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Non Specific Esophageal Motility Disorder Caused by Beta Blockers
Hello, I am six months into the worst health nightmare of my life. I went to see a dentist in early January 2017 for a root canal. He injected me with numbing solution, but couldn't get me numb. For three days after that injection my heart was racing out of my chest, and I was having tremors at night. I went to the doctor and she said it's likely the solution went into my system, and since it has epinepherine, it caused my heart symptoms. So she put me on propranolol/Inderal 20 mg 2x a day. After a few days, I developed intense mucous and cough and it felt like my throat was flapping in the wind. I was also experiencing what felt like my heart being squeezed and my throat closing. So she told me to back off the meds, and sent me to a cardiologist. The day I saw the cardiologist I was having major propranolol withdrawals. The cardiologist gave me the same information my GP had given me, that it was likely he dental numbing solution. She put me on a different beta blocker called metoprolol succinate ER. Six hours after taking it, I was having what felt like heart flutters when eating, then feeling like if my swallow was stopping. After a few days I noticed it was becoming increasingly harder to swallow, until by the end of ONE WEEK on the medication, I could not swallow at all and was choking on chicken broth and having very intense feelings of my heart being squeezed and then my throat closing. I took myself to a gastroenterologist after having googled my symptoms and being ignored by every medical professional I saw, and he said the drugs likely relaxed my smooth muscle too much. He had me stop the medication and do an endoscopy and a barium swallow/manometry. My endoscopy was normal, and my barium swallow showed I had tertiary contractions and also significantly diminished primary peristalsis. About six weeks after stopping the meds, I was given a manometry which showed that i had 90% swallows failed. About two months after stopping I was given another barium swallow which showed that now my distal esophagus had diminished peristalsis and that i was having spasms. I have never had any problems in my life. Then six hours after taking a random heart medication, esophagus is malfunctioning. I am six months out, and i have had improvement in that I am no longer choking up top, but i can't eat solids w/o spasms and food getting stuck. The doctor said I have non specific esophageal motility disorder and there was NOTHING ELSE THEY COULD FOR ME AND I HAD TO LEARN TO COPE. I refuse to accept this and am looking for a doctor with 1) compassion and 2) knowledge and willingness to try to treat, as I've read there are treatments. I realize none of the treatments work for all, but to give up on me and leave me hanging w/o a nutrition plan, w/o anything, is cruel. I've lost 53lbs since this started and I was so weak I could barely work. I am doing better now, but only because I am eating tons of ice cream and anything liquid, SO MUCH SUGAR. If anyone has experienced this or maybe can assist, please let me know. Thanks! i am in the dallas, tx area. I will take all recommendations, for in and out of state and even at Mayo! Thanks!
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Have you tried baby foods? Some are quite good. Expensive, tho.
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What kinds of food can you eat? Have you tried exercises for the base of your tongue or throat? I thought it was kind of weird, but they have made a difference in my ability to swallow. A speech therapist gave me the exercises and gave me a lot of helpful information. I still have to be aware of how I prepare to swallow (the base of my tongue doesn't move normally) and how I swallow. Our magic bullet makes it possible to eat things.
Jim
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1 ReactionHi Darlia- I know you posted this 2 years ago- but I'm just seeing it now. How are you doing with the IEM? I have had an endoscopy and esophageal motility test which shows that my lower esophageal sphincter is "tight as a drum" said the doctor. So, I am on 40 mg Prilosec in am and 240 mg Diltiazem- which is a calcium channel blocker and somewhat relaxes the LES. And, then I take 300 mg of Ranitadine at night. The meds are helping- but it has been 7 years like this now.- and still feels like there is something stuck in my throat. I also know the proton pump inhibitors do something to the Intrinsic Factor- which produces Vit B12. My sister has to give herself a Vit B12 shot every month. Does anyone have any thoughts or comments on this?
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1 ReactionHi jim, I had swallowing problem with Esophagus blocking at bottom sphincter in Jan. 2021. Went to Dr. and he did a balloon insertio into lower esophagus. That helped for a few days and swallowing was very difficult again. I thought i could come up with a better treatment than that, and after about a month of trying various excersises and movements I found one that worked.. I tried out two different techniques for 4 weeks before I was positive that they worked every single time. The best one is to sit on a cushioned seat or stool.Raise your butt up off seat 6 or 8 inches using both hands on the seat, then come down on the seat as hard as you can and repeat several times til you feel the food clot has moved down and into stomach. If i have a blockage while eating, I immediately do the manuver 6 or 8 times or more. The food went down and I resume eating. Some foods are easier than others but they all move down with enough impacts.The more force you put into the impact the better. I have done these moves now for about ten months with no soreness on butt or any problems. The reason the food is forced down the esophagus is in the laws of physics, momentum.