How Many Of Us Have Esophageal Spasms?

Post by **tex** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:48 pm

Hi All,

Deb inquired about a poll on this topic, so let's see if we can get an idea of how many of us have this problem.

Tex

Deb · Post by **Deb** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:34 am

I wasn't quite sure how to answer this. It seems my symptoms of ES are better now than they were but I still get it occasionally, perhaps ?coinciding with a small flare. I just recently had a day or two bout with it after not noticing it for quite a while.

mbeezie · Post by **mbeezie** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:48 pm

It seemed to be worse for me when I was in a bad mast cell flare.

Mary Beth

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:48 pm

My esophageal spasms began after the D began, even before being diagnosed. It continued to get worse after I began a GF/SF/EF/DF diet. My chiropractor could always get it under control but it was a problem when it hit on a weekend. I have had a few problems recently but nothing very bothersome.

BTW, four out of five in my family have esophageal spasm. My mother was the only one with MC and probably celiac. My father passed away when he was pretty young so I don't know if he also had it. All four of us have autoimmune issues including: celiac, MC, rosacea, polymyalgia rheumatica and some others that may or may not be autoimmune.

Sheila W

angy · Post by **angy** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 6:14 pm

Don't think docs have a clue what that is in uk lol!!!I need to think about that one myself...

GRB · Post by **GRB** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:47 am

I had to look this up. The answer is yes. There were times I had to be careful what I ate because I had trouble swallowing and could choke. I also felt pain in my chest. I had no idea it was esophageal spasms and it started long before I ever had the big D.

ant · Post by **ant** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 12:11 pm

I said no. I have had acid reflux for many years before MC dx, but not spasms. Since the diet I have had hardly any reflux.

Best, Ant

cjbndtsn · Post by **cjbndtsn** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:56 pm

I had alot of this in the previous months before MC came into my life. They told me I was just having heartburn. It was worse if I tried to eat a hamburger but since I don't eat those anymore because of the GF diet I don't see that much of it after GF. THey even did tests that showed my gall bladder wasn't working properly and needed to come out because of the trouble I was having. Well that never happened because they wanted to get the MC under control and again now that I am GF...........I don't have it anymore.

Post by **tex** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 10:25 pm

Cathy wrote:THey even did tests that showed my gall bladder wasn't working properly and needed to come out because of the trouble I was having. Well that never happened because they wanted to get the MC under control and again now that I am GF...........I don't have it anymore.

Now that's mighty interesting. For a long time, I've had a hunch that many/most of the cholecystectomies performed on people who had MC were unnecessary, but I never had any evidence to support that theory. IOW, like the pancreatitis issues that some people with MC have, I've always had a sneaky suspicion that once the MC symptoms were resolved, the gallbladder problems would disappear also, but you are the first to offer any supporting evidence. I wanted to add that theory to my book, but I decided against it, because I didn't have any data to support it.

Thanks for posting that.

Tex

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:51 am

Hmmmmmmmmm. This had got me thinking about the removal of my gallbladder 10 years ago even though I didn't have any gall stones. I did have some very severe, painful "gallbladder" attacks and that is why it was removed. This happened during an extremely stressful time when my first husband was within a month of dying of cancer. Stress + gluten intolerance = digestive issues.

My mother, who also had CC for many years and did not give up gluten, had a gall bladder attack, was operated on and died 2 days later of "massive infection". She died after developing ileus and that is something no one wants to experience.

I wonder how many people are walking around unknowingly with a variety of gastointestinal symptoms that relate to either gluten or other food intolerances. I'm sure most aren't properly diagnosed and, like my mother, are treated for a whole lot of things they don't actually have. She had a GI doctor, a dietician, a dermatololgist, a rheumatologist all working to help her feel better and nothing helped. She had CC (and probably celiac) and got some relief from entocort, however, it stopped working because she didn't give up gluten.

If I had the money, I would send Tex's book to every GI doctor in the country.

Sheila W

Post by **tex** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:11 am

Sheila wrote:If I had the money, I would send Tex's book to every GI doctor in the country.

If I could afford it, I would donate all the books for that project, but I'm afraid that after investing all our time and money, precious few of them would actually read it.

That's a very poignant story. As soon as I read your post, the gears in my head shifted into overdrive, and I suddenly have a strong urge to write another book. I'll see if the urge survives more than a few days.

Thanks,
Tex

wonderwoman · Post by **wonderwoman** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:16 am

Tex, my husband always says if he takes a nap the strong urge goes away. If you are serious about another book, go for it. I'm curious, what would it be about.

Post by **tex** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:49 am

wonderwoman wrote:I'm curious, what would it be about.

.

I'm not sure about the outline yet, but basically it would explore certain aspects of gluten sensitivity that alter people's lives in unexpected ways.

Tex

cjbndtsn · Post by **cjbndtsn** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:23 am

OMG I love it............see what happens when you talk about something that has happened in your life and you really just blew it off to the side thinking......."oh this is just how life is" The best part of my experience with it is when I went to the surgeon to discuss having it out.................he said...........I'm not taking out your gallbladder. Thats not the reason you are having D. Taking out your gallbladder could make that problem worse. I was really at first upset with him but in the long run I think..............he is a great guy. He could've taken the gallbladder and money and ran but he said nope. He wanted me to follow through with my initial GI visit and then see him in 4 weeks. During that time is when I got the MC news. So then he said............I'm not touching anything until you are feeling better and then we will see what's up and if I still feel I need it out. Go Tex............you can do it and we will all be behind you

wonderwoman · Post by **wonderwoman** » Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:49 pm

In regard to the esophageal spasms I would have said no, never, when the pole was first presented but I didn't answer. Today I did a google search as I didn't know exactly what was meant by the term. This is what Mayo Clinic says

Signs and symptoms of esophageal spasms include:

Squeezing pain in your chest, often intense, which you might mistake for heart pain (angina)
Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
The feeling that an object is stuck in your throat (globus)
The return of food and liquids back up your esophagus (regurgitation)

Remember back awhile I said I had a sore throat for several months, took two z-packs, eventually saw an ENT doctor who said I had acid reflux much to my surprize. After that DX, I think I may be making my throat sore (irritated) by constantly swallowing and clearing my throat because it feels like something is in my throat. I have also discovered that this happens when I am under STRESS. When I am more relaxed I don't have this urge to swallow. It is amazing what stress can do to us. Have I heard this before someplace?

As a kid and young adult I developed an eye tic that would come and go due to stress. Then later on I found myself grinding my teeth. Now I believe I am having throat irritation all because of stress. Just before taking the 2nd Z-pack I was at my daughters taking care of 4 children for 5 days. I love seeing the children but it can be a stressful time for this Grandma.

I voted yes to the last question. I got it just recently and it is not related to how I am doing with my MC as I am still off budesonide ( about 4 weeks) and taking one loratadine tablet (antihistamine) in the morning with normal BM's every morning.

MICROSCOPIC COLITIS SUPPORT

How Many Of Us Have Esophageal Spasms?

Do you have esophageal spasms, or have you had them in the past?

How Many Of Us Have Esophageal Spasms?