Esophageal spasm

I have spasms just beyond the back of my throat and just above my stomach. They can make it difficult and painful to swallow. Sometimes food will not go into my stomach nor liquids. Sometimes it is just a fluttering feeling. Mine are becoming more frequent and more painful.

A link at the Mayo site incase you have not read it. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/esophageal-spasms/symptoms-causes/syc-20372250

I've had esophogeal spasms on and off for many years and they've always quite painful lasting 2-20min and always in the center of my chest just like a heart attack. It seems to occur with GERDS. In Jan 2019 after my 2nd hiatal repair, reversal of a 24yr old Nissan wrap and LYNX band placement I began having almost daily spasms. I learned from personal research from one post-op LYNX recovery article that drinking fluids will stop the spams almost immediately. It works! I wish I had known this years ago.

I thought you might be interested in viewing this video/post on Connect’s GI page where Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, Dr. Magnus Halland talks about a novel therapy:
– Esophageal Self Dilation Therapy: An Effective Alternative https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/gastroenterology-and-gi-surgery/newsfeed-post/esophageal-self-dilation-therapy-an-effective-alternative/

I went to Mayo Jacksonville a few days ago to have my esophagus dilated. They dilated to 20 mm. I still have Barretts, but the pathology results were good.

Since dilation I am swallowing better and most solid and liquids are staying down. I am having esophageal spasms (at back of my throat and just above my stomach) and they are causing chest discomfort… and sometimes a bit of food or liquid to come up. I was diagnosed with the spasms years before this dilation. I seem to be having more of them than I used to over the past year.

From the Mayo Clinic website:
Suck a peppermint lozenge. Peppermint oil is a smooth muscle relaxant and might help ease esophageal spasms. Place the peppermint lozenge under your tongue.

I have used peppermint candy some in the past before I read this. I was not told about peppermint lozenges.. which are a bit different than candy.. would help by my providers at the time of diagnosis.

I assume that since the peppermint candy helped that the lozenges would be better.?? Right now my throat is still sore from the endoscopy and I am using some lemon-honey drops I had in the cabinet that have menthol, and eucalyptus oil and they seem to help the spasms some… but for only a short time.

Anyone use peppermint lozenges .. if so a particular brand works better than another?

ZeeGee

@fourof5zs i also have esophageal spasms. I didn’t know about using peppermint until about 1 year ago and i still don’t know about lozenges. thank you! I’ll have to do some research. I just use the red and white Christmas peppermints. What do you use?
https://www.amazon.com/Meltzers-Puremints-Peppermint-1-76-Ounce/dp/B0046HK22O/ref=asc_df_B0046HK22O/

Wouldn't a muscle relaxer relax the les?

@becsbuddy

I used the pinwheel red & white candy. I had 3 years I could not go to the dentist … I just was not able to sit in the chair because of rib pain. My pain specialist managed to ablate one of the nerves so I could lean straight back. No dental care = almost $9,000 in dental work. I told my husband to stop buying the candy. I still sometimes get some. My stomach does not like artificial sweeteners… so have to go for the sugar.

My husband looked for any type of peppermint lozenges today and no drug store or Walmart had it.

Fortunately the spasms have calmed for now. These were hard ones! Sometimes the endoscopy will trigger them. Most of the time they just come out of the blue with no trigger.

ZeeGee

@riflemanz64

Yes, they will. You have to be able to swallow it which I cannot always do. I can chew valium and if able to swallow water after it.. it will help. Sometimes the spasms will not let food nor water go down.. just as the stricture I had the endoscopy for would not. Sometimes hard to tell what is going on. .. spasms or stricture.

I was prescribed valium for a back problem. My team at Mayo said to take as little as possible. (I rarely take it now) It can actually leave the sphincter above the stomach open long enough for lots of acid to come up. There are better muscle anti-spastic drugs for the esophagus than valium.

Most of the time the spasms do not last long .. but as time goes on they can become more frequent and more painful.

ZeeGee

I just experienced my second esophageal spasm last night! The first time it happened, I genuinely thought I might be having a heart attack. The pain was so intense that if I hadn’t put my head between my knees, I would have passed out. That’s how severe it can be.

This second episode struck when I went for a midnight snack of leftover refrigerated halibut. Interestingly, the first time it happened, I was eating ceviche. Last night, I couldn’t swallow at all during the spasm. While I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out this time, the pain was still excruciating. I can’t imagine dealing with this on a regular basis.

Aside from these spasms, I sometimes get a strong sensation of food feeling "stuck" if I eat cold chicken too quickly. I will be super careful about any cold protein in the future, especially cold fish.

hi grace, im not sure if youll see this since its been a long time, sorry to bother but currently trying to google my symptoms that have been recurring for a year now (subsided for a few months) but restarted again i think also when im a little more stressed. Anyway, your comment caught my eye because I also have had Thyca in the past, total thyroidectomy, and on thyroid med for over 5 years. My doctor has always told me to always keep my TSH around 0.1 and my levels have always fluctuated haha but this feeling of something sort of like a palpitation but actually more like a soft blow to my chest or now im thinking more upper stomach? (i can have multiple in a day and sometimes quite close proximity when im particularly worked up stressed or exercising) sorry to put all this background but just to see if anything relates to how you felt?