After 15 years with Alchalesia and difficulty with food passing into my stomach I finally had Botox injections yesterday. During the endoscopy the dr said the valve at the bottom of my oesophagus was really tight and he's hoping the Botox will help me.
Has anyone had success stories with Botox?
hi Jordan
Sorry I have no experience of having Botox but I did look into it for a while
I have recently had a robotic hellers (last week) .
Before this i was given the option of having Botox , after looking into to it I decided to go for the Hellers . The main reason I didnt try the botox or the balloon dilation was I didnt want to weeken my sphincter trying these other procedures . I know the other procedures can work , I suppose alot depends on what your Doctor or in my case Surgoen advises , the type of Achalasia you have makes a difference also .
I have Type 1 , I know some Types respond to treatments differently .
The hellers has worked well for me .
I hope you have luck with your treatment .
Thanks
John
There is a generally good outcome with botox, and it can bring benefits. Around 50% of people find within three months that the effect wears off, and that the lower oesophageal sphincter does not get trained into being more flexible in a sustained way. So I think the doctor is quite right in expressing hopes, which we would all share, that this does the trick. So it is a reason for being cautiously optimistic that this will really help, but without being too surprised if, in due course, the relief is temporary.
Hey, Did you have Hellers 1 week ago? and you already feel perfectly fine?
Im 6 weeks after... still hard to swallow
Sorry to hear that
Yes I could swallow much better hours after my op
My surgeon was very good
Where did you have your op
In Israel.
I could also swallow much better immediately after the surgery, but the problem still exists (gets better every week). I was told to wait 3 months before making final conclusions. I hope they don't lie
I hope so to
Should be fine , only time will tell
I have not tried solid foods yet , just soft foods at the moment
Not sleeping to well since op , probably be better once my wounds heal , I have 7 cuts as they had trouble getting into the right areas first time around .
Hope your feeling better
John
It is general advice given by other surgeons as well to wait until things settle down. It is a very delicate thing affecting the nerve endings, so waiting to see how much you improve is sensible.
Also a good thing to remember is there are other treatments available should the Botox fail to work .
One thing to bear in mind is from what i understand , each time you have Botox it can cause scaring on your sphincter which may affect other alternatives along the line .
I am not sure , but I think most Botox injections last a limited time
John