Forward Movement On The Front Lines

Yesterday was the fourth dilation procedure and the results were positive. In this case positive is a good thing. This time around they were able to go from 10MM to 12MM. That results in a 44% increase in volume that the esophagus can open. It is definitely a move in the right direction. One difference this time around is that I did make an effort to try to swallow larger amounts of liquids or solids (mushy stuff) to the point of being uncomfortable or some slight pain. The thought here was use it or lose it. My throat is still healing from the treatments and will be for a few more months. That means strictures are still going to form and that is what is narrowing the esophagus. Prior to the procedure yesterday I told the GI doctor this and he said there was some validity to that. Going forward my intent is to continue this practice until my throat is healed. One technique that I have developed is to take a large sip of water and then do a "hard swallow" where I try to force it down as fast as possible. I do feel some momentary pain doing this but I feel that demonstrates that it is pushing the esophagus to its current limit and breaking any strictures that may have recently formed.

I did find a study that looked at the sizes of the esophagus in relationship to swallowing disorders. Anything below 18 MM was considered a problem for swallowing solids with 13 MM considered the minimum for any solids. Below 13 MM liquids start to be a problem. I can attest to those numbers at this point. Being at 12 MM makes a huge difference swallowing liquids compared to 10 MM. When I got home yesterday I was very hungry. Because the procedure is done under general anesthesia I can't "eat" for over 8 hours before the procedure. That generally puts it in the middle of the night so for me its over 12 hours without any feedings. The first thing I had when I got home was some Progresso tomato soup and I had no problem eating it this time around. It was easy enough to eat that I had two servings and was able to get 360 calories from it. This soup is pureed and has no solids in it but I did have a slice of bread with butter. If I ate the bread in very small bites with the soup and it was almost a normal meal and close to 500 calories.

At this point Operation Garbage Plate has almost fully liberated, I mean reclaimed, eating liquids. My next procedure will be in a few weeks and hopefully this will start to reclaim some ground in solid territory.