Medicine for dysphagia

03-07-2017, 06:06 AM

I was diagnosed with GERD and dysphagia in 2014. I had Nissen Fundoplication with hiatal hernia repair that same year which "cured" all for 2 years. The symptoms came back in December 2016. Went to see surgeon who did the Nissen and he sent me to my GI who ordered an endoscopy to check the Nissen. All came back good on the Nissen so he put me back on Omeprazole 40 mg but has now switched to Pantoprazole 40 mg due to bothersome side effects with the Omeprazole. This has helped with the GERD, but not the dysphagia. I saw my GI yesterday and he prescribed Diltiazem CD for the dysphagia caused by Hypercontractile Esophagus. Hypercontractile Esophagus translates to the esophagus contracts extra tight when swallowing making it difficult for food and liquid to travel down to the stomach. He says the medicine will relax the esophagus and allow food and liquids to not feel like they are stuck in my throat.

Has anyone taken calcium channel blockers for dysphagia? Have they worked or caused more problems?

03-07-2017, 12:52 PM

Have you tried drinking warm tea or coffee with your meal?

I've never tried any calcium blockers.

Best of luck to you.

03-10-2017, 06:29 AM

Warm tea doesn't help and coffee kicks the reflux into high gear. I am on day 3 of the calcium channel blocker (CCB). Have noticed a slight improvement so hoping after 1-2 weeks there is a significant improvement. Hopefully, I can get past a couple of annoying side effects...dizziness and headache. I researched CCB and found that they relax and widen arteries, are used to treat A-fib, angina, high blood pressure and other conditions. Will update in a couple of weeks as to how it is working for the dysphagia.

03-20-2017, 06:37 AM

Ok, so today is 2 weeks since starting CCB. At first I thought it might be helping, but as of yesterday, I have stopped taking as I don't feel it is helping. Since the first dose, I have felt like something is stuck in my throat and I'm thinking it is because this medicine is a plastic capsule. I don't have this sensation with my other medications as they are all caplet or tablet form. I am still having the headaches and dizziness which is very annoying. I have also noticed that my night sweats have come back. I haven't had those since starting HRT several years ago. I am contacting my GI and letting him know all this so he can either change the CCB or completely forget it.

04-02-2017, 05:45 AM

So GI doc changed the dosage and form of medicine, but not the medicine itself. I took it for about a week, but once again the side effects of headache and dizziness are unbearable. I stopped taking and will not take any more CCBs as I don't feel like they are helping. I suffer from migraines at least 2 days a week and the CCB was giving me severe headaches every day. I have been monitoring my blood pressure since starting the CCB and have noticed that it is higher than before CCB. I've had dysphagia for at least the last 3 years, but was not a problem the past 2 years after Nissen Fundolplication. I started having the reflux/dysphagia problems again in November 2016 (a little over 2 years after Nissen). I will just deal with the dysphagia without medication as I did prior to Nissen. Didn't hurt to try the CCBs but this treatment is not for me.

Medicine for dysphagia

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