I Survive Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), or, my thoughts on Schatzki's Ring.
About a year ago, there would be times where I had difficulty swallowing food; it felt as though my stomach had released an "air bubble" into my throat at the same time I was swallowing something, and the food and the bubble would have a shoving match in my esophagus. This struggle for throaty-domination would expand against my windpipe, conviently located next door to the problem, and would give me the sensation of choking to death.
Needless to say, eating soon became a million laughs, until my good friend and medical doctor Jason Black was
present when it happened at lunch one day. After the exciting events
associated with the episode passed, he promised to speak to an
associate, who immediately diagnosed the condition as Schatzki's Ring, also known as "Steakhouse Syndrome." Anyone who knows how much I hate vegetables will immediately smile at the irony of it all.
But
what exactly is a Shatzki's Ring? Well, imagine that your esophagus is
a garden hose 1 1/2 inches wide, connecting your mouth with your
stomach. This flexible hose is held open by a series of rings
along its entire length. When one or more of these rings starts to
"close up" due to fibrous build-up, the sufferer starts to have trouble swallowing.
Usually, the ring must narrow to about 3/4 of an inch before food
starts to get "stuck" on its way down. Usually, drinking some water to
"flush" away the obstruction takes care of the immediate problem, but
as the ring closes further and further, no amount of drinking water and
thorough chewing will prevent a "clog." Usually, a trip to the
Emergency Room is required to clear the clog, and the Ring is widened
at 2am, a time of day when most doctors love performing medical procedures.
As a side note, before some yahoo writes and says "Warren, you should have seen a doctor for yourself, you idiot," I did see a doctor early on, and the best this quack
could do was perscribe some medication that would relax the valve
between my stomach and esophagus, and "see what happened." Well, that
medication put me to sleep, which didn't really
improve my writing (that much), which I need to produce to pay the
rent. How this guy, when given the same symptoms that Jason's colleague
had when he instantly diagnosed me, couldn't figure it out with me in his observation room, I'll never know.
Anyway, yesterday I had the procedure, known as an "Esophagogastroduodenoscop
This was a scheduled event, rather than a late-night emergency. What is
the procedure? Well, they start by sedating the patient (me), and shoving an endoscope down my throat.
Equipped with a camera, the doctor lowers the tube all the way down to
the bottom of my stomach and the top of my intestinal tract. While down
there, the doctor looks for any problems that might explain my symtoms,
and as expected, the Ring was found.
For those that aren't squeamish, there are photos of my very own mouth, throat, stomach, and top of my intestines, over in the Photos and Screenshots section of my site. Here's a direct link to the photos. Don't forget to click each photo to get a larger, more detailed image. Isn't technology great?
Once
the Ring is located, a device on the 'scope is used to widen the hole
(or "dialate it," as the M.D.s like to say), mashing the fibers of the
ring against the esophageal wall. Sometimes the device is an inflatable
balloon (much like an angioplasty balloon, but larger), and sometimes
it is an armored metallic wedge, but either way, it can truly be said that my doctor reamed me a wider one.
As the date approached, I found I was wondering what to expect.
Before my shoulder surgery last year, I had a vague idea of what I was
in for: I already knew what having a surgical incision felt like
(hernia and plastic surgery), as well as general anesthesia. Regular
shoulder dislocations made me aware of what the joint itself would feel
like after being torn apart and rebuilt. But this was different. I was
also slightly concerned about allergies, as recent procedures seem to
have increased the roster of medications and chemicals that can cause
me harm.
I had never had a 'scope put down my throat, and I sure didn't know how that would feel. Would my throat be sore for days? Would my mouth be sore from being held open for so long? Would I feel any soreness above my stomach
where the ring was forcibly stretched open? Did I even have the nerves
down there to feel such sensations? How conscious would I really be
through the procedure? What would I hear and see?
Well, in a nutshell, I was asleep through almost the entire procedure - or at least I think so. Another M.D. friend of mine tells me that Verced will remove unpleasant memories in patients when administered properly, so maybe I was completely awake.
Who knows? I have a faint memory of trying to feel something sharp and
large in my mouth with my hands, but that other hands guided me back to
a relaxed and restful position. I don't remember feeling anything in or
down my throat. I don't remember seeing or hearing any other people
besides myself.
I became aware of things again in the recovery room. My mouth and throat weren't sore at all. The I.V. was out of my thumb and feeling better. My stomach and esophagus felt...fine. There wasn't any sensation of any change at all.
The biggest thing that had my attention was this feeling of being rudely awoken from a very deep sleep. It would take about 10 hours for the feeling of disconnected grogginess to lift.
Oh, and I was very hungry,
for I was told to not eat or drink since the previous night. So Lisa
and I went to Polly's Pies to sit down to an early dinner after we left
the hospital. It was during this meal that I could tell, as I had my
first sip of water, that there was a change. I hadn't realized, before
the procedure, how long it took water to travel from my mouth to my
stomach, since it had to swirl past an obstruction, until I felt it just fly down my throat afterwards. I know it sounds wierd, but hey, this is my story.
It
is now the day after, and things are completely back to normal in
almost every way. I'll be back at work tomorrow, and telling people how
it really wasn't a big deal at all. And really, it wasn't.
I'm told that I may have this to look forward to many more times in my life, as the ring re-closes, as it tends to do.
Anti acid-reflux medications may reverse this, however. Fortunately, I
know now that it really isn't anything to worry about. Thankfully.
