oesophageal spasms

Hi schoo, yes I experience the same symptoms you discribe, what a relief to know somebody else out there will know what I am talking about, my attacks maybe severe when I feel my head will explode with the increased pressure to being a mild like flutter, I to think I will fall down and sometimes have to sit down as I become really dizzy, a worry when driving! I have crest syndrome, don't know if this is a contributing factor, I feel there are a few triggers for me , acidic foods, salads,spicy foods, stress. though not always I was good all through winter (no salads) often a combination I think. I can be spasm free for weeks or months and then go through a period of mild to severe which is almost continuous quite debilitating, frustrating and changing my life style, wakes me sometimes at night ? related to dreams. The medical world have not been very helpful, don't seem to know what I am talking about. Due to the short duration of the attacks 5-15 sec. as you have described no medication has been offered, When I read experiences of other sufferer's with pain I feel I am most fortunate. relief

I have this condition sometimes at lunch just after I have started eating. The sensation is quite uncomfortable and worrying but I did notice that a glass of water stops it in its tracks and that after this it doesn't reoccur. It reminds me of hiccups! I think it is worse when I'm under stress.

Hope this is of help to anyone else wih the problem.

Hi, I'm 53 and apart from this and being a little overweight because of it am fairly healthy.I suffer from ibs and am taking nexium 20mgs daily, All of a sudden about a year ago after running across a road to avoid being run over by a car I experienced what could only think were the symptoms of a mild heart attack.A crushing,burning tight sensation in the centre of my chest. Over the next few months I found that if i walked briskly for short periods of time or even walked around a golf course I suffered this totally debilitating pain. It would build suddenly when I stopped doing what I was doing and then would only last about 30 seconds to a minute.I would feel out of breath and iwould think I was going to die. I've had every conceiveable test done including an angiogram as a cardiologist was convinced I had heart desease after reviewing the results of a ecg stress test. (heart & arteries were in perfect condition) I've had an endoscopy, ct scans of my chest and abdomen, ultra sounds of everything and more. The next thing suggested is to have manometry tests done. I recently experieced this pain lying in bed whilst reading abook. I took a couple of puffs of nitrolingual spray and a rennies tablet and it went away fairly rapidly. I cant exercise now as It frightens me to think it is a cardiac problem that has not been diagnosed.(my mum has angina and my grandfather died from a heart attack). I'm putting on weight which doesn't bode well for my health. My gp is convinced it is os spasm. But manometry tests only show something in a resting or innactive situation and I only seem to suffer most of my problems during fairly light exercise. Has anyone experienced similar symptoms and and found out what it is and is there cure. It is beginning to adversly effect my life as I cant even go for a walk with my wife without her or my kids and even me worrying if i'll suffer a heart attack.

Please can somebody help me. Are there any Dr Houses out there!!!

Hi, I am not sure whether i have this disease, but i have had this problem for 5 years!!! I have almost a constant pain in my back which radiates through to my gullet. Sometimes i can have it whether i have eaten or not. I feel as if i want someone to kick me in the back. I have tried all of the acid reflux medicines, but to be quite honest, i very rarely get the reflux problem, just the constant burping and feeling incredibly uncomfortable. I have tried acupuncture, chiropractice, osteopathy and am currently going down the chinese herbal medicine path.. all i have to say to no avail and all of which have cost me a fortune! I am currently waiting for yet another endoscopy and maybe then on to London for further tests. The only thing that seems to have helped me is copious amounts of alcohol as this seems to relax my muscles. Also i sometimes take temazipan which gives me a good nights sleep and also seems to relax the muscles but i do not want to continue in this way as i shall die a raging alcoholic or drug dependent!!! A specialist commented to me the other day that he did not think that it was life threatening!! oh well thank goodness for that as i would have been dead by the time they had worked it out!! I have recently started working for a Doctors surgery and my advice is to keep going back in. Good luck! and i will let you know if i have any joy! By the way, i originally thought it was a gall bladder problem and had a scan, which was clear but i have again, insisted on having another as sometimes these things can be overlooked. So my advice is maybe get another opinion and keep pressurising!

I have suffered from digestive problems for the past 40 years, starting with persistant indigestion in my twenties which developed into these mysterious, dibilitating attacks of pain starting in the sternum and chest, progressing painfully into my back, ribscage, neck and jaw. Over the years I've had various tests - Barium Xray, Ultra sound etc etc but NO-ONE has ever acknowledge what it could be, so I've always treated it as Trapped Wind!However, some two years ago I started with bad Gastric Reflux and was put on Lansaprozole and WHAT a difference - GREAT - until Sunday 21st Dec 2008 when I suffered a very bad attack of the old pains again, but this one was so bad even I thought it was a heart attack and was admitted to hospital. All the usual Xrays and ECG's etc. proved negative and I was sent home. Then on visiting my relatively new young doctor, and showing him a written description of the actual pain pattern, I was stunned to hear him say he was sure he knew what it was \"Oesophageal spasm\" he said and sure enough I looked it up and there were all my symptoms. I am so very relieved to finally know what it is after all these years. Hope you manage to find a similar peace of mind with it. Keep taking the PPI's, I say!!!!

Hi, I am so glad to have found this website. Have been suffering occasional terrible chest and radiating pain on and off for a number of years usually late at night when i have been in one position for a long time but have never associated it with oesophagus as it has never come on at a meal time or while eating but may be hours later. Worst time was once late at night when I had been ironing for a long time. On this occasion I phoned the emergency doctor but surprise surprise no one turned up or phoned back. Eventually pain subsided and I went to GP in morning who was rather vague but said he was sure it couldn't be heart as no history in family etc. Recently went to hospital late at night because pain was so bad convinced it must be heart..angina and was pleased at least they tested for this.... but they assured me no nothing like that and diagnosed oesphageal spasm and gave me lanzprazole which I was to take for a fortnight. Not sure what these were supposed to do but took them as directed. That was a few weeks ago. Have just had another spasm begin to come on again having again been in one position for rather a long time- at computer at kitchen table and rather hunched up. Immediately got up and walked to cupboard to take one of these tabs because they were there and within reach. and amazingly pain disappeared as quickly as it had come on!!! BUT too soon for it to possibly have been the pills, but perhaps it was moving straight away....? Usually I become so overwhelmed by the pain feel I can't move...perhaps this increases the tension. As others have described pain can become so intense I become completely debilitated. I am now wondering if I become physically tense when in one position for a while and this causes it to happen? Going to try the gaviscon someone recomended Good luck to other sufferers.

Dear mandolino

I am a 57-year-old male and have exactly the same symptoms as yourself. However I am very fit thin and athletic and it was a surprise to me and every body that I would be suffering from a heart attack – I have had two stress tests and passed showing my usual level of fitness.

I am no going to advise any body but I will give of my experience. After the stress tests pronounced me fit I have been hill walking again even though a walk to the car from my house or up the factory steps will cause some unpleasant pain down the left hand side and the arm I decided to ignore the pain and I noticed it does not get any worse and is relieved by exercise once I have ignored it for a while. Now if I push it I get the usual pains of a middle aged heart climbing up a mountain with youthful enthusiasm but this is normal for the amount of stress I am putting myself under. So a diagnosis of oesophagus spasms ( I am tired of the Latin) seems to be correct . The doctors have not committed themselves to this diagnosis yet.

So I will be getting a barium drink and an X-ray Monday to see the extent of the damage to the old oesophagus and I will take it from there. I will try some self help cures and stuff to see if I can cure it all myself – but from what I have read there is no cure apart from some speculative surgery.

The doctors have given me some reflux stuff to take down the level of acid in the stomach but until they can give me a reasoned and exact explanation for the pain that suggests reflux I will not be taking the medicine. I may try it after the tests to see if it does have any effect – but I have not been doing anything efficacious lately because I want to be able to show clear symptoms to the specialist.

From what I am researching; ours is a very rare complaint and gives the same symptoms as heart related angina so no blame to the doctors for not putting it together. But I am thinking that the complaint is not so rare. What is lacing is a clear definition of the complaint. It is impossible for doctors to form any clear ideas until the complaint has been clearly categorized.

So I think we are on our own, but luckily enough this seems to be a painful annoyance and a frightener rather than a killer- like heart disease, which we thought it was. I will post the results of my tests and the comments of the doctors etc and any efficacious stuff that works for me.

For myself I have a suspicion Stress is a root cause – this is unfortunately also makes us a target for some shame and guilt related emotions and easy pickings for any latter-day witch doctors with their talking snake oil,.

Any way the air is fresh and free – good luck Tamblin

I'm 31 and have suffered with oesophagus spasm for a while now. To make matters worse i'm 38 weeks pregnant, I have been passed from pillar to post and am so fed up with my consultants telling me its not life threatening, he said he couldnt see anything wrong with me so couldnt be that bad and to basically put up with it. One consultant even asked me if i was feeling anxious, I was fuming!! In the meantime I have been given Omeprazole 20mg twice daily, nifedipine caps 10mg three times daily and a GTN spray (given usually to heart patients). I have an ultra sound scan on my liver, kidneys etc booked but as i'm pregnant they say won't be able to see much, (very helpful). I have had an absolutley awful experience of my spasms as the pregnancy has progressed. My Dr says to ring for help whenever I need it but at 3am in the morning when your family are tucked up in bed its just not a very good solution to have paramedics hoisting all their equipment thru your house! The paramedics are called once a week at the moment, they give me gas and air which i'm not sure helps. My spasm can last a few minutes or over an hour. I've never ever felt pain like it!!! I'm hoping to be induced in the next week due to this condition and praying the spasms ease off. I did suffer twice before my pregancy with a spasm but never as severe as now. Ive had a previous endoscopy years ago due to chronic indegestion which showed a leaky valve but dr seemed happy with that so never followed up with any treatment. I feel better now i've got that off my chest, I'm so glad i'm not alone with this problem.

Hi - I'm 34, male, Australian. Started getting this weird constriction in the lower gullet a few years ago. Used to be able to \"walk it off\". Now, it seems to be getting more and more regular - but especially at the start of the big meals. Symptoms: feeling like there is a burp that just won't come up, then, growing discomfort which feels like a brick easing up and down my osophagus. This then transitions to the most intense and grinding pain I've ever experienced. My swallowing and breathing seem to be at odds with each other. At this point, I'm trying to clear and reset the system by throwing up. This worked for a while. Then I had one episode that was so bad, my whole gullet seemed to lock up - the spasms had finished, but no food or water could get down. Saw a doctor who gave me a nitrolingual spray - a couple of puffs of this and the whole thing relaxed and opened (I could actually hear it open). This bad version of the whole thing is becoming more frequent.

The doctor had me do a barium swallow - the x-ray shows a slight ripple in my lower osophagus - apparently this is \"corkscrew\".

Triggers for me:

dry meaty food

alcohol before the meal

social events (ie eating and talking (and drinking) at the same time)

bad posture

spicy food

eating bread before the meal

stress

interruptions in the meal (I have young kids)

Probably being underhydrated during the day.

99% of the time, it's the evening meal (breakfast, lunch, snacks ok)

Solutions for me: (don't work all the time)

Drinking a big glass of water before eating

Avoiding alcohol (ok, so that sucks)

Avoiding social ocassions (again, sucky)

Avoiding dry meals

Trying to be stress free

Really monitoring what's happening as I start eating.

Help! I am beginning to dread social occasions.

Hi, I am a 39 year old female. I just recently started having a problem with these spasms. I had a haitus hernia repair done on the 4th of Feb. I felt wonderful after the surgery, all the pain and reflux problems were instantly gone. But 5 weeks later I started getting pains in my chest again which I could only describe as contractions in my throat and neck. It is now week 3 since it started and it happens every single night with the severity of it increasing every time it happens. I went back to my surgeon who put me back on anti-reflux medication and scheduled yet another gastroscopy. However, it has gotten to the point where I can't wait another almost two weeks. The pain is excrutiating, it starts in my chest, mimicking a heart-attack as the reflux used to do, but now it spreads to my back, arms, neck and jaw. I found this post when trying to find some kind of information on what might be wrong.

Could this be a complication from the surgery? Week 5 when the pain started was also the time that I started introducing more solid foods back into my diet, perhaps that could have triggered it. I tried going back to fluids only but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Any advice please, I am at the point where I am too scared to sleep. Just about 2 hours of sleep is what I can accomplish, then I wake up with the pain which sometimes lasts for hours. It also doesn't feel as if it ever goes away completely, the weird pressing feeling in my chest remains, though just not as sharp as when I wake up from the pain. I have also resorted to sleeping in a chair now, just in case the reflux is back. But it makes no difference. Cold seems to make it worse as well, will try wrapping a scarf around my neck tonight, though it seems ridiculous, but nonetheless, I got the advice and will try it.

Please help, I am so desperate for any advice.