Achalasia

Q I can't come often due to mobility issues. Can I start with an online consultation?

A. If your condition is stable, you can begin with an online consultation about your symptoms and daily habits. However, an accurate diagnosis and herbal prescription require an in-person visit, and if swallowing difficulty worsens or you lose weight, we recommend an in-person examination first.

Q I often choke when food comes back up and have a severe dry cough. Is this related to achalasia?

A. Food or saliva that stays in the esophagus can flow back into the airway, causing choking and a chronic cough, and in severe cases aspiration pneumonia. Symptoms improve only when you also manage the reflux itself.

Q When food gets completely stuck in my esophagus at home and will not go down, is there anything I can do right away?

A. Stand upright or sit up straight and slowly sip warm water in small amounts — this can help the food pass through. Do not eat any more and rest for a while. If you have difficulty breathing or severe chest pain, go to the emergency room immediately.

Q What habits in daily life can make swallowing even a little more comfortable?

A. Eating slowly in small amounts, choosing warm foods, not lying down right after meals, and elevating the upper body during sleep are the key points. Cold, hard foods and late-night eating should be avoided.

Q Swallowing difficulty is getting progressively worse and my weight keeps dropping. Is it okay to start with traditional Korean medicine treatment first?

A. Progressive worsening of swallowing difficulty and ongoing weight loss can be warning signs of serious conditions such as esophageal cancer. In this case, it is safer to first undergo specialized investigations such as upper endoscopy to rule out esophageal cancer before seeking traditional Korean medicine treatment.

Q I am elderly with weak vitality. Is acupuncture treatment to support swallowing safe for me too?

A. A Korean medicine doctor assesses your constitution and vitality and adjusts the stimulation accordingly, so it can be safely received even by elderly patients. Acupuncture may help support swallowing function, but it is only an adjunct to procedural primary treatment.

Q I'm taking medicine from a gastroenterologist. Is it okay to take herbal medicine alongside it?

A. It's fine to take them together if you space them out. We usually advise taking herbal and Western medicine 1–2 hours apart, and if you tell us your current medications at the consultation, we adjust the herbal composition and dosing times accordingly.

Q Even pills get stuck in my throat, so I'm afraid to take medicine. What form does herbal medicine come in?

A. Herbal medicine is mostly a warm liquid decoction, so it's less of a swallowing burden than pills. Still, if swallowing is very difficult, we advise taking it in small portions slowly and adjust the method to your condition.

Q I am a 50-year-old office worker — do I have to live with this condition for life? How will it progress?

A. Achalasia is a chronic, slowly progressive condition. Proper procedures and management can greatly ease swallowing and eating, but without treatment, complications such as malnutrition and esophageal dilation may develop, making ongoing management essential.

Q My food has not been going down for months and I have lost a lot of weight. Can I regain weight and energy?

A. Once swallowing recovers and you can eat properly, body weight and vitality will gradually return. However, significant weight loss over a short period is a warning sign that requires thorough investigation, so identifying the cause must come first.

Q I was diagnosed with achalasia. What exactly is this condition?

A. It's a disease where the sphincter at the entrance from the esophagus into the stomach fails to open in time, and the esophagus's pushing-down motion disappears, so food can't pass into the stomach. As a result, even water, not just solids, doesn't go down well.

Q I run a restaurant so I eat in a hurry, and every time it gets stuck in my chest. How should I eat to clog less?

A. Eat small amounts slowly, chewing thoroughly, and swallow with some water to reduce the esophageal burden. Eating a lot fast is the most likely to clog, so it's good to split meals into several smaller ones.

Q When I lie down at night, the food I ate during the day comes right back up into my mouth. It happens every night—could it be the food?

A. Food pooled in the esophagus loses gravity's help when you lie down and comes back up. Eating dinner early and small and raising your upper body during sleep can reduce nighttime regurgitation.

Q I am looking for a Korean medicine clinic near Dong-incheon. How does the first visit go for achalasia?

A. At the first visit, we carefully review the pattern of swallowing difficulty, weight changes, and any test results you have received, and first check whether procedural treatment is being appropriately carried out. Based on that, we determine together the direction of traditional Korean medicine adjunct therapy.

Q I have difficulty visiting frequently because of work. How often do I realistically need to come for adjunct treatment?

A. You do not need to come every day. Treatment typically proceeds with acupuncture once or twice a week combined with daily herbal medicine taken at home, and scheduling is coordinated so it does not conflict with your procedural treatment appointments.

Q What should I prepare before a consultation to make the visit more accurate?

A. Please bring any results from upper endoscopy, esophageal manometry, and barium swallow studies, as well as your current medications. In addition, noting down when swallowing difficulty started, which types of food are hardest to swallow, and any weight changes will allow us to determine the adjunct treatment direction more accurately.

Q Will herbal medicine and acupuncture completely cure achalasia? I want to solve it with Korean medicine alone, without surgery.

A. Honestly, the main treatment for achalasia is a specialized procedure such as balloon dilation or myotomy. Korean medicine does not replace the procedure but plays a supportive role in easing swallowing discomfort and stomach unease; opening the blocked entrance with Korean medicine alone, without a procedure, is hard to expect.

Q Even after balloon dilation, food sometimes gets stuck and I feel bloated. Can Korean medicine help the discomfort that remains after a procedure?

A. Even though the procedure widened the entrance, esophageal motor function doesn't return all at once, so residual discomfort can remain. Such lingering unease and digestive discomfort with no major findings on tests is an area where supportive Korean medicine treatment can help.