Can Prilosec affect swallowing?

[Tim__0]

    About 6 weeks ago I was put on a regimen of Prilosec, 20mg/day taken at bedtime, for GERD. Up until I began the Prilosec regimen, I'd been managing the GERD with antacids, elevating the head of the bed, and ensuring that I didn't eat within 2 (now 3) hours before bedtime. This has been reasonably-successful for the past 3 years, but because I'd had some ongoing pain, my doctor (a GP) thought it might make sense to try Prilosec. About 3 weeks after beginning the regimen, I began to experience a problem of being awakened by a painful spasm in my throat or esophagus, usually accompanied by a repetetive, reflexive swallowing motion in my throat. Sometimes I also find myself choking on mucus (or possibly  at times stomach contents, though there is no particular taste associated with the stuff). I always find my stomach to be full of air at these times, but due to the spasm, it's difficult to bring up the air. I find that if I force up a couple of air bubbles, I can get the repetetive swallowing to stop. My throat/esophagus then relaxes, and I can usually bring up the rest of the air and get back to sleep. For those times when I've been choking, it's been harder to bring up all the air, because my stomach and esophagus seem to be full of froth, rather than a big bubble.
    When this first began to happen, my doctor put me on Propulsid in addition to the Prilosec, to ensure that my stomach empties before bedtime; however, this hasn't helped with the awakening/repetetive swallowing episodes, which have been occurring from between 2 and 4 times every night over the past 3 weeks. Possibly aggravating this is an odd cough that I got a few days after starting the Prilosec. The cough is not particularly bothersome, but has been generating quite a bit more mucus than usual.
    Recently, I've also found that if I cough or sneeze during the day, I get a throat/esophagus spasm that relaxes readily after I can force up an air bubble.
    Prior to beginning the Prilosec, I never experienced any of these particular symptoms related to swallowing or choking, so I'm wondering whether they could possibly be related to the Prilosec regimen, or whether their appearance now is just a coincidence. This wouldn't necessarily have to be from a side effect of the drug. For example, could the lack of acid in my stomach be interfering with the breakdown of the swallowed mucus?
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Dear Tim,
I have treated many patients with Prilosec and have not heard of the problems that you describe.  While I doubt that these symptoms are related to the inhibition of acid secretion, I can not exclude the possibility that you are having an idiosyncratic reaction.  This would mean that your reaction is unique to the way that your body responds to the Prilosec.  I suggest that you stop the Prilosec and observe whether the problem resolves.  If the symptoms persist, then you will need further evalaution including an upper endoscopy and a motility study with 24 hour pH probe test.
This informationis presented for educational purposes only.  Always consult your personal physician for specific medical questions.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: Prilosec, esophageal spsam
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