The NHS Choices website describes Achalasia as follows:
Achalasia is a disorder of the gullet (oesophagus) where it loses the ability to move food along. The valve at the end of the gullet also fails to open and allow food to pass into your stomach.
As a result, food gets stuck in your gullet and is often brought back up.
A ring of muscle called the lower oesophageal (cardiac) sphincter keeps the opening from the gullet to the stomach shut tight to prevent acid reflux (acidic stomach content moving back up into the gullet).
Normally, this muscle relaxes when you swallow to allow the food to pass into your stomach. In achalasia, this muscle does not relax properly and the end of your gullet becomes blocked with food.
Achalasia is an uncommon condition that affects about 6,000 people in Britain. It is sometimes known as cardiospasm.
My experiences of Achalasia
I have dedicated a section of this blog to my experiences of coping with this rare disease and how I came to have it. I also describe my experiences of a surgical procedure, the Hellers Myotomy with Nissen Fundoplication, that has relieved about 85% of the symptoms of achalasia and given me back control of my life.
Click here to see all my posts on Achalasia.