Aa
esophageal spasm?
I have been experiencing what I think is esophageal spasms. Symptoms are excessive spasmodic belching, discomfort in the center to upper chest area, almost like a knot. This becomes most pronounced during periods of stress. I have been prescribed Prilosec which doesn't seem to relieve my symptoms. However, alprazolam at .5mg eases the feeling and it eventually goes away. My question is then, is there such a thing as stress-induced spasm of the esophagus?
my message has not been posted. It took effort and was a first time thing.
I had no idea there were so many people with the same symptoms as mine. I've never visited a health website before Its mind-boggling. But my symptoms are EXACTLY the same as E-bays. No real discomfort, except a general feeling occasionally of nausea, BUT CONSTANT belching It never stops. I have had the up and down tests and was diagnosed with Barrets disease. But as I don't feel any real discomfort except the above and sometimes just plain weariness, I just can't believe this.
I'm really curious, as e-bay posted his note a year ago, if he has found any relief. i came to this site hoping to find relief but it seems to be as elusive to y'all as it is to me. All I've gleaned so far from the site is cutting out all food -- almost -- and taking cayenne, apple pectin, cayenne pepper, axid and pepcid. Anything else? I've been the Zantac and Prylosec route and have been on metocloproamide for a few days with no apparent relief.
What happened to e-bay?????
I'm really curious, as e-bay posted his note a year ago, if he has found any relief. i came to this site hoping to find relief but it seems to be as elusive to y'all as it is to me. All I've gleaned so far from the site is cutting out all food -- almost -- and taking cayenne, apple pectin, cayenne pepper, axid and pepcid. Anything else? I've been the Zantac and Prylosec route and have been on metocloproamide for a few days with no apparent relief.
What happened to e-bay?????
I was here quite a few months ago for a similar posting called undiagnosed URQ pain. There were probably hundreds of responses, all the same or similar as these--the reflux, lump in throat, chest pain, etc. My story:
I don't smoke, drink, touch caffeine or artificial sweetners (I'm not some kind of health nut weirdo, I just don't like nutrasweet and caffeine affects me badly). And I drink tons of water and try to stay in shape. Had the flu in Sept. 1999. When I started getting over it, noticed the pressure in the chest that felt like a need to belch. Would relieve it for a few seconds, but repeated belching would just make it worse. Also had lump in throat feeling (on the right side). Dr could not find anything so referred me to ENT, who told me I looked fine but probably have acid reflux and put me on zantac. I had acid reflux problems back in 1995, but this was not the same. I didn't feel any acid coming up at all, but I took the zantac in hopes anyway. At first I thought I was a little better, but then it started to get worse, pressure in chest (on right side, sometimes more center) turning to pain that would radiate to my back; went to ER, and all tests for heart came back normal. was sent to a gastro doc who put me on prilosec. did not help. I had my gall bladder out in Jan 1999, so it wasn't that. Endoscopy said gastritis/GERD, but all other tests came back normal. Upped my dose of prilosec, no better. Upped again, no better. Doc had no clue, didn't even know that the lump in throat thing was considered a symptom of GERD (I had to find that out on the net). Meanwhile, I started to feel achy in my joints about 3 months after all this sarted. Dr finally decided it wasn't my stomach at all but something else that he couldn't help me with, maybe my heart (which i had had tests done and all were fine). I did not go back to that idiot. I weaned myself off the prilosec slowly, as I could no longer digest anything since I was on such a high dose. I had a lot of reflux while doing that. Finally got to the point were I was taking zantac every other day for reflux; chest pains exactly the same as when I was more highly medicated. Sometimes they radiate down my arm, sometimes up into my jaw. I have heard that these can all be symptoms of fibromyalgia, and that CFS is closely related (which would explain lethargy--which I felt at first, too). I never got to the rheumatologist, though, since I got pregnant. So now I am not on anything, (and the pain was unbearable sometimes in the beginning--I was taking all sorts of painkillers before the pregnancy) but as time went on I think I learned to relax a little better, and my reflux eventually went away (though it is back now, but only because I am so far along in the pregnancy).
Here I will put in a note on stress--there is no way I believe that stress caused this horrid thing (I know it came after that flu I had), but it can make it worse--particularly the stress of not knowing what is wrong with you. Therefore, I would recommend an antidepressant to anyone able to take one (I was one one for years for an unrelated condition, and was about to restart taking another before the baby), especially if you are highly anxious about it. Paxil I hear works best for anxiety, but it also comes with a large weight gain (which might work for those of you who have lost weight). If it gives you a little peace of mind, it's worth it. Anyway, since I've been pregnant, my symptoms were much less for the month I was on vacation from my stressful business.
As for diet, I have discovered that ice cream does me in--it seems to be the temperature, not the fat, though. In milkshake form (one of the few things I could keep down during morning sickness) it doesn't bother me at all. Small meals help sometimes, and any form of pepper I am now highly sensitive to (the paprika in cheesits burns my throat); don't know if this is a pregnancy thing or a reflux thing. Fat content doesn't seem to affect it at all, and sometimes the pain comes on when I haven't eaten, although it's more often after I have.
A note on sleep: I always felt really bad when I wasn't getting enough sleep (another fibromyalgia link, possibly). But since I've been pregnant, I have forced myself to get more than adequate amounts and let my business suffer a little instead. I really think this has helped, although that was never my intention!
Anyway, I will check out the fibromyalgia thing as soon as I am able; I still have a couple of months to go before the baby is born. Rheumatoid problems are rampant in my family so I know of a rheumatologist who should listen, I hope, since my mother sees her often. I suggest everyone with a similar problem get evaluated for such a thing if possible, especially if you have achy joints. I have flare up points in my shoulders and hips; but when this started my whole neck and shoulders felt on fire.
I know there are things I'm forgetting, but it's been a long time since I've seen a doctor for this and a while until I can again, so I try not to think about it too much.
Good luck to everyone; remember that just because it didn't work for someone else does not mean it won't work for you. So be willing to try out new things, if they're safe, anyway. Zantac happens to work better for me than pepsid, but when I had my reflux problems 5 years ago, pepsid worked fine. Things change, even for yourself. So be willing to give things a try and don't give up (I came quite close to it before I got pregnant--I was thinking maybe I'd go to medical school and solve the problem myself, but that would take years ;). Try to get more sleep and what the heck, go for massage therapy! Me, I would give up cable tv to be able to afford something like that on a regular basis, if I hadn't already given cable up to afford other things. I read a lot and that relaxes me a great deal, especially now that I have trimmed back my business to allow a little more leisure time. Try to reduce the stress in your life as much as possible, since the stress from this medical problem isn't going away, and you really don't need any more (easier said than done, I know). Again, good luck to everyone and be sure to share any thing that seems to help.
I don't smoke, drink, touch caffeine or artificial sweetners (I'm not some kind of health nut weirdo, I just don't like nutrasweet and caffeine affects me badly). And I drink tons of water and try to stay in shape. Had the flu in Sept. 1999. When I started getting over it, noticed the pressure in the chest that felt like a need to belch. Would relieve it for a few seconds, but repeated belching would just make it worse. Also had lump in throat feeling (on the right side). Dr could not find anything so referred me to ENT, who told me I looked fine but probably have acid reflux and put me on zantac. I had acid reflux problems back in 1995, but this was not the same. I didn't feel any acid coming up at all, but I took the zantac in hopes anyway. At first I thought I was a little better, but then it started to get worse, pressure in chest (on right side, sometimes more center) turning to pain that would radiate to my back; went to ER, and all tests for heart came back normal. was sent to a gastro doc who put me on prilosec. did not help. I had my gall bladder out in Jan 1999, so it wasn't that. Endoscopy said gastritis/GERD, but all other tests came back normal. Upped my dose of prilosec, no better. Upped again, no better. Doc had no clue, didn't even know that the lump in throat thing was considered a symptom of GERD (I had to find that out on the net). Meanwhile, I started to feel achy in my joints about 3 months after all this sarted. Dr finally decided it wasn't my stomach at all but something else that he couldn't help me with, maybe my heart (which i had had tests done and all were fine). I did not go back to that idiot. I weaned myself off the prilosec slowly, as I could no longer digest anything since I was on such a high dose. I had a lot of reflux while doing that. Finally got to the point were I was taking zantac every other day for reflux; chest pains exactly the same as when I was more highly medicated. Sometimes they radiate down my arm, sometimes up into my jaw. I have heard that these can all be symptoms of fibromyalgia, and that CFS is closely related (which would explain lethargy--which I felt at first, too). I never got to the rheumatologist, though, since I got pregnant. So now I am not on anything, (and the pain was unbearable sometimes in the beginning--I was taking all sorts of painkillers before the pregnancy) but as time went on I think I learned to relax a little better, and my reflux eventually went away (though it is back now, but only because I am so far along in the pregnancy).
Here I will put in a note on stress--there is no way I believe that stress caused this horrid thing (I know it came after that flu I had), but it can make it worse--particularly the stress of not knowing what is wrong with you. Therefore, I would recommend an antidepressant to anyone able to take one (I was one one for years for an unrelated condition, and was about to restart taking another before the baby), especially if you are highly anxious about it. Paxil I hear works best for anxiety, but it also comes with a large weight gain (which might work for those of you who have lost weight). If it gives you a little peace of mind, it's worth it. Anyway, since I've been pregnant, my symptoms were much less for the month I was on vacation from my stressful business.
As for diet, I have discovered that ice cream does me in--it seems to be the temperature, not the fat, though. In milkshake form (one of the few things I could keep down during morning sickness) it doesn't bother me at all. Small meals help sometimes, and any form of pepper I am now highly sensitive to (the paprika in cheesits burns my throat); don't know if this is a pregnancy thing or a reflux thing. Fat content doesn't seem to affect it at all, and sometimes the pain comes on when I haven't eaten, although it's more often after I have.
A note on sleep: I always felt really bad when I wasn't getting enough sleep (another fibromyalgia link, possibly). But since I've been pregnant, I have forced myself to get more than adequate amounts and let my business suffer a little instead. I really think this has helped, although that was never my intention!
Anyway, I will check out the fibromyalgia thing as soon as I am able; I still have a couple of months to go before the baby is born. Rheumatoid problems are rampant in my family so I know of a rheumatologist who should listen, I hope, since my mother sees her often. I suggest everyone with a similar problem get evaluated for such a thing if possible, especially if you have achy joints. I have flare up points in my shoulders and hips; but when this started my whole neck and shoulders felt on fire.
I know there are things I'm forgetting, but it's been a long time since I've seen a doctor for this and a while until I can again, so I try not to think about it too much.
Good luck to everyone; remember that just because it didn't work for someone else does not mean it won't work for you. So be willing to try out new things, if they're safe, anyway. Zantac happens to work better for me than pepsid, but when I had my reflux problems 5 years ago, pepsid worked fine. Things change, even for yourself. So be willing to give things a try and don't give up (I came quite close to it before I got pregnant--I was thinking maybe I'd go to medical school and solve the problem myself, but that would take years ;). Try to get more sleep and what the heck, go for massage therapy! Me, I would give up cable tv to be able to afford something like that on a regular basis, if I hadn't already given cable up to afford other things. I read a lot and that relaxes me a great deal, especially now that I have trimmed back my business to allow a little more leisure time. Try to reduce the stress in your life as much as possible, since the stress from this medical problem isn't going away, and you really don't need any more (easier said than done, I know). Again, good luck to everyone and be sure to share any thing that seems to help.
Thanks, MHogan for this information.
I am not on BP meds but this will info may help others. AND, I am finding other meds also may aggravate the Acid Reflux thus
making the patient think the reflux meds are not working and also
some of the Reflux Meds can cause side effects that make a person think they are worse. This happened with me.
Thank God for sites like this. We learn a lot. Thanks again.
I am not on BP meds but this will info may help others. AND, I am finding other meds also may aggravate the Acid Reflux thus
making the patient think the reflux meds are not working and also
some of the Reflux Meds can cause side effects that make a person think they are worse. This happened with me.
Thank God for sites like this. We learn a lot. Thanks again.
hi, i have acid reflux to.IF YOU ARE TAKING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE AND HAVE ACID REFLUX,DON'T TAKE CALCIUM BLOCKER. I WAS TAKING NORVASC FOR BLOOD PRESSURE. AND IT CAUSE ME TO HAVE A FAST HEART BEAT AND CAUSE MY ACID REFLUX TO GET WORSE.
I can relate to Carol Bond's post about the torture she went through having the colonoscopy.
I also suffered torture and humility and basically was demoralized by the gastro doc, during a recent colonoscopy. I was suppose to be on versed and demerol with phenergam and this jerk decided to use fentynal with something else. I felt everything and cried out in pain. I felt my rights as a patient per the AMA's Code of Ethics were violated.
Every patient has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. I pray that this doctor and the other jerks out there, have a time when they are placed in similar positions. Then, they will know how we felt.
When my hubby had his colonoscopy a few weeks later by a different doctor (colon and rectal spec), the doctor told me that he would make sure my hubby was comfortable. And, he did. It was a breeze for him becuz the right meds were used apparently, and he had a wonderful and caring doctor.
Off my band wagon.
I am still suffering greatly with upper back burning and shorness of breath and burning reflux. The Jerk that also did the EGD along with the colonoscopy does not know how to communicate with the patient. Needless to say, this does not help a patient getting well or at least better. I have tried the 3 proton pump inhibitors meds but to no avail. This doc said I would feel better in 3 days and after 5 days he would switch me to another.
Well, I think I need to switch to another...Another doctor that is. (-:
I love reading this site (but do not love that so many here are suffering) as it provides other alternatives that people have tried and are trying. Networking is so important with other patients suffering the same and a GOOD Understanding Physican is the Frosting on the Cake.
May 2001 Be Healthier For All Of Us!
I also suffered torture and humility and basically was demoralized by the gastro doc, during a recent colonoscopy. I was suppose to be on versed and demerol with phenergam and this jerk decided to use fentynal with something else. I felt everything and cried out in pain. I felt my rights as a patient per the AMA's Code of Ethics were violated.
Every patient has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. I pray that this doctor and the other jerks out there, have a time when they are placed in similar positions. Then, they will know how we felt.
When my hubby had his colonoscopy a few weeks later by a different doctor (colon and rectal spec), the doctor told me that he would make sure my hubby was comfortable. And, he did. It was a breeze for him becuz the right meds were used apparently, and he had a wonderful and caring doctor.
Off my band wagon.
I am still suffering greatly with upper back burning and shorness of breath and burning reflux. The Jerk that also did the EGD along with the colonoscopy does not know how to communicate with the patient. Needless to say, this does not help a patient getting well or at least better. I have tried the 3 proton pump inhibitors meds but to no avail. This doc said I would feel better in 3 days and after 5 days he would switch me to another.
Well, I think I need to switch to another...Another doctor that is. (-:
I love reading this site (but do not love that so many here are suffering) as it provides other alternatives that people have tried and are trying. Networking is so important with other patients suffering the same and a GOOD Understanding Physican is the Frosting on the Cake.
May 2001 Be Healthier For All Of Us!
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