Gerdhater Linx Journal

Hi GH,

Have you contacted Dr. Lipham to discuss your difficulties?
His feedback might help.

Best,

Gastricman

day 17
Feb 16 2013


No major changes in breathing.

Definite reduction in volume of reflux.

No heartburn to speak of despite being on just 20 mg Nexium.

Stuck situations are starting to annoy me. I can't take a big bite else I risk choking for a couple of minutes. However, everything does goes down well upon chewing. Today, at dinner, I had a big bite and forgot to chew well. Cue a lot of pain and esophagus frantically trying to push and push. Taking a sip of water just made it worse and there was regurgitation. I was worried for a moment that I might aspirate all those contents back into lungs - choking IS dangerous from what I know. I am alive to tell the tale, but I don't want to be having these situations any more at all.

It most certainly is not pleasant, the stuck situation and one I am quite looking forwarding to getting rid of. I will be happy if it resolves in 6 months from now.

Exercise (ellipticals) seems to induce some reflux. Again, I am not sure if what is reflux is actually reflux or brain interpreting some esophageal pain as reflux. I don't "feel" anything refluxy except for the pain. Better picture will emerge once I kick Nexium completely next Wednesday.

I have to say that I had my doubts regarding the strength of my esophagus prior to getting the Linx. My manometry was almost 2 years old. But, I did not want to push too hard on getting it done because (1) It would push back my surgery and (2) I did not think the eso could get better on its own with just the PPIs.

GH

Post Edited (gerd_hater) : 2/16/2013 9:20:51 PM (GMT-7)

BG,

Thanks for the opinion. I am going to get back to 20 mg twice daily until everything calms down wrt the mechanics. You are right about packing it in - cannot afford to do that.
These days my lunch/dinner takes comfortably more than 30 mins. As long as I don't pack it in, things are ok...

GH

BG,

I thought you did not have a barrier at all with the Linx ? If so, why does it cause you dysphagia, especially after an year out ?

GH

BG,

If I am understanding correctly, it seems you face "slow" peristalsis while the rest of us some times face "stopped" peristalsis.

GH

BG,

It is concerning though that you still face slow peristalsis after an year with the Linx. Seems like I missed this point in my research prior to getting the Linx.

At this moment, do you have any other reasonable discomfort from the Linx ?

GH

GH,

You have to keep in mind that what I have experienced regarding my linx is not typical. I am not an example of the "normal" linx patient. My symptoms and experience is not the same as a the majority of linx patients.

The slow emptying does not bother me. I just have to eat slowly, thats all.

Gastricman said...


Could it be that the magetic beads on the Linx are too strong, or that the peristalsis is a bit weak?

I wouldn't worry about if they are too strong just yet. It's common for the dysphagia to happen during this time of recovery and longer. I still have it going on too - but it's slowly (very slowly) getting better.

I just don't want GH to get worried about something when it is considered "normal" right now.

But FYI - it IS annoying and can be SUPER painful. But still worth not having heartburn!

Gastricman said...
Hi NDL,

What I really fear about this type of dysphagia is the frequency and intensity of it.
If the dysphagia does get better, that's great. Does it ever stop, though (and about when?)

Guess this is my only hangup about the Linx, especially after reading the link I posted above.

Best,

GM


P.S. I'm the one who is probably more worried, LOL. [img]/community/emoticons/smilewinkgrin.gif[/img]

Maybe I'm just biased since I feel SO MUCH BETTER since LINX lol. I feel like a brand new person! So to me it's worth it and I have felt where it's slowly getting better... maybe I'm just being super optimistic .. which is rare because usually I'm negative nelly!

I just didn't want you to worry too much or anything. :)

The slow eating thing does get old quickly - but overall it helps with digestion and not over eating - so it's a good thing, right? LOL

Yeah the slow eating does get old and I don't think much about it. Not having heartburn or volume reflux is far better than having to eat slowly. Dunno about over eating though - if anything I am significantly overeating.

Off topic but perhaps the progress in technology has our sights set very high on recovering from any kind of problem (which is good), but the limitations and boundaries are real. Add to it the two headed beast that is regulation and it is a complicated landscape (Torax was founded in 2002!). A few years ago, I think plenty more people would've been happier with the set of tradeoffs that we now know with Linx.

GH

I've never had a hamburger, so I couldn't say for sure !

But, I did have a regular veggie burger the other day and it took me 30 mins+ (big size burger). It could've been affected by my watching the superbowl at the time, though !

Everything is much more natural and the body establishes its own pace when your mind is somewhere else. I typically tend to be reading news when eating, so a few times I've "packed" it in unknowingly and suffered for it, but now my body seems to be adjusting to this new pace.

Hey GH,

Surprised to see you on page two of this thread. ;)
Feeling better with the dysphagia? How about an update?

Respectfully,

GM