Esophagus pain. Can it be anything else than sinister causes?

[LtMarvel]

Hi everyone, I am seeing a GP in two weeks (sigh waiting times!) and looking for some reassurance whilst I wait.

I am nearly 40 and have head GERD and other digestive issues for long time. To that extent I had enscopy 2 years ago which was normal bar some inflammation in the stomach.

Now recently I started feeling like pressure when I swallow food, just being the breastbone. It is worse with dryer foods and some cold fizzy drinks. There is some pain between my shoulder blades and some heartburn too. What worries me is I can't remember exactly for how long this has been going on. I have a feeling it was a while and maybe wasn't as noticeable or I just thought I should be okay because of recent endoscopy.

Then the penny dropped.... because 2 years isn't exactly recent is it. And for over a year I have been dealing with unusual fatigue to which despite extensive tests my GP can't find a cause of.

Can anything else cause this sort of feeling of tightness / pain when swallowing in the esophagus rather than esophageal cancer?

Eeeeeeek.

unexplained weight loss?

Hiatus hernia?

You're right to see a gp as soon as you can but don't panic that it must be cancer.

Digestive issues will cause fatigue too!

If you have chronic inflammation in stomach or bowels, that's going to interfere with what nutrients you absorb.

I agree with hiatus hernia

I was also going to ask whether you have lost weight without trying to?

I mean, of course there is a small chance it could be cancer, but there are also lots of other much less scary things that could be causing the pain. Try not to Google and just hang tight for the appointment. Hope all turns out well.

My GP told me that if all digestive issues led to cancer the majority of his patients would have been diagnosed with it. Don't panic, OP. Whatever your problem is you are getting to the bottom of it and it will be sorted.

I get oesophageal spasms, part of my IBS and fibro, especially if I drink anything too cold, its very painful.

I did a year ago as was going through a stressful period but theb steadily got it back (eating way too much sugar and chocolate though!)

Thanks everyone, I needed to hear some of the alternative scenarios not to spiral too much. Is it just me or do you just see cancer scare stories all the time now? Not that they shouldn't be published as it is a devastating disease and awareness needs to be high but I find it too much sometimes.

You could try omeprazole to see if that eases it. Stress can cause a whole host of issues and if your worried you are focusing on it.

When I was in perimenopause I was severely anaemic due to heavy periods. Before this was discovered, I had difficulty swallowing and pain in my oesophagus and had an endoscopy which was inconclusive. Once I started on ferrous fumerate and got my iron levels up again, my oesophageal pain disappeared. After that, I could always tell when I was getting anaemic again as the painful oesophagus symptoms would recur. Thankfully I am now well into my menopause and have had no long term effects. Is it possible that you could be anaemic?

It's easily done! I think everyone has had a bit of a panic before, especially when already under stress.

I get reflux / oesophagus pain and it can be brutal at times...peppermint tea can help while you're waiting for a prescription

I have health anxiety mostly centred around cancer (both parents died quite young from it). I have diagnosed myself with pretty much every cancer it’s possible to have. Over the years I’ve had mammograms, pelvic scans, mole scans, gastroscopy, numerous blood tests, all because I have been so convinced at times that I had cancer (I have not as yet had cancer).

50% of people get it at some point so the risk is pretty high for us all, but all we can do is look after ourselves as best we can. Eat well, exercise, try to reduce stress, get any symptoms checked and then just try to get on with living our lives. Anxiety about health can ironically make us unwell.

I have persistent heartburn and lanzoprazole (similar to omeprazole) has really helped, as have some dietary changes. Digestive issues like these are incredibly common in middle age and beyond. I reckon about half of my friends (all in our 40s) are on omeprazole/lanzoprazole!

I have a hiatus hernia. I'm not the usual candidate. Not overweight, don't eat a lot of fried food,spicy food ,never smoked,dont drink fizzy.I now don't eat after 5pm, only water after that. I still sometimes get heartburn and reflux in the night. I bought the book 'acid watcher diet',Dr Johnathon Aviv, American Gastroenterologist. I have silent reflux as well.which is not caused by acid coming back up. Everything with a pH over 5. My diet is pretty much vegetarian. Ironically, the Mediterranean diet is rife for acid,peppermint is extremely acidic.DH gets oesophageal spasms, he's had countless endoscopies,just found a little stomach inflammation. His diet is completely different to mine!

If you have GERD this could be causing it - longer term acid reflux can really damage your oesophagus.

Of course you can now buy Proton Pump Inhibitors over the counter, prolonged use without medical advice, should be with caution, because it's been found,they interfere with the absorption of calcium.

It's your gerd. Acid reflux will do that. When mine starts being troublesome I have to do the low residue diet, sleep propped up and no alcohol for a month and it settles.

If you just rely on meds and don't put the work in, this is what happens.

Slippery elm is a good, harmless thing to try until you get your tests. Make sure you get the powder (Amazon), mix 1tsp to a paste in a small saucepan, pour in a mugful of water and stir on the hob like you would a sauce until it goes to a gloopy texture. With a bit of honey, it's not bad to drink (let it cool down to warm) and it makes a massive difference if you drink it three times a day for a while. It's been shown to be very effective in soothing the whole digestive system.

I had this about 3 years ago. I had a constant pain in my esophagus, right behind my breastbone, which became so bad I went to A&E over the Christmas period. I was having trouble swallowing food and it was painful to drink. I was really scared and had totally convinced myself it had to be cancer.

An endoscopy came back clear (removal of a few small polyps) and the gastrologist diagnosed LPR. I've never had heartburn but silent reflux causes different symptoms. I took 40mg of omeprazole twice daily for 6 months and it went away completely.

I no longer take PPIs but still get some symptoms now and then, although never as bad as the chest pain I had the first time. Gaviscon Advance helps a bit. It's good that you have an appointment to see your GP to get it checked out but please don't worry too much, it's extremely unlikely to be esophageal cancer.

I am a mess today. So I am waiting for the endoscopy now which is scheduled for end of May. But the swallowing is still problematic and it feels like a more physical sensation.and comes on more now too. Its below my throat but at the top of my good pipe. Worse with bread. Google and even here on musmnet doesn't leave a lot of hope with symptoms like this.

Eosinophillic oesophagitis?

@wandawaves I will take anything that is treatable / manageable! But I doubt it as I don't have any other autoimmune issues.
Thank you for taking time to reply

You are spiralling, try to keep busy. If you really feel the way you do…… Get through some of your bucket list before your endoscopy, that should keep you busy.
Im a true believer of not wasting any energy or time on the unknowns, just live….

Could you get the endoscopy done privately if you don't want to wait, OP?

This is ironic (and hopefully I won't blame myself forever for this) but I had a private consultation with the consultant and they thought it was okay to do a routine one. I went along with that and the money that was set aside for that went to something else. Now I am kicking myself of course. Plus it is not necessarily going to be much quicker privately, depends on availability of course but it will be at least a couple of weeks wait (I have had it done privately in 2022)