On the evening of October 24th, results of the 9/27 manometry test appeared in MyHealth. The next couple of days, I had the fun of interpreting them on my own as I patiently waited and waited for someone from the Stanford gastroenterology clinic to contact me.
On Friday the 28th, everything finally fell into place. At 9:25pm the result of the 9/28 pH monitor tests showed up in MyHealth; seven minutes later, Dr Alice Cheng messaged me with the next steps.
Dr Cheng confirmed that I was right when I gauged that my body was free of GERD. There was some mild chronic gastritis, but that could’ve been due to acid or stress. I was told that I could ease off Nexium 24hr and that the studies were largely normal.
The doctor’s next trick was to try out a drug called desipramine. She believes that my trouble swallowing could be due to nerve sensitivity in the esophagus. Desipramine (aka a drug usually taken for depression) should calm the nerves and allow things to go through more easily.
I am wary of taking antidepressants, but the tiny portion size of 10mg, which is about a tenth of the dose used for depression, allowed me to give it a chance. The very next day, I walked over to the CVS on De Anza, picked up a bottle and began my new journey at 9:35pm.
