Cody Updates by Mom

I will first tell you that I honestly do not know.  I have something that happens and through research, it could be this.

Definition:
Esophageal spasms are painful contractions within the muscular tube connecting your mouth and stomach (esophagus). Esophageal spasms can feel like sudden, severe chest pain that lasts from a few minutes to hours.

There are two types of esophageal spasms:

• Occasional contractions (diffuse esophageal spasms). This type of spasm may be painful and is often accompanied by regurgitation of food or liquids.
• Painfully strong contractions (nutcracker esophagus). Although painful, this type of spasm — also referred to as jackhammer esophagus — may not cause regurgitation of food or liquids.

My experience:

I have been experiencing these over the last few years.  I never experienced one prior to having my TG (total gastrectomy).  As I have been experiencing this sudden pain, I have been trying to track down what it may be.

Initially:  The pain usually happened on the ride home from work.  Good thing was that I drive in to work and not home.  The pain felt like it was in the middle of my back but way on the inside.  I remember after my surgery having severe back pain like this in the similar spot and was informed that it was where one of the main connections met as they stretched my intestines up to my esophagus.

I would get feeling that I was having a “Charlie horse” inside of my body.  It was difficult to breathe and it wrapped around the front.  These would last a few minutes and then pass.  No position that I was sitting in was helpful.  At times, I would ask Jim to stop so I could get out of the car and walk around.

Over the last two years these have been happening more and more.  I have had them at work, where I am in a meeting and have to stand up or sit silently in pain until I can move.

Now, they are happening very regular.  I have about 4-5 a week.  The good thing is that I am starting to see trends and signals and I have done some more research.  This is why I wanted to write about this.

First, the research.  I have not been able to find anywhere that links a TG to this type of spasm.  However, I have found some research that links these spasms to damage in the esophagus.  I think that I can safely say that I have had a smidge of damage.  I had to have 14 dilations to expand my connection between my esophagus and intestines where my scar tissue was closing it.  I also found that these are linked to stress, anxiety and depression.  Due to many things, I have a lot of stress, I take both anxiety and depression meds to get me through.  I also mentioned that they would happen on the way home from work.  I have a stressful job and it makes sense that it would happen then.

Trends.  I had one that lasted a good 10 minutes last month.  I paced the house, trying to breathe as my hubby followed me and worried that this one wouldn’t end.  Luckily it did but it also made me more focused on what was going on.

More trends.  I started remembering what was happening prior to the events.  I have actually, very successfully been able to feel it starting and have been working on ways to avoid.

Understanding that these symptoms are likely specific to me I figured I would share.

Prior to every episode, I had an odd tightening along the top of my neck by the jaw bone.  It isn’t painful but this tightening would cause my mouth to water.  That tightening would get more painful and move up my neck into the muscles in my head.  Shortly after this, my back would tighten, on the inside, and I would be speechless in pain and struggling to breathe and not cry.

I have had three times now that I noticed the tightening in my jaw.  Without knowing if it would help, I immediately found a heating pad and put it on the highest heat and laid on it on the bed.  By the time the heating pad was hot the tightening in my back was starting.  It doesn’t completely stop the episode but it does seem to allow my back muscles to not tighten even if my esophagus is.  I have had good luck with this.

At home, I can do this.  Since I am working from home this has been manageable.  Once we are back at work, I am not sure how to manage in the office.  I guess that will be my next research project.

I hope this was informational to any of you that have had these episodes.  Even if your initial symptoms are a bit different you can still track what is happening.  Heat does seem to calm it, for me at least.

Wishing you all (family, friends, seahorse nation) the best and hope you are healthy!