Esophageal problem: food gets stuck, swallowing issues

Hello! I had a manometry in 2015. It was not pleasant. They insert a tube up your nose, down your throat and into your stomach. When the tech put the tube up my nose on one side, it started to bleed. He tried the other nostril and got the same result. So... as I am trying to take sips of water and swallow them, blood is running down my face. The swallowing part was horrible for me... as it usually takes me 4-9 attempts at swallowing to actually swallow anyway. I was diagnosed with unspecified motility disorder & dysphagia... no solutions on how to fix. I continue to suffer.
The test came about because I found a lump in my throat (5 thyroid nodules) which led to finding a hiatal hernia & twisted stomach. Had a Nissen fundoplication which broke down within 2 years, had a Toupet fundoplication in 2015... been suffering ever since.
I was told the nose bleed was probably because I have a deviated septum.
Good luck. It is a necessary test to prove you ARE struggling to swallow!! It is so scarey... and it changes your whole eating style. I can't do so many foods because of choking... like loose meat hamburger or Doritos. Chew, chew, chew! Small bites, puddings, mashed potatoes, shakes, etc are the best. I have lost 90 pounds through all of this!!

Over the last 20 yrs I have gone through much of what you describe... but NOT to your extent ... the Deviated septum and nose fix was the easy part.. with a really great ENT surgeon.. later I was having a lot of Reflux problems I had a Nissen fundoplication that was a dismal failure... as I lost 50 pounds.. ( a male weighing I95 at 5'-10") ..eating (which I enjoyed soooo much) became nearly impossible... so after 2 months of the local central Iowa docs tried to figure out what was wrong I went to Mayo MN and the GI dept found out in a day the condition was post-operative Gastroparesis.. This affliction can be quite different in each of us... but the slowing of the emptying of the stomach in my case was caused by damage to the hairnet like system of nerves that make the stomach empty .. in essence we have to depend a lot on gravity to do the work... and your Chew, chew, small bites, puddings, stews, etc is the means of coping.. we have to eat to sustain life ...but when eating causes pain and associated problems, the focus of life shifts...Mayo GI doc said that 1 in 6 Nissens fail... so there are a lot of us out there... Have you had a diagnosis of Gastroparesis? ... seeing the Mayo Nutritionist help me ... I can eat nuts, avocados, and most things except rough or gummy things like Broccoli, cabbage, soft bread, lettuce/green leaves .. crisp stalks are ok .. .. You won't get a lot of understanding from others who can just shovel the food in... we have to eat slowly and not too much at one time... so Mayo prescribed Mirtazapine.. a mild anti-depressant... to help me "cope with eating".... I have gained back 25 pounds... and enjoy desserts ..ice cream... and smoothies... I am 82.. I have been reading the fairly new biography of Thomas Edison.. he had gastroparesis too.. and he would subsist on milk and an occasional something else.. Good Luck.. Get good advice..

@engelee There are many conditions with the symptom of difficulty swallowing. You will probably need more test to figure out what is causing your symptoms. There are many types of swallowing tests. I think I have about had them all. The one I have had the most is just swallowing barium and a fluoroscope follows the process while a dr follows the progress taking photos or videos. You swallow the barium while in different positions.. standing, turning to side and the same while lying on the table and then lying on your stomach in different positions. Usually the test ends with standing and swallowing a barium tablet.

I have achalasia, esophageal spasms, and Barrett's esophagus I eat a soft diet and eat no raw fruits or vegetables except ripe banana. I am able to eat nuts and small amounts of finally chopped dried fruits like raisins and craisins. Breads.. some I cannot eat and others I can.. trial and error. I can only eat white potatoes in soup. I eat tender meats and chew everything thoroughly before swallowing .. small spoonful amounts. Everyone is different.. some can only handle pureed foods and some can handle raw fruits and veggies.

I am told in an episode of food and/or water not going down to go to ER if it does not move down into stomach within an hour because of the chance of aspirating. You have to bear in mind that it takes a bit to get a dr there and a room set up for the endoscopy to remove any blockage.

ZeeGee

Just a thought: has anyone suggested Eosinophilic Esophagitis? It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the esophagus and is an autoimmune disease. The main symptom is feeling like something is stuck in the throat plus often heartburn/reflux. A friend was just diagnosed. Hope you can figure it out.
Theresa

Thanks for your thoughtful idea. My gastroenterologist, Dr. Connor Loftus, had them biopsy my esophagus for cancer and EoE: All were negative. He is out of town,but, I think I have a chronic condition called “aschalia” . There are laparoscopicinterventions, but depends on pt. Status. The scary part is the literature says the end stage of this condition is removal of esophagus and placement of feeding tube. My gosh, I already have 2ostomies!. But, cart way ahead of horse. First, I trust God and then I completely trust Dr. Loftus at Mayo R.

This also sounds like possibility since was born with birth defect of bladder extophy .. Got ureterosigmoidostomy at 5 and had severe diverticulitis by 70 & sepsis. Dr. Heidi Nelson and Dr.Igor Fran operated on me and I got 2 ostomies. But the surgery was extremely difficult because left colon adhered to left pelvic area and had enlargement of portion of bowel. So with that surgery maybe .

@englee I go to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. At the beginning of May of last year I had to go and have my esophagus dilated again. With the spasms and achalasia it can get quite painful. At the end of May I had severe episode again of the food and liquids stuck.. and again at the end of July and August. I did not go to the ER. I have had a few minutes episodes since. I am due to go back in May for a checkup on the Barretts and dilation if needed.

I have had three surgeries at the Mayo there.. long story, but due to a large paraesophageal hernia and complications. Dr Bowers is an excellent surgeon... he did the last two surgeries... my body does weird things though 🥺 After the second surgery I had a feeding tube for over a year. I see Dr Francis and her NP, Lois Hemminger now and am pleased with them.

There are several people on connect who have had surgeries for the achalasia. I will probably be at a point sometime down the road. Use the search option to look for the discussions on it. I cannot think of the names of the surgery options. Maybe first try “achalasia surgery”.

Best of luck,
ZeeGee

Thank you so much, your information very helpful.

Please check out our discussion on achalasia. I had an endoscopy, barium swallow and esophageal manometry before receiving my diagnosis. Good luck to you.

So it will be a year next month since I had Nissen Fundoplication & Hiatal Hernia surgery. I've had difficulty with swallowing and stomach cramping on and off this whole time ? My surgeon kept telling me it would get better and it has only gotten worse ! He's scheduleing me for upper endoscopy ! Has anyone else had problems with this ??? I've felt for long time now something doesn't feel right ! Even taking sips off water is painful .( Male, 56 years old )