Esophogeal Spasms

[Chaos]

Still don't have an official diagnosis but have seen my family doctor and my pulmonologist and they both were very impressed with all the dysautonomia/POTS info I brought in to show them (thank you DINET website!!) and my "poorman's tilt table" results that I had. They both agreed that it was a very likely diagnosis and are supportive of helping me get an "official" diagnosis.

So now I'm wondering how many of my (nearly- lifelong) GI symptoms I can attribute to POTS. This past spring I started having really severe chest pain. It feels like having labor contractions- but in my chest. The pain is very intense; it starts light and then gets worse and worse until I can barely breathe and then eases off after a minute or two. It sometimes radiates into my jaw and back. The episodes can last up to 6-12 hours at a time. It's usually triggered by swallowing and frequently is accompanied by a lot of burping. I described them to my GI doc and he agreed that it sounded like esophogeal spasms but he wouldn't treat them as such because I was also having a lot of other symptoms and he thought they were probably tied together. He did order a cardiology consult and my stress test was normal, as was my abdominal US, CT Scan, etc etc etc. Just wondering if this is something that those of you with dysautonomia/POTS also have experienced?

[juliegee]

Hi Cheri-

I have had pains like this all of my life (late 20's- 46) & my docs suspected the same thing-esophageal spasms. BUT, the problem went away when I had my gallbladder removed. Cursory first looks at it via ultrasound were normal, but a HIDA scan with CCK showed that it didn't work at all. My surgeon took photos as he's never seen one more damaged- covered in layers and layers of adhesions stuck to my liver, etc.

Have you look into gallbladder as being your cause? For me it was unbearable pressure that felt just like a heart attack. It radiated through my breastbone to the middle of my back (between the shoulder blades.)

Let us know what you find out-

Julie

[Elenapap11]

This is how it started with me.I had chest pains,burping and i felt like i couldn't breathe well.I don't have severe chest pain now but i still have indigestion,burping and breathing problems when my POTS gets worse.Eating small light meals helps.I stopped drinking anything else but water and this has also helped me.However the most effective way of dealing with all that is by avoiding stress.Whenever i get stressed i start having crisis and no medication can help.When i am relaxed and calm for a long period of time symptoms are rare and not as intense as when i am upset,angry or sad.So make sure that you get a diagnosis and let everyone know that you need to lead a stressfree life(to the extent that this is possible ofcourse).

Good luck with the diagnosis.

[Chaos]

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

Julie, I have had several US studies and a CT scan that were all negative for gallbladder. When I had my hysterctomy (due to an ovarian tumor) the oncologist said he "felt it and it was fine." I REALLY didn't want to ask him how he managed to palpate it all the way up under my ribs thru the bikini line incision that he made for the surgery. I figured it explained a lot about why I felt like my whole abdomen had been run over multiple times by a mack truck!!

Elena11- It does seem like stress aggrevates my sypmtoms a lot. But it's SO incredibly frustrating to feel like you have to be a china-doll and be so protected from so many aspects of life, just to be able to stand up and walk and talk like other people. Guess I need to work on my attitude a lot when it comes to accepting this stuff!

[juliegee]

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

Julie, I have had several US studies and a CT scan that were all negative for gallbladder. When I had my hysterctomy (due to an ovarian tumor) the oncologist said he "felt it and it was fine." I REALLY didn't want to ask him how he managed to palpate it all the way up under my ribs thru the bikini line incision that he made for the surgery. I figured it explained a lot about why I felt like my whole abdomen had been run over multiple times by a mack truck!!

Unless you've had a HIDA scan with a CCK injection that is perfectly normal, you CANNOT be assured that your gallbladder is fine. Why do you think I suffered for over 20 years with my "esophageal spasms?" I had many normal ultrasounds that showed no evidence of gallstones. If your symptoms persist, ask your doctor for this specific test.

BTW, how funny that your oncologist "copped a feel" of your gallbladder and declared it well OUCH!!! I know they can get a good sense your gallbladder's health by a visual examination, but a s-q-u-e-e-z-e???? I don't know

Julie

[Chaos]

Thanks for the gallbladder info. I'll make a note of it and hopefully remember to mention it to my GI doc when I see him in March for my "seasonal gut disorder". I seem to have most of my worst GI symptoms in the spring- if that makes any sense at all. Weird, but there it is....

TWENTY YEARS of esophogeal spasms. OOOUUUCCCCHHHH!!! Yikes!

[erickamcc0523]

I had almost 5 years of gallbladder problems, too... Normal CT scans and ultrasounds. A few GI docs (I went to at least 5 of them) thought that my pain and nausea was "psycho-somatic" and told me as much. However, back in September of '06, I had my worst gallbladder attack ever. I ended up developing pancreatitis, I suppose from spending all night throwing up every 10 minutes (there was NOTHING, not even ODT Zofran that would stop it). I was given IV Zofran and fluids in the ER, and a few days later, I had a HIDA scan, which confirmed that my gallbladder wasn't working at all... Surgery a week later confirmed that my galllbladder was full of sludge (but no stones... aparently, sludge isn't visable on US or CT scans) and the surgeon said it looked like it hadn't been working for at least 3 years. Not all bad gallbladders have gallstones... and not all good gallbladder are free from stones, either, from what I've been reading and have heard from others.

Sometimes I get esophageal spasms, too, though like some of the other posters, they haven't been as bad or frequent since my gallbladder has been removed. It feels like I'm hiccoughing and burping at the same time (or at least that's how I describe it). I would ask your GI to perform a HIDA scan. They inject you with a small amount of a radioactive tracer and then you lie under a scanner for about an hour. Here is a link from the Mayo Clinic describing the process a bit more in depth.

I have noticed that changing my diet (basically bread and water with some lean protein and non-acidic vegetables and fruits) has helped tremendously, though I still have GI symptoms even when I am eating well.

[Chaos]

Thanks Erica for the link. I will mention it to my GI doc when I see him next.

[njfainter42]

Thanks Erica for the link. I will mention it to my GI doc when I see him next.

When I was doing ab exercises I had what felt like an intense gas bubble which started below the bra line and rose upward...very intensely painful...a personal trainer came over to help me said she'd seen that in people doing ab exercises but never lasting so long...I was on the ground in intense pain about 15 minutes.

Also a couple of years prior the same thing when I was just sitting around an hour or 2 after a workout. My dad called an ambulance I was so scared and then it went away.

My doc sent me for a stomach type test where I had to drink a white chalky liquid....test came back negative so doc just told me to avoid ab exercises...never really figured it out...but now I do get intense chest pains that feel like gas and sometimes in my upper back. I also sometimes get that burpy problem in evenings sometimes