I know this is a long shot and it's not a medical forum, but I'm seeking any information I can get while I wait for further testing and consultation from a few specialists. Since I was young enough to take pills, I've always had trouble. I never was able to swallow very easily, and a few times the pills would get stuck. This has been happening more frequently over the past few years. There have been two times where food got stuck (once when I was in high school 10 years ago, and another just a few months ago). 10 years ago I had an upper EGD done, and they found a stricture that they dialated. Up until about a year ago, that seemed to solve the problem. About this time last year, I started experiencing a lump in my throat feeling that felt like post nasal drip. It never really got any worse than that. Occasionally food would feel like it would go down slowly, and although I wasn't taking medicine regularly, I had a few pain pills get stuck occasionally. I decided to get another upper EGD done, and I had it done this July. The doctor said he did find the same stricture, but this time my esophagus was furrowed and very inflamed. He suspected Eosinophilic Esophagitis which is basically an allergic reaction. After the biopsies were done, it was confirmed by Eosinophill count was off the charts. Now, the next step is to see an allergist and have a battery of allergy tests done which they can't fit me in until October. I had a RAST test done a week ago and it shows I'm mildly allergic to a variety of pet dander, dust mites, and VERY allergic to mold (alternaria to be specific). This diagnosis is very new to the medical field, so there's very little information on it, other than it's not curable and it's USUALLY thought to be brought on by food allergies. The thing is, I don't have any history of food allergies, and I'm not sure what/if could be causing it. The treatment plan for now is to continue swallowing Flovent (not inhaling), and do a 6 food elimination diet (eggs, milk, nuts, soy, wheat, shellfish). That pretty much eliminates everything, and for the time being, I haven't been doing it. Has anyone heard of this, or know someone who had been diagnosed with it? If so, let me know any information you may have (you may PM me). And before anyone recommends it, I'm currently seeing several doctors about it, I'm just asking here for the off chance that someone might have some insight.
Never heard of it Matt, but I've always had trouble swallowing pills when taken with water...Soda usually sends them right down.. and occasionally food will get stuck... what a painful moment that is until it goes down... But as far as your diagnosis... never heard of it. Good Luck though!
You’re describing “Dysphagia” . Google it. There are lots of causes. Did they consider Barrett’s Esophagus as a possible cause? Just a thought.
Coming from a Hypochondriac/Carcinophobic Googling your symptoms is the most efficient way to convince yourself, that you are dying.
Yep, I know all about Dysphagia. It is a symptom of Eosinophillic Esophagitis, as is a Eosinophill count of >15 per high power field...mine was 70 The furrowed esophagus is also a tell-tale sign. I will ask about any dysplasia found in the biopsies to see if they think it may be Barrett's, although I'm sure they would have mentioned it if they believed it to be the case.
I google all my symptoms... I don't think I am dying... I just hate going to the doctor without understanding the symptoms to pay attention to. I will say I get my self diagnosis correct most of the time but I still can't write myself a prescription... another unnecessary governmental interference.
Good luck Matt. I have no expertise, but on the food allergy front, I've never been allergic to anything, but in the last year and a half I've developed a sensitivity to peanuts. It's weird, one day I have a couple handfuls and my stomach got all weird & I had slight inflammation in my tongue/throat. ... hasn't stopped me from eating them on occasion though. I can't still 'feel' it with a bite of PB.
I have no expertise about your condition either, but I have had experience with food allergies. I used to have stomach issues and get migraines quite a bit. I would just deal with the stomach aches and get meds for the migraines and that is how I would handle those problems. Someone asked me if I had any food allergies and I said...nope. Well, I was thinking food allergies meaning my tongue swells and my throat closes. It turns out, that is just the extreme cases of allergies. So, I went to a Chiropractic office and had some food allergy testing done. He explained it more like food sensitivity and I sure had the symptoms for that. Turned out that I was sensitive to gluten. It would cause slight inflammation in my intestines, which was causing my stomach issues. I completely eliminated gluten from my diet for 6 weeks and my stomach issues went away completely and did not have 1 migraine. I am still able to eat gluten, but I do so in moderation. If I sit down and have a giant plate of pasta and add some bread in there, I sure can feel the difference, but it is nothing like it used to be.
I work on the business side of healthcare and have a Masters - well, will have a Masters in about 3 weeks. That said, to go ahead and clear myself you should consult your physician(s), my suggestions should not be considered qualified or sound medical advice. I did read your entire post, just wanted to be off the hook Have you requested to have a cortisone shot? If not call your doctor and request one - they will probably be hesitant to give one to you. It kind of depends on your health history. That said, allergies are often treated with a strait cortisone shot and it is amazing how effective they can be. They will probably say that they don't want to give you more than 2 of them a year because it can have major side effects - any web search can tell you about the side effects to the shot. Tell them you want a cortisone injection and be done with it. I'd be surprised if that doesn't help cure you. I'm not a doctor - again I work on the business side. But doctors nation wide over prescribe medications in this country. You have trouble swallowing pills - then why are they giving you pills to swallow? Not to mention that those pills don't seem to be helping much. The human body is a tricky thing, just because certain medicines communicate well in one person doesn't mean that they well play nicely in another person. It's amazing how long it can take to get into see an Allergist. Does anyone know why? That's right folks, we have a physician shortage in this country. Does anyone know what healthcare reform will do to our primary care physicians? They are going to have higher patient volumes, we don't have enough primary care physicians in this country to handle a higher volume of patients. So you don't like waiting to see an allergist right? I wouldn't like to wait reading what I just read, well in the future you might experience similar waits just to get into see your primary care physician. Go ahead and digest that one. Keep us updated on what you find out, I'm always interested in learning. I hope your condition goes away, sounds horribly painful.
Thanks everyone. I was just curious if anyone had heard of this or knew anything firsthand. It's not fun, but it's not the end of the world. It's just such a newly recognized disease that there's not a ton of concrete info on it. I am worried about mold problems in our house, and that may be what's triggering this since I have such a high level of sensitivity to mold.
Have a mold test done on your house. Costly but if there is even the chance of it you really want to know! I have heard of what you mentioned during school, unfortunately I don't remember much on it and would be of no more help than the doctor. Good luck, and if you don't mind let me know what you find out about it...I'm always curious about how situations like this end up.
