Painful Esophagus

I am trying to do some research for my brother who has been struggling with terrible intermittent pain in his esophagus for the last 4 years.  He has been to the mayo clinic where he underwent a battery of  tests and had numerous other tests with other doctors trying to figure this out, to date he has had no relief.  He is on medication for GERD, and has been prescribed pain medication.  He is miserable and all this has produced anxiety and a lot of stress.  He is now in an anti-depressant.  In these enlightened times you would think there would be a diagnosis and treatment after all this time.  Where can we turn?

[CalGal]

Has he been run through esophageal manometry testing? I assume since he's on GERD meds, he's been found to have acid reflux. Have the docs discussed the possibility of esophageal spasms? Can be extremely painful.

[nycguy12]

I recently experienced Esophageal spams and is scheduled for the Manometry test in a week and a half. Now I believe I have Nutcracker esophagus with GERD, anxiety, shortness of breath (trying to get better walking up stairs and long distances) chest pressure / pain, and the inability to consume solid tough foods. I typically eat ice cream, oat meal, a tuna fish sandwich that takes me nearly an 35 mins. Without the GERD meds now, I wouldn't be able to eat much. Feel the knot in my throat also. This occurred through trauma to me left chest area.

I had a test that had me under, and it looked into my stomach and esophagus which did not find anything wrong. But the Maometry test will see the outside of my esophagus which should indicate a problem.

The best of luck to your brother and continue supporting him. I sincerely hope we all receive support from good people and healthy living.