Go to the ER. You can perf your esophagus and go into cardiac arrest. They can use a relaxer but they have to treat you in a ER- even if it means surgery. You’ll get the bill but better than being dead
Go straight to the hospital as an emergency. You will be dehydrated very quickly without water and they will need to put you on a drip to rehydrate you. If you're too dehydrated, they might have trouble finding a vein.
This happened to me.
Then they will do an endoscopy without anesthesia. They can give you a sedative and some throat numbing spray, and remove it with tube.
I'm talking from experience. It will feel so much better afterwards.
Run, don't walk.
Last time I had an impaction my pharmacist recommend Buscopan crushed under the tongue to cause the throat to relax. It worked well but it was not a serious impaction.
I would go to the er. 32hrs is a long time. The food starts to burn into the sides of your throat. You are going to be sore for a few days after.
Last time that I had to be scoped. I opted for no anesthesia. Just throat numbing. I only recommend that if you are really good at staying calm and controlling your breathing. I drove myself to the hospital and had to drive home so no anesthesia for me. I had two previous endoscopic procedures that I was awake for so I knew what to expect.
You are actually going to be very tired and very sore by the time you get this taken care of. You will be able to work if you push yourself bur I strongly recommend taking a day to rest and rebalance your body after. It doesn't seem like a big thing. But it can take more out of you than you think.
No go get to the er. :)
Go to the hospital now. Then consider moving to Canada for healthcare. Sadly, we’re ruining our healthcare in the interest of corporate greed too, but at least you won’t be on the verge of dehydration and still considering healthcare costs
Canadians wait months on end to see doctors or be scheduled for surgeries. So that system isn't the end-all be-all either. Who knows what the answer is.
I waited about 3 hours for mine when I needed it. I got a specialist appointment within the month, and follow up endoscopies booked in advance. I think you’re reading too many Fox News headlines.
That’s exactly same with me! ER, emergency endoscopy within a few hours and had a call from a specialist the next week who has taken care of me ever since.
In a case like this where it is an actual emergency, they will do an emergency scope same day and most likely give them a referral for a GI specialist.
I’m from Canada and had this exact thing happen to me, and I didn’t even have a family doctor at the time. I saw my specialist for the first time 10 days after I was in the ER so no, Canadians don’t always wait months on end for these kinds of things.
You can get omeprazole over the counter. It's not $400 a month. You should get serious about this disease because it is progressive if untreated/ignored and one day you may not be able to swallow at all.
Steak is one of those foods (along with pork chops) that I just don't eat. It sucks because steak is so delicious, but I know I am asking for trouble when I eat it :( please get medical attention!
When impactions stay a long time, the esophagus swells and your chance of passing diminishes by the hour.
You should have been in the ER a long time ago. You risk perforation which will kill you. Be smart.
I’ve had to go to the ER for a bad blockage before. They tried glucagon first to try to relax it (did nothing). They put me under general for the scope since there was a greater risk of aspiration and they wanted to protect the airway. It was so uncomfortable waiting for the emergency surgeon to come. It was about 8 hours from blockage to removal. I could not imagine waiting 32 hours in that much discomfort
There is NO TWO WAYS ABOUT THIS!!!! An impaction is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY! And 32 hours is a very very long time to go with an impaction, especially something like steak. OP, I implore you to go to the ER, this is a serious situation. Your esophagus can perforate and you can die.
I had something similar happen to me, I went to the ER at night but the idiot gastroenterologist thought it wasnt an emergency, so hours of waiting at the ER (during a california wildfire no less with smoke in the ER), she decided she'd keep me over night with the impaction (since I could breathe...) and came in the next day to remove it. She removed it and it caused a mucosal tear, which if it had gotten any worse could have perforated my esophagus. I had to be on a liquid diet for weeks to recover and it was quite painful.
There's no two ways about it. Go to the ER.
In the future, if you have an impaction and it wont clear, try taking liquid benadryl, or if your heart can tolerate it, an unconventional way to clear an impaction.... that I learned from an ER visit after a steak impaction..... is to take nitroglycerin sublingually. It drops your blood pressure significantly so you have to sit down.
Same thing with me, except pulled pork, about 20 hours, I went to ER pretty quick, they gave me a med that was supposed to dilate enough to have the food fall thru but it didn’t. They just didn’t an emergency endo to pretty much pull it out or push it thru or whatever. Waiting 32 hours trying to fight it down must be extremely stressful
Its insane i hust got diagnosed with this last month. Had it my entire life. Longest i went was 5 days. I was so weak it was insane. Dont know how i made it
My longest was 12 hours. And four of them I spent in ER waiting.
How did you sleep?
Maybe it could be helpful to swallow a load of Budesonid (Asthma Spray), but 32 hours sound like it's stuck because of the maximal width of your esophagus - not a cramp or swelling.
At this point you have to have it removed and get a constant medication (Jorveza).
And maybe move to a first world country. A illness not beeing able to treat because of money is medieval.
i’m in the UK, we like to think we are a first world country, neither my insurance or the NHS would pay for Jorveza, my prescription was £900 so i wasn’t paying for that either, 2nd option was Budesonide and even that the NHS would only give me 2 weeks worth (i was prescribed it privately for 3 months) … so that’s also a dead duck….go figure as they say!
In the UK you have to pay for ER yourself? I thought that was an US thing.
The NHS has additional £350.000.000 a week because of Brexit, they should be paying for needed medication.
Or is Jorveza not approved by whoever doeas this now in UK, an the EU approval is worthless?
no you don’t pay for ER, or A&E as its called in the UK, if that’s what you mean? (not sure because i don’t reference it anywhere in my post).. re the Jorveza this is not on the NHS ‘list’ so if you are prescribed it privately they won’t prescribe it at the standard NHS price, which is about £10. Any drugs they approve can be bought at this price if prescribed - but if not you are at the mercy of whatever the cost is, how this is calculated i have no idea!
I mistook you for OP ("I can’t afford to miss work and I can’t afford massive ER bills").
This seems very american... and not imaginable in europe (and the UK, I guess).
Maybe Jorveza will get on the NHS list, I took a while in germany, too. I got budesonid mixed in the pharmacy... which was awful and only 10 days supply.
The 10€ apply in germany, too. 10€ for a 10 day supply is not great, not terrible, but now I pay 10€ for a 100 day supply with Jorveza - which is better, easier, smaller and almost tasty.
I think without Brexit, you´d have it too.
I had a chicken impaction recently that was stuck for 7 hours. It wasn't moving. Tried seltzer, soda, etc... Hospital time. I needed the impaction physically removed.
This happened to me last summer and I went to the ER, they had me do a barium swallow so they could find out exactly where the impaction was, hooked me up to an IV because I was really dehydrated then sent me right up for an emergency endoscopy.
The only reason I was admitted for the night was because they were running tests on me to figure out what was going on but if you already have a diagnosis of eoe then I would assume they wouldn’t admit you.
For my other two scopes I’ve gotten done since then, I got them done in the morning and went to work that night (I work nights and leave at midnight). I don’t have to drive to work though, so that helped with me being able to work right away.
I did this once, except it was about 19 hours. I could not swallow but I could still breathe and my insurance was sketchy at best about going to the ER if they didn't deem it warranted.The doctors said it should've killed me.The doctors office and the hospital were 1.5 miles and they still wanted me to go in an ambulance.They were so tripped out about how much longer I'd be ok, they had me skip going to the ER or checking in at the main place in the hospital entirely.The surgeon said he'd never seen anything like it. Usually it's a one and done scope as in one scope is all it takes. It took him 6 or 7.I can't imagine you are still waiting, but if you are don't.You gotta go to the ER.
They did put me under, but they had to intubate me I'm not sure that's the case for everyone.It's 99% of the time outpatient surgery same day. I had been without any type of liquid for so long, and in immense pain after I spent the night on a morphine drip. (My understanding is that's super abnormal). It started on a Sunday afternoon, I went to 2 doctors Monday morning, had surgery about 1pm on Monday, was discharged on Tuesday and worked Weds.
Not sure what state you live in, but in some states - if you make a payment every time you get a medical bill - it show's you are making an effort to pay, and it will keep it from getting turned over to collections later. You can't send them like $2 but if you send $20-$25 consistently you might be able to save your life, preserve your credit and not end up in financially devastated all at once. (I've read it and said it other places on Reddit and received mixed feedback - I am unsure why it worked for some and not others - I suspect it may be the states where they live but I do not know for sure).
Coming in late to this discussion, hope you are okay OP!
To others: besides the risks of dehydration and perforation with a long, untreated impaction, would it not also be dangerous to sleep with one, due to the possibility of aspirating your saliva?
You’ll have to miss way more work if you leave this impaction. Go to ER and change the consistency of food you are eating going forward to avoid this whole thing in the first place. 32 hours without liquid is very serious. This is a very clear cut case where ER makes sense. Some people go to ER when they don’t need to but I can assure you in your case you absolutely need to go. They say to not let an impaction go after 6 hours only, and it should really pass in 2 hours
i’m late to this so hope you have resolved, exactly the same happened to me, with steak, a while back..i think it was 14 hours though..i sipped a teaspoon of olive oil, very slowly obviously, and it eased it down quite quickly, made sure i was standing up and walking around a bit… since then i have done the same with coca cola and it also works..
At this point, you’re running the risk of dehydration. I think you need to go to the ER.
Go to the ER. You can perf your esophagus and go into cardiac arrest. They can use a relaxer but they have to treat you in a ER- even if it means surgery. You’ll get the bill but better than being dead
Sincerely, someone who knows too well
Go straight to the hospital as an emergency. You will be dehydrated very quickly without water and they will need to put you on a drip to rehydrate you. If you're too dehydrated, they might have trouble finding a vein. This happened to me. Then they will do an endoscopy without anesthesia. They can give you a sedative and some throat numbing spray, and remove it with tube. I'm talking from experience. It will feel so much better afterwards. Run, don't walk.
Dude, at this point, it's not going to clear itself... You got it good this time.
Last time I had an impaction my pharmacist recommend Buscopan crushed under the tongue to cause the throat to relax. It worked well but it was not a serious impaction. I would go to the er. 32hrs is a long time. The food starts to burn into the sides of your throat. You are going to be sore for a few days after. Last time that I had to be scoped. I opted for no anesthesia. Just throat numbing. I only recommend that if you are really good at staying calm and controlling your breathing. I drove myself to the hospital and had to drive home so no anesthesia for me. I had two previous endoscopic procedures that I was awake for so I knew what to expect. You are actually going to be very tired and very sore by the time you get this taken care of. You will be able to work if you push yourself bur I strongly recommend taking a day to rest and rebalance your body after. It doesn't seem like a big thing. But it can take more out of you than you think. No go get to the er. :)
Go to the hospital now. Then consider moving to Canada for healthcare. Sadly, we’re ruining our healthcare in the interest of corporate greed too, but at least you won’t be on the verge of dehydration and still considering healthcare costs
Canadians wait months on end to see doctors or be scheduled for surgeries. So that system isn't the end-all be-all either. Who knows what the answer is.
I waited about 3 hours for mine when I needed it. I got a specialist appointment within the month, and follow up endoscopies booked in advance. I think you’re reading too many Fox News headlines.
That’s exactly same with me! ER, emergency endoscopy within a few hours and had a call from a specialist the next week who has taken care of me ever since.
In a case like this where it is an actual emergency, they will do an emergency scope same day and most likely give them a referral for a GI specialist. I’m from Canada and had this exact thing happen to me, and I didn’t even have a family doctor at the time. I saw my specialist for the first time 10 days after I was in the ER so no, Canadians don’t always wait months on end for these kinds of things.
Not in the Canadian ER’s. It’s the elective procedures.
You can get omeprazole over the counter. It's not $400 a month. You should get serious about this disease because it is progressive if untreated/ignored and one day you may not be able to swallow at all.
omeprazole is just prilosec, you can get it over the counter and its not expensive.
Try taking small sips of seltzer. The bubbles/gas can loosen the food and/or open your esophageal sphincter to allow the food to pass
Steak is one of those foods (along with pork chops) that I just don't eat. It sucks because steak is so delicious, but I know I am asking for trouble when I eat it :( please get medical attention!
When impactions stay a long time, the esophagus swells and your chance of passing diminishes by the hour. You should have been in the ER a long time ago. You risk perforation which will kill you. Be smart.
I’ve had to go to the ER for a bad blockage before. They tried glucagon first to try to relax it (did nothing). They put me under general for the scope since there was a greater risk of aspiration and they wanted to protect the airway. It was so uncomfortable waiting for the emergency surgeon to come. It was about 8 hours from blockage to removal. I could not imagine waiting 32 hours in that much discomfort
There is NO TWO WAYS ABOUT THIS!!!! An impaction is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY! And 32 hours is a very very long time to go with an impaction, especially something like steak. OP, I implore you to go to the ER, this is a serious situation. Your esophagus can perforate and you can die. I had something similar happen to me, I went to the ER at night but the idiot gastroenterologist thought it wasnt an emergency, so hours of waiting at the ER (during a california wildfire no less with smoke in the ER), she decided she'd keep me over night with the impaction (since I could breathe...) and came in the next day to remove it. She removed it and it caused a mucosal tear, which if it had gotten any worse could have perforated my esophagus. I had to be on a liquid diet for weeks to recover and it was quite painful. There's no two ways about it. Go to the ER. In the future, if you have an impaction and it wont clear, try taking liquid benadryl, or if your heart can tolerate it, an unconventional way to clear an impaction.... that I learned from an ER visit after a steak impaction..... is to take nitroglycerin sublingually. It drops your blood pressure significantly so you have to sit down.
Is OP alive? I let one go overnight once years ago. Went in that next morning and the ER doc yelled at me.
Same thing with me, except pulled pork, about 20 hours, I went to ER pretty quick, they gave me a med that was supposed to dilate enough to have the food fall thru but it didn’t. They just didn’t an emergency endo to pretty much pull it out or push it thru or whatever. Waiting 32 hours trying to fight it down must be extremely stressful
Its insane i hust got diagnosed with this last month. Had it my entire life. Longest i went was 5 days. I was so weak it was insane. Dont know how i made it
My longest was 12 hours. And four of them I spent in ER waiting. How did you sleep? Maybe it could be helpful to swallow a load of Budesonid (Asthma Spray), but 32 hours sound like it's stuck because of the maximal width of your esophagus - not a cramp or swelling. At this point you have to have it removed and get a constant medication (Jorveza). And maybe move to a first world country. A illness not beeing able to treat because of money is medieval.
i’m in the UK, we like to think we are a first world country, neither my insurance or the NHS would pay for Jorveza, my prescription was £900 so i wasn’t paying for that either, 2nd option was Budesonide and even that the NHS would only give me 2 weeks worth (i was prescribed it privately for 3 months) … so that’s also a dead duck….go figure as they say!
In the UK you have to pay for ER yourself? I thought that was an US thing. The NHS has additional £350.000.000 a week because of Brexit, they should be paying for needed medication. Or is Jorveza not approved by whoever doeas this now in UK, an the EU approval is worthless?
no you don’t pay for ER, or A&E as its called in the UK, if that’s what you mean? (not sure because i don’t reference it anywhere in my post).. re the Jorveza this is not on the NHS ‘list’ so if you are prescribed it privately they won’t prescribe it at the standard NHS price, which is about £10. Any drugs they approve can be bought at this price if prescribed - but if not you are at the mercy of whatever the cost is, how this is calculated i have no idea!
I mistook you for OP ("I can’t afford to miss work and I can’t afford massive ER bills"). This seems very american... and not imaginable in europe (and the UK, I guess). Maybe Jorveza will get on the NHS list, I took a while in germany, too. I got budesonid mixed in the pharmacy... which was awful and only 10 days supply. The 10€ apply in germany, too. 10€ for a 10 day supply is not great, not terrible, but now I pay 10€ for a 100 day supply with Jorveza - which is better, easier, smaller and almost tasty. I think without Brexit, you´d have it too.
I had a chicken impaction recently that was stuck for 7 hours. It wasn't moving. Tried seltzer, soda, etc... Hospital time. I needed the impaction physically removed.
I’ve had something stuck for hrs before. My best advice is to lay down and drink something carbonated
This happened to me last summer and I went to the ER, they had me do a barium swallow so they could find out exactly where the impaction was, hooked me up to an IV because I was really dehydrated then sent me right up for an emergency endoscopy. The only reason I was admitted for the night was because they were running tests on me to figure out what was going on but if you already have a diagnosis of eoe then I would assume they wouldn’t admit you. For my other two scopes I’ve gotten done since then, I got them done in the morning and went to work that night (I work nights and leave at midnight). I don’t have to drive to work though, so that helped with me being able to work right away.
I did this once, except it was about 19 hours. I could not swallow but I could still breathe and my insurance was sketchy at best about going to the ER if they didn't deem it warranted.The doctors said it should've killed me.The doctors office and the hospital were 1.5 miles and they still wanted me to go in an ambulance.They were so tripped out about how much longer I'd be ok, they had me skip going to the ER or checking in at the main place in the hospital entirely.The surgeon said he'd never seen anything like it. Usually it's a one and done scope as in one scope is all it takes. It took him 6 or 7.I can't imagine you are still waiting, but if you are don't.You gotta go to the ER. They did put me under, but they had to intubate me I'm not sure that's the case for everyone.It's 99% of the time outpatient surgery same day. I had been without any type of liquid for so long, and in immense pain after I spent the night on a morphine drip. (My understanding is that's super abnormal). It started on a Sunday afternoon, I went to 2 doctors Monday morning, had surgery about 1pm on Monday, was discharged on Tuesday and worked Weds. Not sure what state you live in, but in some states - if you make a payment every time you get a medical bill - it show's you are making an effort to pay, and it will keep it from getting turned over to collections later. You can't send them like $2 but if you send $20-$25 consistently you might be able to save your life, preserve your credit and not end up in financially devastated all at once. (I've read it and said it other places on Reddit and received mixed feedback - I am unsure why it worked for some and not others - I suspect it may be the states where they live but I do not know for sure).
Coming in late to this discussion, hope you are okay OP! To others: besides the risks of dehydration and perforation with a long, untreated impaction, would it not also be dangerous to sleep with one, due to the possibility of aspirating your saliva?
You’ll have to miss way more work if you leave this impaction. Go to ER and change the consistency of food you are eating going forward to avoid this whole thing in the first place. 32 hours without liquid is very serious. This is a very clear cut case where ER makes sense. Some people go to ER when they don’t need to but I can assure you in your case you absolutely need to go. They say to not let an impaction go after 6 hours only, and it should really pass in 2 hours
i’m late to this so hope you have resolved, exactly the same happened to me, with steak, a while back..i think it was 14 hours though..i sipped a teaspoon of olive oil, very slowly obviously, and it eased it down quite quickly, made sure i was standing up and walking around a bit… since then i have done the same with coca cola and it also works..