How good are the effects of the surgery?

Hi there, I'm 16 and I've known I had RCPD for about a year now.

I have always suffered the effects and I didn't know what caused them but now that I have a 'diagnosis' it explains a whole lot of things.

I've been trying to convince my parents to look into it, and they did, and so we contacted Dr Karagama's office and were told the surgery would be in excess of £5000, which is not an insubstantial amount of money.

And so if I'm going to spend a whole lot of time trying to make some money to go towards this, I'm just sorting of hoping some people who have had the surgery can give me an insight into just how prominent the effects of the surgery were and if it was worth it.

Thank you :)

in noburpby Cautious-Reserve1798

100%

10d

GOGETA54

10d

I didn't have the surgery yet but I can tell you some effect it had on my life. Bear in mind that I had a few other issues but RCPD probably amount to at least half of it :

Had to redo 2 grades due to crippling stomachaches
Didn't pursue a 3rd year of university because I was burned out. And bloated all the time
Hard time to find and keep jobs because I feel awful all the time (I'm so bloated and out of breath I barely have motivation so I'm just using raw willpower for almost everything which isn't good either)
Almost have no social life because I didn't participate in social events because of the physical symptoms of RCPD

My life would have been a whole lot different if I had Botox back in the days, but the past is the past and I can't get it back anyway. A 5000 pound check isn't something a teenager like you can pay nor it should be your responsibility. Though I think you helping with it is still a good thing.

It sucks that your NHS doesn't cover it and I don't know if your parents can afford it right now (they should see if they have healthcare advantages from their company for their children). I just hope you get the help you need sooner rather than later.

Now for the Botox itself most if not all people here said that it's life changing (and oh boy I trust them on that part) and way worth the few side effects you get for the 2-3 months the Botox is active. And those are somewhat easy to manage. You gain the ability to burp which means :

No more bloating
No more chest pain (I had a few that were nasty because it had the same feeling as an hearth attack. Not fun at all)
No more awkward gurgling
No more farting concerts at night
No more nausea after eating big meals like at Christmas (yes you won't be sick !)
And you won't look like the uncle who have a big fat beer belly when evening comes

And all of that because you'll be able to just ... burp. Like a normal human being lol

achumbycat

Are you saying you retained the ability to have full and relieving burps even after the botox wore off? There’s no need to keep getting it redone?

GOGETA54

I'll only get my first injection in july but yeah once you keep the burping after botox wears off you retain the ability. The muscle targeted is controlled subconsciously and in our case is wired wrongly. Botox paralyse muscles so once it starts to wears off it allow your brain to rewrite it because we are burping when the muscle is paralysed since there is no resistance from the muscle.

Keep in mind that everyone tolerance to botox is different and if the units injected are too low it'll not paralyse the muscle enough if at all. But it's better to start lower to avoid stronger side effects

tldr : yes, no need for more injections when you burp without botox. It's a learned ability

achumbycat

thank you so much! I really want to get it done

fossil1982

10d

Dr. Lucy Hicklin £850.

karybrie

Post-Botox

I'd get the Botox over and over in a heartbeat if I had to. My life has improved so much since I had a successful treatment. All my symptoms are gone.

You could look into Lucy Hicklin, who treats in London for a far lower price, as she doesn't treat under general anaesthetic. Just a quick injection through the front of your neck, and you're done. You may need more than one round with her (I did), but my total costs came out at around £1100 plus travel expenses.

R-CPD symptoms worsen as you age, and over time can contribute to the development of other conditions like hiatal hernia. You definitely don't want a hiatal hernia!

I always recommend getting it treated ASAP.