Esophageal Dilation

My entry is not a question but my experiences with having and Esophageal Dilation and an Upper GI for bacteria in the stomach. The upper GI was done 10 years ago. I was having stomach pains that went all the way to my back. It had increased over 3 years until one day I could not stand up from the pain. It turned out I had H. Pylori bacteria. It causes more than half of peptic ulcers worldwide. The Upper GI was a piece of cake. A little gagging in the beginning but everything went fine.

Yesterday I had an Esophageal Dilatation due to food occasionally getting stuck in my throat. The symptoms increased after I had a steroid shot for an upper respiratory infection that lasted a month. Come to find out steroid shots can cause yeast infections in your esophagus which I think I had as my mouth and throat felt dry even though I had plenty of saliva. Most food would not go down after that. My procedure yesterday started off good. They gave me something to drink that numbed my mouth and throat so I would not gag and they also sedated me as I went fast to sleep before the camera went down the throat. During my dilation procedure I woke up to sever pain in my upper throat. I started grabbing at my throat and tried sitting up but all of a sudden hands were on top of me and voices saying stay down. I realized what was going on (the dilation part) and stopped moving. They must have increased my sedation as I went out again. From the time I left the clinic and every time I swallow, eat or drink, I feel like I have a huge pill stuck in my throat. I left a message for the Dr. to call me back as I want to know what happened during the procedure and is it normal for my throat to feel this way and for how long. I was told I would feel nothing the next day. No call back from the Dr. yet. By the way, I had no stomach problems (bloating, pain) after both procedures.  Just this time in my throat.

[olivia289]

Hi there PSquare,

I have had dilations previously and can say that the discomfort you describe as a pill I have had as well. For me it lasted for a day or two after but always went away. I recommend soft foods and/or sucking on ice chips.

If it continues after a few more days, do be sure to get a hold of the doctor or go see your family doctor.

Take good care.

p.s. If there was something seriously wrong (i.e., a perforated esophagus, or something) you'd know! And you'd be in extreme pain when you ate or drank anything. I know this because I have had this as well and had to be rushed into surgery to repair it - which sucked.