I had an Endoscopy and Barex procedure six weeks ago to remove Barrett's which had a small area of lo grade displacia. After the procedure I wasn't able to swallow many foods stuff like sandwiches, hot veggies, potatoes with cheese. I tried eating some cvold cereal once that was a bit soggy and I had the problem, but I could eat the same cereal with no milk. I could eat ice cream, soup, cold salads and hard food like chips, nuts and popcorn. My doc suspected I had developed some scar tissue, so last week I went back in for another endoscopy. The doc said he could see nothing amiss but dialated my esophagus to see if that would solve the problem. I feel some better, but still experience most of the same symptoms just about
any time I try to eat regular food.
Without really understanding how the esophagus functions, it almost seems like something triggers the muscles to clamp shut. I swallow, but the food doesn't make it all the way down. I take a few more bites and begin to feel some reflux-type pain. I also feel pain like I need to burp but I can't. If I drink water it just gets worse. It is like the plumbing is plugged up. I go to the toilet, regurgitate the last four or five swallows of food (which seems to come from my esophogus, not my stomach) and then I am able to burp, which I usually do several times. I wait ten or fifteen minutes, and then often I can eat the same food I couldn't eat before, if I eat slowly and take very small bites.
I am trying to figure out what causes my esophogus to constrict (my sense of what is going on) - maybe it is hot food, maybe it is the consistency of the food, being spongy or sticky or solid, maybe it is spicey food (although I don't eat much spicey food actually.) I'm going to experiment to see if I can figure out what is triggering this.