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Esophageal spasm

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Posted 1/28/2012 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
Evidently according to my gi. Doc I amm having spasm of the esophagus extremely painful feels like a heart attack. Told me to go back on dexalant and dycyclomine
Posted 1/28/2012 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Did you have surgery done?
Posted 1/28/2012 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
I had good luck with nifedipine it is a BP med, but works for spasms. There are a couple other BP meds that work for this also. I didn't have any luck with dycyclomine or hyoscamine for spasms, but work a bit for my IBS.
Hope you get relief with these meds.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 1/29/2012 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
 I have had terrible chest pains for 14 years. I've seen 4 of the best cardios and all were negative, every time. Finally my newest cardio sent me to the Gastroenterologist because he thought it may be esoph spasms. The Gastro did the endo, monom, the probe and saw nothing but he said it must be spasms. So now 6 months later I can get relief finally and it is spasms. First I use the round red and white, sugar free peppermint candies, the best ones are at CVS, everytime I get the "feeling" and 60% of the time they stop!! If that doesn't work i keep with me .4 NITROSTAT and it kills the spasm within 45 seconds. I use to sit in agony for an hour but the nitro stops it cold.

I wasn't crazy about the nitro but if it stops the pain, I'll take anything. I bet 1/2 of all chest pains are in fact spasms and they just aren't diagnosed. I went to Duke, Baptist, UNC and the BEST private Cardio and never once did spasms come up. What a shame!!!     bear22

Posted 1/29/2012 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

Yes, and it does feel like a heart attack, which I've had too - triggered by my esophageal spasms.

It might be a good idea to figure out if you have specific triggers for your esophageal spasms. I did and my allergist had me keep a food diary to find them. (You can search more about that in the search box above.)

Do you ever get rapid heartbeating with them? That's called cardio-esophageal reflEx (not reflux), aka linked angina. Neither gastros nor cardios seem to be much educated on this, but there are several scientific papers.

I get relief with atenolol, half the smallest pill. Other beta blockers work, but that one's the fastest. I recommend chewing. If I can't get the heart to calm down I chew an aspirin too. Not delicious, but efficacious. Nitro works, but gives me an awful headache, and it doesn't keep well.
Posted 1/29/2012 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
Alcie and bear-

Thanks for adding these for info. I had forgot about the nitro pill they gave me. Gave me a headache too, ugh. I hadn't thought of atenolol before, thanks for that info Alcie. I am not sure it works for me because I was on 50mg and was still getting spasms.

Alcie, where you been lately? we miss you around here.


Bear-
Do you have reflux also or just the nasty spasms? I ask because lots of people with GERD can had yummy issues with pepermint and straight mint. But seems spearmint is ok.

Take care all,
Bill
Posted 1/29/2012 10:41 PM (GMT 0)
I probably had mild gerd when pain started but Previcid and others never relieved the knife in the heart feeling. I do feel a bit of heart speeding up and pounding a bit that comes way after the bad spasm is present . Nitro has never given me a headache. I have experimented with every possible trigger and the only trigger seems to be breathing oxygen if that tells you anything.
Posted 1/29/2012 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
bear-

By the way, Welcome to Healing Well. Hope you stick around and enjoy the members. We are very supporting here.

I can relate to the breathing causes reflux, LOL!

Take care,
Bill
Posted 1/29/2012 10:55 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, I am hoping that one of those genious pharma companies is working on a permanent relief for this little nuisance of a problem that cat can debilitate a person and come close to destroying ones existance. Until very recently getting on the peppermint and Nitro I was crippled for up to an hour when a spasm came anytime night or day. But at least now I know what it is even if the freekin specialists that cost me over $30,000 in deductibles and co-pays don't. And the worst part of it is that I am a Medical Consultant for 40 years. What a payback, Huh??
Posted 1/29/2012 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
bear-

Yeah this disease sure doesn't care about who it affects. I had to deal with those darn spasms when I had an esophageal stent and wouldn't wish them on anyone. Nothing worse than a cramp in an area you can do nothing about.
Do you get them when you drink cold or hot drinks? I have a problem with cold drinks once in a while causing them.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 1/30/2012 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
No I've monitored that very closely and that doesn't seem to be a trigger. My worst spasms occur between 11pm and 4 am for no reason??
Posted 6/11/2012 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
I too am experiencing what I think is esophageal spasm as I had an incident with it a number of years ago. I have been getting some type of spasm for the last two months..have not been to dr as yet. I know when it's going to strike as I start to get a feeling up in my lower throat and ears that spreads to an awful pain in chest..no heart or breathing involved. I drink lots of cold water and it soothes the pain away..stopped drinking coffee..nothing seems to help. On 20mgs of Prilosec a day..can this be spasm?
Posted 6/11/2012 9:51 PM (GMT 0)

LynKidd, You may want to try the round peppermint red and white candies,CVS works best, it stops all of my minor spasms but the bad ones, a knife in the heart type is only stopped with .4 Nitrostat. Those are the worst thing in the world. I'm still on Previcid which controls GERD but does nothing for the spasms. Practically NO information on the esoph spasms or the Cardio Esopageal Reflex which it could also be. Peppermint takes all of those for me, luckily.

Posted 6/12/2012 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
These spasms are seriously affecting my quality if life. They ruined my uncle's wedding this past weekend. I am on a strict diet of lean protein, fruits and vegetables and I still get them, but they are less intense with the diet. I have a dr appt on Friday. Maybe he will give me something besides another ppi. Dr said my reflux is causing it. Gaviscon helps but I can't live on that long term. I don't get heartburn. Gum has helped alleviate the lump in throat feeling, now I only get spasms in my upper stomach area and chest. I also feel them through my back. Deep breathing helps but not completely. I get them mire after I eat or if I have not eaten in a while. I try to eat often. No one really understands the pain unless you experience it.
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