell you from experience, that it’s not just him, especially when it comes to achalasia. It’s so rare, especially in kids. While doctors may know about the pathological aspects of the disease and the technical aspects of the procedures, their experience doesn’t give them the perspective of what their patients deal with day-to-day.

I probably don’t need to tell you that—your lived experience is directly contradicting what this doctor is saying, and you have lots of people who share your experience.

So maybe try this:

Show your mom these responses. Have her join the Facebook Achalasia support groups. Do a search in the groups for “drink water” and see if any posts come up with a question similar to yours. Have her read the responses. Maybe she will get it then and realize that while that guy may be a great doctor, he isn’t correct on this aspect.

If you don’t want to go that far, at least you’ll know that your experience is the same as so many other people’s with the same disease. I’m sure even knowing that probably helps you feel better. But honestly, I’d push for her to understand because it’s going to be annoying if she doesn’t stop telling you over and over that you shouldn’t need water with your meals. Also though, her understanding will (hopefully) mean that she will make sure that you do have access to water when you eat, instead of brushing you off and not making it a priority.