Shooting pains in oesophagus - what are they?

Posted , 3 users are following.

I had a gastroscopy in December 2017 and was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia and scarring on the lower oesophagus due to severe heartburn and reflux. I am now taking Omeprazole which is really helping.

However, I keep getting sharp stabbing pains in my lower oesophagus. It lasts for a maximum of only a minute or two but it occurs about 6 times a day. I spoke to my GP and she suggested the oesophagus might be going into spasm so it looked it up and it is a real thing - but that pain is described as being similar to a heart attack and my pain isn't like that.

I've tried keeping a food diary to see if these shooting pains happen if I'm hungry or eaten a large meal or a lot of fruit, etc, but I cannot see a pattern.

These pains began just before my gastroscopy so I have ruled out damage done by that or a reaction to Omeprazole.

Does anyone else get these pains or know what could be causing them?

Many thanks,

M.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi

    I get them all the time, I have chronic Gastritis. I’ve got an app. With the doc to see why I’m in so much pain. 

    • Posted

      I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain. My pains are just fleeting and they're bearable - they just make me gasp when they occur. Good luck with your doctor's appointment.

       

  • Posted

    I was reading up on esophagus spasms and it sounds similar to what you’re feeling. Looks like there’s medication and or surgery to help with that too just like anything else but looks like the main cause of esophagus spasms is gerd or acid reflux type issues. 

    I had an upper gi done two weeks ago and they found erosions in my stomach. But my main symptom is burning pain in my esophagus 24/7! It’s not going away no matter what I eat or don’t eat it’s always there. I’m on a low fat low carb diet for the past two months, eating Manuka Honey, no acidic foods and doc put me on Omeprazole and still have all this pain 24/7. On top of it all I have severe nausea, lack of appetite, stomach pains and constipation daily. Nothing is subsiding. Not sure if the severe nausea is from the Omeprazole or not? But it really is a horrible feeling feeling sick every minute of every day and the GI doctors have no clue. All they say is you gotta take the Omeprazole to heal the erosions or they’ll get worse. Why can’t they get me a medication that works and doesn’t make me even more sick? Very frustrating! Now my anxiety is so uncomfortable feeling sick all the time. Getting a second opinion from another GI doc in 2.5 weeks though. Hopefully they can help me feel better. You’re so lucky that the Omeprazole makes you feel better! Wish it could help me out. Good luck with the rest of your issues and don’t be afraid to get 2nd and sometimes 3rd opinions if you still aren’t feeling right. I know it’s time consuming but we gotta do it for ourselves. I’ve been battling with all this crap for almost 3 months now. Not fun! It’s practically destroying my life. 

    • Posted

      Oh and after starting Omeprazole I now have bad back pain around my kidney area. Just another joy of this whole ordeal. 
    • Posted

      Oh no, it sounds like you're going through a lot. I really hope you find some medication or treatment to ease your symptoms.

      Your comment about the back pain in your kidney area is very interesting. It might just be coincidence but that happened to me too. It started about a month after I began taking Omeprazole and after 7 weeks of pain (just twingey during the day but agonising if I lay down so night times were pretty bad) I went to my GP. She thought it was muscular but I hadn't pulled any muscles or had any injury. The pain had come out of nowhere and then, after 8 weeks of getting steadily worse, it went away just as suddenly as it had arrived! So hopefully, your pain will disappear too.

      Good luck!

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