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Esophageal Spasms — Peppermint Lozenges
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
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@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