visceral hypersensitivity .

[feebee1993]

hi all , i posted on here about oesophageal spasms , which i assume is what i have been having and went into overdrive a couple of weeks ago , landing me in casuilty . no pain but stomach and oesophagus and throat all spasaming like mad feeling just like a rollercoaster in my throat . i was given buscopan and it did lessen but not remove them . diagnosed with compressed oesophagus after 15 years of saying i couldnt swallow and being told i was mad and sent down mental health route . after paying for the privalidge to see a gi consultant at the weekend , i dont fit into any clinic in nhs it seems and gps know nothing of my condition . i was told i have the above . he started by saying i have a stressfull life , well yes its been very stressfull trying to convince drs i couldnt swallow . he then went on to describe visceral hypersensativity and me feeling things others dont usually feel and more or less thinking these things into existance . he did say you are not mad , but after years of being told i was more or less mad and there was nothing wrong with me , i am obviously feeling rather sensative about things being in my head .

has anyone else on here been told they have this ?

he also said the top and bottom of my oesophagus were functioning ok so it wasnt that bad ! but the middle bit has a significant compression , i am not to see it as a medical condition but as something thats normal for me . he wanted to increase my propranalol ..i have this down to just one a day , and put me on amytriptalene and ranitadine .

i really dont want to go down this route ppis i have heard slow down calcium absorption and i have the first stages of oesteoparosis , and i really dont want an antidepressent . i am not depressed i just want to get my condition under controll . said i have to see diatitian which i am end of september and find food i can enjoy and swallow !! really that had not occured to me .

this gi had not seen a case of what i have , they have found the cause but dont want to hear or even ask what symptoms i have am having with it .

perhaps i am being oversensative so if anyone else has infomation about this i would love to hear from you . many thanks .

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I think that it would all depend on why your oesophagus is being compressed? If, say, there is another organ in your chest that is growing in a slightly abnormal direction, that might cause physical compression, but this is a very specialist area. I imagine that the doctors should be able to work out what is happening by means of x-rays, scans and so on. The normal tests for achalasia are a barium swallow and manometry which measures the pressure of the various muscles performing the peristaltic function ie swallowing.

This is completely unqualified speculation, but there is either something physical that is causing a blockage, from outside (eg a misshapen aorta) or from inside (in which case an endoscopy would detect it; or the nerve endings driving the muscles part way along the oesophagus are not working as they should. The fact that nerve endings are involved probably gives an association with stress and tension which probably might make it worse, but it may well not be the actual cause of the problem.

The PPIs might make a difference if acid reflux is the cause of your spasms.

If the specialist has found the cause that is a valuable thing; whether any treatment, surgical or medical, is possible is a different issue. You might have simply to manage it. Relaxation around food can be helpful, notwithstanding that this is easier said than done.

There might be some food (eg spicy) that triggers this off more than others, perhaps? In which case, keeping a food diary might be helpful.

Having given you a diagnosis, I am sure that the specialist should be able to give you further information to help.