Aperistalsis: anyone else been diagnosed with this?

@lillian32, I've added your question to the Digestive Health group as well as the Neuropathy group. I'm not familiar with aperistalsis. Has it been suggested that this might be a early stage that could lead to achalasia? How might this be related to the peripheral neuropathy and/or spinal cord myelopathy?

@lillian32 I have never heard of aperistalsis, but feel sorry for you having this problem. It sound like now fun. I hope someone can help you. I found Mayo Clinic very helpful for my problem I feel Colleen Young had a good answer for you. I hope you get better.

Hi. I’m still waiting to see a gastroenterologist. Due to Covid it might not be until next year. So I don’t know if it’s early stage Achalasia or not. My neurologist only sees it from his point of view so he’s interested in seeing biopsy results before he makes a decision whether it’s related to my Neuro disease or something else. I also have Sarcoidosis so it’s possible it’s related to that too.

Thank you. I’ve had vomiting for many years and it was suspected I had an eating disorder. I’m kind of pleased this was found because it explains the vomiting. I always knew it was physical and not psychological but persuading Doctors has been harder.

@lillian32

May I ask what type of stomach surgery you were having a work up for?

I have heard the term aperistalsis. Basically it is the lack of involuntary muscle movement. The esophagus is a muscle. When we swallow that is one push of the food down and then the esophagus usually pushes with movement the food down to the stomach where it should push the food through an opening into the stomach.

Basically it is the same as achalasia. The Mayo Clinic's description is:

“Achalasia is a rare disorder that makes it difficult for food and liquid to pass from the swallowing tube connecting your mouth and stomach (esophagus) into your stomach.

Achalasia occurs when nerves in the esophagus become damaged. As a result, the esophagus becomes paralyzed and dilated over time and eventually loses the ability to squeeze food down into the stomach. Food then collects in the esophagus, sometimes fermenting and washing back up into the mouth, which can taste bitter. Some people mistake this for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, in achalasia the food is coming from the esophagus, whereas in GERD the material comes from the stomach.

There's no cure for achalasia. Once the esophagus is paralyzed, the muscle cannot work properly again. But symptoms can usually be managed with endoscopy, minimally invasive therapy or surgery.“

More on the symptoms and treatment here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/achalasia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352850

When I swallow I have a spasm at the back of my throat. Then sometimes a spasm above my stomach. My food basically drops from the back of my throat to above my stomach.. the esophagus does no squeezing motion to move the food down. Food, medications, and liquids will sometimes stack in my esophagus. It is difficult to tell when this is happening until nothing will go down. Sometimes I can tell ahead of time if I have taken my oxycodone and have none of the signs of it kicking in. So far I have avoid the emergency room.

At the link above it gives information on treatments to help. There is no cure. So far with me dilation has worked.

There are several discussions on Connect about achalasia. Use the search option above this post to the right .. click on a spyglass (magnifying glass) located to the left the bell, envelop and your profile photo or shadow. Type in or copy and paste (I don't spell as well as I used to 😁) into the box achalasia.

Ask anything you want and the people in this community will try their best to answer. We are not health professionals, but we learn a lot in our journeys that might help others.

ZeeGee

Hi. I was supposed to be having a new type of surgery for reflux. It’s part of a clinical trial in a large teaching hospital. I’m getting lung fibrosis and Bronchiectasis from inhaling the reflux. Looks like it’s a bit more complicated than the surgeons initially thought.

@lillian32

I know how awful the vomiting is... sometimes it has been the food just come back up. Now it doesn't want to do either. Food nor water will go down. They say if it last for more than two hours to go to ER.

Make sure you have the head of your bed raised. I have slept in my recliner at times.

Eat slowly... small meals. Maybe every two or three hours during the day. I have to eat soft foods.. tender meats. I do best with ground beef for meat. I cannot tolerate raw foods other than a ripe banana. I had to have a gastric bypass to fix the hiatal hernia that kept the acid going. I had a Nissen Fundoplication years before that but it failed and the repairs failed. I now also have Barrett's esophagus.

You will probably have a barium swallow test and an endoscopy to tell exactly what is going on. This swallow test involves drinking barium while maneuvering around on a table and the radiologist watches a fluoroscope as you swallow and takes pictures. During the endoscopy they will take biopsies as well as pictures. There are other esophagus problems than achalasia... the tests should sort it out.

ZeeGee

@lillian32 you may also be interested in following the discussions in these groups:
- Lung Health https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/lung-conditions/
- Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: How are you dealing with it? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sarcoidosis-2c9d88/
- MAC & Bronchiectasis https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/mac-bronchiectasis/

I've just been diagnosed with aperistalsis of the esophagus. I've been having terrible vomiting this year. I can bend over to tie my shoes and lose the contents of my stomach. I can be driving, sitting up, and puke in my mouth. I have grotesque belching. I am not nauseous. It just comes up unexpectedly. I had esophageal manometry and pH monitoring to diagnose the lack of peristalsis and reflux since the lower esophageal sphincter doesn't close. I was told that the leading cause of aperistalsis is scleroderma. I was referred to Rheumatology. The testing there shows that I have autoimmune positive tests, but not positive for scleroderma. "Undifferentiated autoimmune disorder." They will repeat the tests in one year to see if it's progressive. I will be having fundoplication surgery in December. I also have a hiatal hernia that will be repaired at the same time.