Esophageal/stomach spasms post op

[Jodikins67 13]

I had surgery 6/22/21 at CER in Tijuana with Dr. Carlos. Great experience, but I have been having spasms in my esophagus/pouch area.? Was wondering if anyone else experienced these and how long did they last? Thanks in advance 😊

[Creekimp13 5,840]

I never experienced pain or spasms of any kind. Do you just mean it's hard to swallow? Difficulty swallowing, or feeling like you can't swallow anything else because your esophogus is full of saliva....is pretty normal for a couple weeks after surgery. Can you describe what you're concerned about in more detail?

Do you have someone at home set up to do your post-op care and answer bariatric surgery questions medically? If so, I'd contact them. If not, I'd try to find a bariatric group here to establish a relationship with in case this needs follow up.

[Jodikins67 13]

It’s like a Charlie horse in my lower chest. A heating pad helps as well as hot tea or broth. They were really bad but are getting better. I do have follow up here

[Arabesque 7,335]

Always contact your medical team if you’re experiencing pain or unusual symptoms. You’ve had a pretty major surgery.

It could be something as simple as healing symptoms (I was getting uncomfortable spasms & twinges as I was healing from my gall surgery). It could be that your drinking a little too quickly. But definitely give your team a call to be sure.

[Esi 179]

Yes, I had extremely painful esophageal spasms in the first few days. They were worse with swallowing too much liquid, too fast, too cold, and terrible from pills. It was like a knot mid-chest that radiated across my chest. Took 20 minutes to resolve each time. I crushed or chewed pills for a week, or asked for liquid meds. The spasms eventually subsided, after a week, but were replaced by nausea and vomiting for weeks.

It has now stopped at two months. Surgeon said my pouch was just very sensitive, and the surgery itself can irritate the esophagus. Hang in there!

[Jaelzion 1,127]

17 hours ago, Jodikins67 said:

I had surgery 6/22/21 at CER in Tijuana with Dr. Carlos. Great experience, but I have been having spasms in my esophagus/pouch area.? Was wondering if anyone else experienced these and how long did they last? Thanks in advance 😊

Yep, I had these. Mostly after taking a sip of liquid, but sometimes just because. It's not uncommon, I've heard people refer to it as a "cramp" (that's what I called it), a "pinch", or a spasm. For me it had completely passed by week 3. Definitely ask your surgeon about it though, there's no way we can know whether what you experiencing is due to the same cause. Always best to be safe.