So it appears I have esophageal spasms, looking for a permanent solution if any

Hi Cristian, it really depends on what causes the esophageal spasms. Also, there's a lot that is unknown about the digestive tract by the medical profession.

I've suffered with esophageal spasms for years and there are a few things that helped me out. First, what I ate and drank were instrumental in helping my spasms go away. I stayed away from all processed foods for a long time. Absolutely no alcohol or caffeine. No overeating, no MSG, no gluten or dairy for 90 days, and home cooked meals whenever possible.

I also made sure to eat foods that were rich in magnesium. Magnesium is critical to keeping those spasms at bay.

I hope you feel better.

Thanks for the replies

Thing is, 9 years in and I'm not quite sure what foods cause my symptoms, it seems random, and it's as if it previous meals can affect how I feel in subsequent meals, which makes it harder to track

I think cold/hot stuff makes it worse, suppose I can start with that

I'll also look into magnesium supplements

Also, I've already had a barium swallow, they say the food slows down slightly in lower esophagus but it's not severe. I've also had biopsy and no alleries

I had all the testings prior to my toupet/hernia fix on 3/16/16. Since I'm still having chest tightness my surgeon is now thinking the sensation is from my esophagus. I had motility issues prior to surgery, from manometry. He said esophageal issues are harder to treat and they use off labeled medication such as calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, and others. He started me on a calcium channel blocker a few days ago but it's causing dizziness so I have a call into him today.

I find liquids and very soft foods help. Also, eating anything heavy or later in the evening is sure to give me a rough night, whatever the cause is....still working with my surgeon to sort out issues.

Cristian,
Esophageal spasms are a malfunction of the esophagus and can be quite painful. I had mysterious non-cardiac chest pain for years that was finally diagnosed 6 months after Nissen Fundoplication and hiatal hernia repair surgery (I had awful GERD, as well). The surgery cured the GERD but exacerbated the spasms and I was finally diagnosed with 'Jackhammer Esophagus'. I was in excruciating pain all the time. Most everything you swallow can bring on spasms, as your esophagus is trying to function to move food to the stomach, but the contractions are not properly timed as in a normal esophagus.

I am on Diltiazem and it helps tremendously. I also take an anti-depressant that helps manage and relaxes the nerves in the esophagus.

There is not much that can be done to treat this condition, so if you have pain from spasms, I highly recommend you try Diltiazem; it's used to treat chest pain. I started with 60mg 4x daily, and was increased to 90mg. I have not had any side effects from it. I've been on it for 6 months, now.

Sometimes you need serious medication for a serious condition. You may have minimal criteria for 'Jackhammer esophagus'.

There is no information on whether this condition ever gets better, that I could find.

I have suffered esophageal spasms since 06/2011...I was having them about once a week; went to a young GI who put me on a PPI. A friend warned me about becoming reliant on PPIs so I stopped taking them. As the GI stated there was nothing available to help with the spasms but nitro glycerin, I figured the spasms were the new normal. I went on a low dose of SSRI because I read that those can help with the pain. I didn't have any other problems, so I just sucked up the pain.

A few months ago, the spasms started coming almost every night but there was a new twist: they came with stomach spasms that forced me to produce a huge amount of saliva. After waking up one night with a 104 fever because of nighttime reflux going down my lungs when I was sleeping, I knew I had reached a new level of the problem. After the fever, I got stricture and I realized that I probably have a hiatal hernia (maybe from the stomach spasms.)

Then a friend mentioned offhand that he got a spasms once from heartburn. He had said this before on and off, but I didn't listen because the GI said they didn't know what caused the spasms. But for some reason this time, when he said it, the light went on. Was the stomach's effort to produce saliva my body's attempt to protect itself from acid that was coming up from my stomach at night?

I went back to the doctor and got a script for PPIs. I researched and got a wedge pillow to keep the reflux from coming up from my stomach. I stopped drinking diet soda and alcohol, stopped any eating past 7:30 at night, and ate small low acid meals. I started taking liquid Gaviscon at night.

The result? The stricture seems to easing. But the big news is I haven't had a spasm for over a month. After having them almost every night, I know now that for me the spasms seem to a heartburn issue.

What is the moral of my diatribe? The first obvious one is that my friend seemed to have had the solution all along and the young GI doctor could not give me any direction. It seems to me that the younger more inexperienced doctors will throw their hands up at your issue if it can't be cured it with a pill or removed by surgery.

Here is what I can add to the conversation. Listen to your body....my spasms occured at the same time of night and always after going out with friends, eating and drinking a lot and going to bed right after. PPI's have consequences, but for me they are probably the solution. I would like to be able to swallow normally again. I don't care if I have to take them for the rest of my life.

Perhaps if I didn't rely on the young GI's statment there was nothing she could do, I would have looked earlier for the solution. Maybe if I would have listened to my body and how it was trying to counteract the acid, I wouldn't be dealing with stricture....remember that no one cares more about you than you. Research, research and listen to what others have experience and don't stop until you have an answer.