A Pain in the Neck

Let's go back to 1999.  Jason and I were still newlyweds and were having dinner at his parents house on a Sunday night.  It was a fast Sunday so I was starving.  Something I hardly do because I have low blood sugar and get super lightheaded and HANGRY if I go something longer than an hour without something in my stomach.  But I did it this day.  It was a beautiful Summer day and Dave, my Father in Law cooked what smelled to be a delicious country spare rib dinner.  I say smell, because after we started eating, one bite and it got stuck in my throat.  I'm not saying it went down the wrong pipe, I'm saying got stuck in my esophagus. I've had this happen before.  I just go into the bathroom, self gag and up it comes. Not this time. This time it was legit stuck. I couldn't even swallow my own spit.  I had to excuse us and Jason took me up to the U of U hospital because Jason worked at ARUP and that is where our insurance took us.  They had us waiting in the lobby for a while.  I was not bleeding out, I could breathe and the only disgusting thing about me was my mug full of spit that I would go into the bathroom and rinse out every ten minutes or so.  I am STARVING.  My belly was gurgling so hard that I'm sure the 4th floor could hear me.  Long story shorter.... They put in me a room with a sheet divider, old guy next to us was making these barfing noises that was making me want to puke but couldn't. They gave me nitroglycerin and in about 5 minutes up comes a piece of rib that was the size of tip of my pinky finger.

In the next few months I go to the GI specialist and have my esophagus stretched out with a balloon by endoscopy.  They put me to sleep so I don't remember anything.  This was the last time I had addressed a doctor about my situation.

In the early 2000's my Mom read an article that people with my situation should take a daily acid blocker like Prilosec or Nexium, so I take one daily, faithfully.  This seemed to help. 

In the midst of my breakdown 2016 I was tested and found out that I had the MTHFR gene mutation that prohibits my body from metabolizing vitamin B12 in the cyancobalamin form.  Normal bodies use the Methylatiztion process to break it down and use it but people with MTHFR gene mutations don't use it and it sits in their livers never to be broken down, but sits there like a poison. So I have to buy a Methylated version of the B vitamins/folate that is already broken down.  I also have to be careful of other multivitamins that have this in them, health shakes, protein bars, everything. It's ridiculous.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, because in all my reading about this newly found thing, I find out that taking a daily acid blocker is prohibiting the B12 absorption in my body.  So I stopped cold turkey in taking my daily Prilosec.  Things were okay for a while.  But then it started again.   I started choking on EVERYTHING. Meat, pancakes... people, I was choking on pancakes!  It had no rhyme or reason.  My cousin teased me that I was just binging and purging.  That is what it felt like.  Only it was the first bite, not the last.  The first bite got stuck, I would go self gag, and that was that.  I could eat the rest of the meal in peace.  It is getting a lot worse so I asked friends who they recommended for a GI specialist in the area.  I have an appointment with him in MARCH.

On Jan 20th we went to dinner for a friends 40th birthday at the Market Street Grill.  I was pretty hungry.  I ordered the Prime Rib (because I'm allergic to seafood.)  The very first bite goes in and I made sure it was a small bite.  I chewed it carefully.  It gets stuck.  I quietly get up from the table and go into the bathroom.  I have a routine down.  I can feel it.  It is righthere!  It's not coming up. Five times I get up to go into the bathroom to give it a try.  Nothing.  So Jason and I excuse ourselves from the party.  I go home and lay down.  I lay upside down.  I lay there for 3 hours.  Nothing.  So I have him take me to the ER.  I figure another nitroglycerin and I'll be good. Wrong.   They gave me an IV for an esophagus relaxer plus the nitro and then in 15 minutes brought me a Coke because the bubbles can help dislodge the foreign body.  Nothing. 30 minutes... that's right, nothing.  They had to call the GI specialist on call to come and take that steak out.  It was after midnight when he came and they gave me Propofol and used an endoscopy and pinchers to tear that thing out piece by piece.  He took 2 biopsies because my esophagus looked ringed or felinization which is suggestive of eosinophilic esophagitis or EoE. (Google it)  He also dilated it again with a balloon dilation.  He told me that a normal esophagus is 15-20 mm wide.  Mine was 9.  He dilated it to a 12 and I have to go back to see the guy that I have an appointment with in March when it all heals to have it stretched again to at least a 15.  The test results came back today and indicate that it is, in fact, EoE.  I have to go get allergy tested- food and all other.  So help me if I'm allergic to chocolate.  Who knows what else I have to do.  Any advice is appreciated.

The meat clearly blocking the entire opening.  It wasn't budging. 

See how far down the meat was?  I thought it was right in my throat!

 It has been a week now and I can finally eat meat. Anything remotely crunchy felt like eating barbed wire going all the way down.  I ate a pizza last night which is a huge relief because Mac and Cheese was getting on my nerves. Even the delicious homemade kind.