On The Road To Answers...
As long as I can remember I have had a problem with 'choking' on food. I hesitate to call it choking as it doesn't affect my breathing but my Dr. just told me that it was indeed choking. Anyways there was major incident when I was 15 yrs old and I 'choked' on a finger steak, it resulted in my mom giving me the Heimlich maneuver. After that point I started being careful with what I ate and avoided eating big bites certain food that I knew would probably get stuck (potatoes, tacos, meat, ect).
Hence I have changed my eating habits and just basically learned to deal with it...assuming it was just something people had to deal with. Taking pills has become a huge ordeal as nothing bigger than a 200 mg Ibuprofen goes down without getting stuck 90% of the time. The last major incident of a Tylenol getting suck was in 2001 and I have not taken any since then, (I have a problem with these because they are round and for some reason that does not go well with my throat), because truthfully it hurts! And not only that it stays that way for 1/2 hr to 1 hour until it starts to dissolve and moves down! Even when I tried to drink water to push it down, water would hit the blockage and come right back up, making no progress at all. At dinnertime I am the last one in the family to be finished as it takes me much longer eating smaller bites, but it was just something I've gotten used to.
Then on Monday I decided to go to the Dr. to ask about it. In all truth I'd actually been praying about another decision (Ortho) but the past few days have felt compelled to make an appt. for this issue, reasoning that it would help to make the other decision. Yes, I did get many questions (from the Dr.) as to why in the world I would wait almost 14 years to get it checked...and I can only say that for the past 14 years I've either been pregnant or raising small children, plus we lived overseas for 5 years and specialty care was not readily available. So the Dr. ordered a Barium Swallow test, saying that it might raise eyebrows as it was the first time I've presented with a problem. I realized that and was thankful she put in the test anyways, I don't think all Drs. would have done so.
What is a Barium Swallow you ask? That's what I was asking myself about 72 hours ago. Thankfully a friend recently had one so I was able to get some info from her, and then of course we all know I turned to the Internet. I will say a certain piece of info was withheld (and rightly so!!) and in hindsight I am so thankful! Basically in a nutshell a Barium Swallow test is a series of x-rays that are taken as you swallow barium to get picture of your esophagus. I talked to my friend and it seemed pretty straightforward with really not much cause for concern.
I had the barium swallow test done on Wed. and to my surprise the base even had some of the latest state of the art technology...I was surprised since it is a 'clinic' here and not a hospital. The tech was super nice and answered all my questions as we got ready and waited for the Dr. I had changed into a gown and removed my jewelry in preparation of the x-rays. She was explaining the stuff I would be drinking then she whipped out a nickle sized pill and said I would have to swallow it while the Dr. took x-rays. I'm sure ya'll can just imagine the look of terror that crossed my face! I was wondering what the heck I'd gotten myself into and why it was taking place while Mr. B was working...although I did feel a smidgen better when I realized he probably wouldn't have been in the x-ray room with me anyways. Then I thought about my friend and the non-disclosure of this info...I was wondering if she didn't have to take one or purposely withheld the info. Later I found out she had purposely withheld the info knowing the anxiety it would cause me and she was right, had I known I don't know if I could've made myself go to the appt. or I would've really STRESSED about it! Thank God for friends who know when I am a hazard to my own health with too much info ;) LOL! And oddly enough despite my many hours of research I did NOT see one thing about swallowing a pill...a coincidence...I think not!
So I step up on the stand and they give me a fuzzy alka-seltzer like drink (about 1 oz) that I had to drink..it's super fizzy and they say I'm not allowed to burp, which is hilarious because immediately you feel like doing so. They told me that they will tell me when I'm 'allowed' to burp, LOL!! I then start drinking the barium concoction in my hand, it's think sorta like a mixture between chalk and pepto bismal and tastes like well I dunno 'what' it tasts like but I can tell you it's not something delicious...or even good for that matter! After several drinks the Dr. has all the pics he needs in that position, I happily stop drinking the barium and am more than happy to give the remains to the tech. The stand then tilts back and moves into a table position.
While lying down he has me flip to my stomach, with my knees bent and hips turned...think crazy-like fetal position....and drink a less thick version of the barium through a straw...kinda awkward in that position but I managed. By the 4th gulp I was ready to puke and was so thankful when he told me I could stop! I wasn't allowed to eat or drink after midnight and I told him I was glad that I hadn't ate anything or it might've gotten ugly, LOL!
So the contraption moves me back into the standing position. And the Dr tells me that I need to swallow the pill. I immediately object and state my case...previous occurrences of lodged items much smaller than that nickle sized horror he wanted me to swallow. Then he said that he had seen something during the x-rays and needed the barium pill pictures for a final conclusion. It was either that or a more invasive procedure (at a later date of course, but it didn't sound like fun). At this point I broke down and cried...I was so scared, yet I knew I had to do it. During small talk earlier he had asked here I was from and I told him Idaho. He told me that all the people he had met from Idaho were tough and I didn't want to be the first wimp from Idaho, did I, I immediately told him I did, LOL!! He was joking and I took it as such, he was very personable and had it been a grumpy ole Dr. I probably would've never conceded. The Dr. reassures me that he's 80% confident that the pill will go down...wow gotta love those odds, LOL! So I had a quick pity party and decided pull myself up by my bootstraps and get it over with!
So he hands me the pill and asks if I'm ready, I shake my head no but take the pill anyways. I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, and repeat to myself two times, Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I put the pill in my mouth, repeat the verse, take a swig of water and hope for the best! To my delight it goes down and does not get lodged. He then asks me to take another drink and it goes down but a bit harder, meaning I really felt it go down and it was just water. Praise God, I fell within his statitics and not into the 'other' 20%! He finishes the pictures and I'm free to go and await a phone call from the referring Dr.
Around 3:30 pm I get the call I've been waiting on..the one with the results. Turns out I'm not crazy after all and I have Esophageal Stenosis, or narrowing of the esophagus! I really had thought I'd go and get the tests done and they would all come back clear with the verdict being 'crazy' LOL! I feel so validated knowing that my issues all these years were not something in my mind but literally a physical problem...yet it's also scary as well! She said the results said it looks benign but more testing is needed to further assess the issue and possible treatments.
So what next? I'm awaiting a referral for a Civilian GI (Gastrenterology) appointment to have an esophageal scope done. I'm assuming it'll be sometime in Jan before this takes place. All I know is that I will be sedated to mildly sedated for the process, and from there it all depends on the test results. I am in no way looking forward to the procedure yet I know that it could be worse so I chose to move forward knowing that He is in control and it is all in His timing! It's amazing to think that it could possibly be corrected and that I've lived with it unnecessarily for all these years! I'm anxious to see what is to come about from all of this!
I hope ya'll have enjoyed yet again another 'wild tale' from this way, as it was starting to get too quite over this way...LOL!!
posted by Mrs. B @ 5:00 AM
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