@Dangerous_beans the old Bondi Leathers. Tough sun-baked skin beats road rash every time.
Must admit I haven’t tried it myself, but I’m sure it’s fine.

@WordyAnchorite Have you tried goat horns? My dogs love them and they last an age. Deer antlers too if you can get them.

@Yell0wbag The op was certainly drastic. I’ve posted all about it on Insta if you look for me (therammo). Do nothing is what ends up in my position, for sure. I was misdiagnosed by my NHS GP when I was in my early 20s. I knew he was wrong but didn’t have the strength to push through the bureaucracy and get a better doctor. So I ignored it and hid it for nearly 30 years. But… good news is I can now eat anything I want and it all stays down!

@Yell0wbag I’ve only met a couple of others in person and they’ve been polar opposites. One knew all about their condition and just got on with it. The other was all ‘woe is me’. I stayed in the ‘ignore it until I can’t eat anymore’ camp and now look at me!
I have found the FB groups useful for info on doctors (there is a global list of good specialists, incl NHS) but if your GI does POEM they’ll be on that list anyway and will deffo be up for post POEM follow up balloon.

@Yell0wbag Its good you’re reducing the impact with smaller bites etc. but make sure you get that follow up. I used to get flare ups too, I associated them with stress but it was probably just me getting stressed when it flared up, rather than the other way around.

@Yell0wbag G’day mate! Fellow #achalasia warrior here. I’ve had POEM and dilations, reached end stage and finally had an oesophagectomy 2 months ago (very big op, 3 months off work, up to 12 months full recovery - best thing I’ve ever done!).
I can’t find much of an Achalasia community here - just us 2 plus another you can find through the hashtags.
But… have you tried FB and Insta? There are some great people on Insta and very well researched groups on FB that can help and…

@Yell0wbag …support.
Meanwhile, all the usual tips you already know, I guess: small mouthfuls, lots of water, see your specialist, fizzy drinks help, etc.
After my POEM I had multiple dilatations to break down the scar tissue and re-open the myotomy. It’s very common to ‘tweak’ the POEM with a follow up dilatation to do this.
I had a 3rd dilatation on my throat just yesterday to open up that scar tissue.
And don’t worry about oesophagectomy - it’s very rare and really…