prune picker

This is the blog of a prune picker. (Native born Californian) Retired oilfield. I am an old man. I blog a lot about my body and getting old. As I approach death life gets more interesting. More interesting is not good. I still drive. I attend sports, music, and civic events. I am writing my memoirs. I attend swim class three times a week. Some of my blogs might be interesting. A lot of my blogs are silly and trivial. None are very long.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Esophagus Problems.


In June of 2002 I had my esophagus stretched for the first time. I mentioned in my notes that I had passed out three times from a hard swallow prior to that time. Since then I have had increasing difficulty with swallowing. I have had my esophagus stretched four times since then. The last time was in January 2015. A piece of botox was inserted in my esophagus with the last stretch job to relax the muscles. This helped my swallowing for over a year. I have been having problems again for several months now.

Swallowing is an involved process involving 30 muscle groups. In my case a hard swallow can cause me to pass out. In January 2013 I passed out and fell to the floor. I had no problems, or indication of a blow to my head, but in two months I had a sleight stroke. An x-ray indicated my brain was bleeding. This was repaired with surgery. (a hard swallow can cause your brain to bleed)

A couple of mornings ago I had a hard swallow that gave me such a strong pass out feeling that I laid down flat on the floor. (Afraid of falling again)

Both of these swallows were on the very first swallow in the morning. I have notice lately that I have trouble early in the morning. I have been waiting some time in the mornings before I eat. (I love breakfast!)

I mentioned these facts in a note to my VA Doctor. Dr Jacquelin Carter. (Bless her) Last night she called me late in the evening (Sunday Night) and told me to go to the emergency room. I did just that this morning and now have an appointment for an EGD and treatment next Friday.

I understand that are no hard swallows in heaven.

2 comments:

  1. We are hoping for a smooth treatment and a swift recovery. Maybe a protein breakfast shake each morning? MetRX is a good one (amazon) with milk and a banana tossed in.
    IMHO
    Bigfoot

    ReplyDelete

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