Iv just turned 20 and i was diagnosed with Achalasia Almost a year ago. I had been going to the doctor for over a year with chest pains (which sometimes would get so bad i would pass out from the pain) and complaining that food was sticking and rather than going down it would come back up. The doc put me on heart burn tablets and referred me to a councilor as she thought i was annorexic, I argued with her but this was all she was willing to do. I lost so much weight going from a healthy size 8/10 down to barley a size 4 and was finding it hard to eat or drink and was constantly tired.
It wasnt until I had a barium (which I had to fight for, as the doctor said ''you'll be putting your self through all that for nothing'' ) that they noticed that something was seriously wrong and i was rushed into hospital a few days later. I was straight away hooked up to a drip and had a feeding tube put down my nose into my stomach so that i was getting some nutrients. The doctors said that if i hadnt been taken into hospital then i wouldnt of lasted longer than a few weeks.
I spent 3 weeks in hospital and had several operations trying to fix the problem so that i could eat. After leaving hospital i have managed to gain weight and now back upto my normal size 8 =) I am waiting to go back in next week as eating is getting more difficult again.
Iv heard that Achalasia is very uncommon and even more so in someone as young as me. But that isnt an excuse for the doctor to automatically brand me an annorexic! If it hadnt been for my GP I would never of had to go through such a long time thinking that it was all in my head and that there was nothing actually wrong with me.