@hopeful33250 Dear Teresa,

I am new to Mayo Clinic's chats as of today. My internal medicine doctor told me to contact Mayo or Vanderbilt to seek help with my situation, so this is the beginning of that journey.

All of my medical problems began last fall. On September 20, 2022, someone rear-ended me while I was slowing driving straight. The old SUV hit me so hard it knocked me from the middle of our Cracker Barrel to the end of it! I have a sliding hiatal hernia and a herniated thoracic disc because of it.

On October 13, 2022, I underwent a parotidectomy on the left side. Immediately upon waking, I reported that my eyesight was "way off." In December, an opthalmologist confirmed that my vision had drastically changed. I now have a lazy left eye and will undergo surgery in September to fix it. Also, I had great difficulty swallowing for several months following the surgery. Even today I can't dry swallow without really thinking about it.

One month after the parotidectomy, the ENT's resident discovered that I *did not* lose feeling in my left ear as all other patients experience as a result of this surgery. The operative notes state that the left greater auricular nerve was "sacrificed," but obviously it wasn't. I have full feeling in my left earlobe. Some other nerve must have been cut by accident.

By December 2022, my eight back teeth began eroding at a rapid pace with fillings falling out too! I was completely dumbfounded by the cause. My dentist replaced the fillings and asked me how long I'd suffered from GERD. GERD had never been an issue for me, but he said it was the culprit. My molars are at most 2/3 of their height last summer.

By March, I noticed that I was packing on weight. I also noticed that neither food nor liquid was moving through my stomach as it always had. The swelling was so intense after eating a small meal that I looked four months pregnant and was in horrible pain. I also noticed that I wasn't sleeping well at night and wasn't dreaming anymore either.

Between March and June, my body was building in toxicity. I could barely lift anything, my range of motion was greatly diminished, I ached all over, and I was succumbing to depression. I gained 20 pounds between September and June 7.

At midnight on June 7, I went to the ER by ambulance due to Level 9 abdominal pain. The only relief I could find was lying flat on the floor with my arms stretched over my head. After doing this for an hour, I finally received a room with no electronics or pillow, only a bed and a sheet. I fell asleep on my stomach with my arms overhead. No one came for FOUR HOURS! It was two more hours before I had a CT scan and an abdominal ultrasound. By then, there was nothing to be seen because whatever the obstruction was in my stomach had moved on.

One week after that I noticed I had lost seven pounds since the ER visit. I have not been able to lose any since then, even though I am on a very restricted diet. My range of motion returned, and my muscles began to rebound. The swelling and pain in my extremities and the depression subsided.

I recently had a Double Contrast UGI. During the test, the radiology resident and his nurse kept discussing the lack of barium in the duodenum. They took extra measures to finally see drainage and then didn't bother mentioning that in the radiology report. To me, it seems there is something wrong with my pyloric sphincter. Lying on my stomach and stretching seem to open the sphincter and facilitates stomach-content flow.

One year ago I was the picture of health with only high cholesterol. Today I have the following ongoing issues.

confirmed gastroparesis
sliding hiatal hernia
lazy left eye
abnormal amylase level
GERD
Barrett's Esophagus
loss of gag reflex
uvula that hangs to the right when activated
uneven palate
fast tooth erosion
uncontrollable weight gain
spots on liver
stones in kidneys
leukopenia
nighttime frequency
sleep apnea
gastritis
abdominal pain and bloating
(and probably a few more that have escaped me at the moment)

Since June 7, I have been thinking about why lying on my stomach with my arms stretched overhead suddenly makes my stomach move, my pyloric sphincter open, and my stomach contents flow loudly and quickly down my duodenum within 2-3 minutes. I have to stop and do this all day long to combat the bloating and pain.

I write all of that to demonstrate I am in need of Mayo Clinic's help. My internist is in partial retirement and no longer makes referrals, he said. In my consult with him today, he recommended that I reach out to Vanderbilt or Mayo Clinic which specializes in problems such as mine. The leading suspicion is that either my left vagus nerve is pinched due to cervical instability (from the car accident) or is damaged (from being mistaken for the auricular nerve in the parotidectomy).

Please direct me to the right department that can help me determine if I can be diagnosed and/or join studies at Mayo Clinic. I need to know for sure what has happened to me to know what help is available. Thank you for your time and help.