12 Years Post Oesophagectomy (achalasia) Breathless

[SurreyGuy]

Hello, I have not been here for many years as I confess I have had a really easy time with my oesophagectomy with very few complications. As you can see from the title of the post it was for achalasia. Out of nowhere some food has started to get stuck and I have become increasingly breathless. Gone back to the hospital who think I may have developed delayed gastric emptying and they are going to scope me this week. But the breathlessness is terrifying. To be fair I used to get it during my end stage achalasia as the oesophagus was so swollen it fought for space. But, the stomach is supposed to contract as it is a different type of cell structure and I have massively reduced my fluid intake this weekend to see if it makes a difference but I am still just as breathless. Has anyone else developed this so far post op? Its all a bit of a surprise as I thought 12 years after surgery I was probably going to be ok. By coincidence I had a chest CT scan last year that was clear so I am reasonably confident this is not a long term chest condition. Any shared experience of this would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Cortex1]

I'm almost 12 years post op but I have had this breathlessness pretty much all the time since surgery, and of course before surgery when I couldn’t eat at all. Part of the breathlessness I suppose is from the dumping syndrome, which is stuck with me since surgery. I can work only part time.

How old are you and did you have gastric pull-up? Do you work? I’m 40 years now and had a colon interposition.

[Cortex1 in reply to Cortex1]

Forgot to say, my surgery was for Achalasia too!

[SurreyGuy in reply to Cortex1]

Hi there. Thank you. I am 55 now. So, I had it at age 43 after 25 years of Achalasia. It was a gastric pull up and I have had 12 fantastic years. I get dumping syndrome which is just dreadful (and it tends to serve me right as I know what foods cause it...cake!) but a few mouth fulls of cola sorts it out pretty quickly and it is a small price to pay. I have been able to work full time with no problems. I am very lucky. The breathlessness is new though and I can not work out why. Thanks for your reply.

[Spikey]

This may or may not be relevant to your situation. I started to suffer shortness of breath 10 years after my IL partial gastro-oesothagectomy (not for achalasia). After various tests, it turned out that I had mild, late onset asthma, which might have been caused by the damage done to my lungs by the surgery. A course of high strength steroids and an inhaler brought it under control, though I still get a little breathless when I exert myself.

[SurreyGuy in reply to Spikey]

Thanks for your reply. I am now fairly confident I have inhaled from my delayed gastric emptying. I had a dilatation yesterday. Bad news for those of us with achalasia as we had years and years of those. But, this type of delay is easier to treat. I hadn't had a dilatation for about 15 years and was shocked by the advancements. I hardly felt this one at all. It was amazing. Now we just wait for a few days for the swelling to subside to see if it has worked. If not they will keep doing it until it does (apparently it does at some point....a battle wills between my sphincter and the doctors). So, making progress. Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.

[Cortex1 in reply to SurreyGuy]

Was the dilation done at the anastomoses where they cut the esophagus, or farther down the stomach?

[SurreyGuy in reply to Cortex1]

It was at the exit of the stomach. The anastamosis is holding out well.

[smjones]

Are you breathless all the time or on exertion? I had breathlessness w/exertion & discovered I was severely anemic, needing transfusions.Now I'm on iron supplements with vitamin C.

I am 10 months post partial esophagectomy for achalasia,plus 4 esophageal inflations as I still have swallowing issues. If yours is as above, you may need to get it checked out.

[49Shark52 in reply to smjones]

Yo, I’m 9 year on from IL and am also getting breathing complaints. Had a scan but nothing untoward, but now I’m anaemia too. My GP has referred me to the colon specialist, going later today for a check up.🤞

[smjones in reply to 49Shark52]

I hope you got good news from your doctor, or at least insight on the problem. Doctors seem to believe my anemia is probably due to GI ulcers, as my blood count is trending upward with iron supplements. I was also switched from Omeprazole to another type of acid reducer. Best wishes.

[Ivorlewisshark in reply to smjones]

Yo, doc mentioned ulcers to me. Booked in for endoscopy and colonoscopy within the next 2 weeks. At the moment I'm on 6 needles B12. My biggest concern is that I'm on Warfarin for life which complicates things.

[Snookems]

i was diagonsed with achalasia in 2014. Several bariem swallows and several dilatation. In Sept of 2019 I underwent the P.O.E.M. procedure and prior to that i was on 3 inhalers . After the surgery my breathing greatly improved to the point i was taken off 2 inhalers . As predicted by the pulmonary Dr.'s said the Achalasia was making my esophagus crowed my lungs. I hope this information helps out.