oesophageal spasms
Posted , 35 users are following.
hi im just 21 and recently diagnosed with the nightmare that is oesophageal spasm.
I have been getting sharp pains from a young age and the older i have become the worse they get and longer they last.
I have been given nitrolingual spray (usually for angina) from my doctor, however i no there are bad side affects and im scared of using it.
If anyone knows why these symptoms occur and how to help relieve them please please get in contact with me!
0 likes, 65 replies
Guest
Posted
Guest
Posted
Hope this is of help to anyone else wih the problem.
David_B
Posted
Please can somebody help me. Are there any Dr Houses out there!!!
agster David_B
Posted
AlanJM agster
Posted
Might it be reflux, perhaps, with acid being pushed up into your oesophagus because of pressure from physical exertion, particularly if you have a fair amount of body weight? One thing you might try is Gaviscon, available over the counter, to see if this makes a difference. It creates a protective raft against reflux. Take it before the exercise and see whether it makes a difference. And experiment with various forms of exercise to see whether, say, walking, has the same effect as an exercise that requires you to bend over or crouch.
By experimenting like this you would be able to report some helpful details to your doctor.
Guest
Posted
edric_nick16062 Guest
Posted
I Appreciate your post is now 9 years old, but if your still curious to an answer i would look at possibly low stomach acid as to your problematic symptoms. Try digestive enzymes with hlc (Betaine hydrochloride) & Probiotics. If it is due to low acid you will simply find out by gradually increasing your dosage of hlc (Betaine hydrochloride) until you feel a warm or slight burning sensation in your upper tummy. If you feel burning from your 1st hlc pill however then its unlikely low acid causing the above problems.
Guest
Posted
Guest
Posted
Tamblin
Posted
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
Guest
Posted
Orinoco6
Posted
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.
charette92138
Posted
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.
schoo charette92138
Posted
So when they go to repair the sphincter, they have to pull the stomach back down beneath teh diaphragm. But the tissues are all contracted and so there is a degree of stretch involved which will very easily cause these symptoms.
schoo
Posted