esophageal spasms

[fortam]

I am new to this site and have seen many of you talk about esophageal spasms..  Can some one describe to me how they feel.  I have been having pain for a few years and it has become more frequent and more severe, so much so that I went to the e.r. at 2:30 a.m. after it woke me from my sleep.  It starts out slowly and progresses feeling best described as an intense labor contraction.  This time it latsted nearly 30 minutes.  I do not understant why this is happening during my sleep.  It used to happen during daytime and was minor discomfort that lasted maybe 10 minuntes.  Doc removed my gallbladder thinking that stones were the problem however it has only worsend since the surgery.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[golda]

I have had this disorder for many years. I also cannot digest red meat and sometime throw my food right back up after a meal. I went through many agonizing tests, emergency room trips, many medications and many doctors. The only thing that would help me in the past was a trip to the emergency room to get a shot of valium and a shot of demerol at the same time, to quiet the spasm and the pain. Mine were so severe that after throwing the food up, the spasm would follow up my esophagus to my face and jaw. I couldnt even open my mouth to talk.  Well after many years of suffering, I finally found a great GI guy who seemed to be on the right track.  Along with the daily dose of Previcid,(Prilosec did nothing for me), I now also take 10 mg of "Flexeril", a muscle relaxant when I feel the spasms coming on...you know, that twing in you upper-stomach or your esophagus, that tightness, that you know something is going to happen!  I am so happy to say, that so-far, it has helped-THANK GOD!  The doctor told me that its not an uncommon condition, but undiagnosed or wrongly diagnosed in 90% of the people who suffer from this.  The cause is unknown. But the problem IS REAL!!!!!!! Very real..not emotional or pyscological,(Ive gotten those diagnosis' before).Spasms of the GI tract. Ask your doctor to let you try this. At first the Flexeril will make you feel like  a wet noodle, but you get used to the relaxation of it and the "wet noodle" effect is not so bad. IT'S BETTER THAN THE
ALTERNATIVE!!!   Good luck to you...God Bless.

[cj22]

A related discussion, New to this was started.

[lacinda]

I have been dealing with esophageal spasms for about 8 years.  I'm 41 and the mother of 3.  A couple of years ago I was scoped and dialated.  I have severe webbing of my upper esohagus.  I have been told this webbing is congenital and that I have had problems swallowing my entire life.  Well, I haven't had trouble swallowing my entire life, so I'm looking for answers.  Why did my troubles start about 8 years ago, and why are the episodes becoming more frequent?  What happens is my esophagus will spasms, sometimes after eating dry foods and sometimes just a drink of water will set it off.  I have not found any real pattern of when it will happen or what will set it off.  These spasms often happen at home when I am alone and under no stress.  When the spasms begin there is a sense of tighting in mu upper airway.  I begin to make a lot of awful noises, breathing and talking is very difficult.  I am unable to swallow anything, even my own saliva. Because of the spasm I produce a lot of thick, frothy foam that needs to be spit out.  Sometimes these episodes are short lasting sometimes they last for 45 min. or more.  Nothing seems to help except for the dilation I had done.  For about 6 months after the dialation I had no problems.  I do not want another dialation, my esophagus was torn during the first dialation and I have been told by two different physcians that I am at a very high risk of tear or perforation if I have another dialation.  I can go for months without problems.  Anyone else have similar problems?  Have you found any answers?  Last night I had an episode at work ( I work at a hospital)  It seemed like it was going to be a bad one so I went to the Emergency room. I was given nitro twice and 2 different types of muscle relaxants.  They thought this would bring immediate relief but it did not.  I finally got relief after I vomitted a small plug if chicken.  Apparently even though I eat very small bites, these small bites became lodged together from all of the spasms.  Help!

[pain in ga]

I too have been suffering from esophageal spasms since 1994.  I've had laporascopic nissen fundoplication surger in 2000, had a heart cath, stress test, motility tests x 4 (God Awful Experience), scoped x 6.  My spasms went away for about 6 months, but now they are back with a vengence.  I am under a lot of stress, but no more than normal.  I handle it well.  Sometimes the pain comes when I'm really upset and sometimes it comes on when I am totally relaxed, it doesn't really matter what I am doing.  I can usually feel it coming on slowly, by a knawing sensation in my chest before it hits full strength and other times it just hits with no warning.  The pain starts in my chest between my brest, moves up to both sides of my neck, into my jaws, into my ears, through to my mid back, and shoulders and down my arms (mostly left, sometimes right).  It takes your breath away, sometimes I get flushed and red faced, sometimes I break out into a sweat.  I take sublingual nitro tabs and a muscle relaxer or an xanax.  Most of the time it will relieve itself before a third nitro is needed.  After the initial excrutiating spasm, I stay sore in my chest, back and neck for a couple of days after.  For the past week I have been having severe spasms everyday, sometimes morning and night, they normally last from 20 minutes to a couple of hours.  I am a 38 year old female, mother of 2, wife, and business owner.  I have been apprehensive about working lately because I am scared that I will have an attack infront of a client and they will notice that I am hurting.  With pain like this its practically impossible to hide.  I'm starting to repeat these tests over again.  I belch alot again and after a spasm my stomach feels like it is hungry, even though I do not feel like eating.  I wish someone has some answers, I've been to Doctor after Doctor.  I, as everyone with this disorder, want a life without this type of pain.  One doctor says to go to the emergency room when we have this type of pain because it is sometimes indisquinshable from a heart attack, but if we did this, we would be going to the emergency room every day.  I am praying for an answer.  If anyone knows one let me know!

[noclue]

I have had the same problem that you described. Mine starts when I am relaxed, feels like someone is punching into my chest, pulling out my guts, then the pain roams up to my throat and grabs my jaws and feels  like my face is being pulled out, then the pain travels down my middle, ends at lower belly and back up again to my jaws. lasts for 20 minutes and happens about 3 times per year.  NO ONE CAN HELP ME OR DIAGNOSE ME.
no clue

[pikamom]

Your pain could be esphogus spasm. Or it could be angina. Hard to tell which without an extensive workup. If you haven't already, I'd say start with a cardiologist as the heart would be what you want to rule out first. Coronary artery spasm is a kind of angina that occurs mainly at rest and usually wakes you up in the early morning hours. Your pain could also be any number of other things. Get a doctor to work with you till you get it sorted out.

[Keith F]

My wife just got back from Mayo's.  For years she has gotten things that feel like a heart attack. She gets tightening in her chest, feels it in her shoulder and arms, etc.  She had also been diagnosed previously with reflux disease, put on a routine of previcid.  At one point they also took her gall bladder out due to stones, thinking this pain would stop. It didn't. At Mayo's they did 2 unpleasant tests.  While awake, they stuck a tube through her nose, down into her stomach, and made her drink water in a controlled fashion while measuring the response of her esaphogus (sp?).  They also put a wire into her stomach via her nose, and had it hooked up to a machine, that my wife had to carry around for 24 hours.  This measured the ph, looking at the acid levels in her stomach and how often and how high it backed up. She had to punch buttons when she ate, when she felt hearburn and when she felt that crushing feeling, etc.
The results showed she had severe acid and the prevacid wasn't doing it, they gave her another med to try.  The crushing feeling is her esaphagus is oversqueezing during the digestion process, and at times when she gets acid reflux.  Ultimately this could require surgery, but they hope if the acid doesn't enflame it, that problem will subside.

Keith