granolawife

My husband has progressive severe dysphagia and we are in the process of figuring out exactly why. (so far, DES and perhaps Achalasia have been suggested -- we are having the manometry tomorrow -- he has already had the barium swallow) I am wondering if anyone has had any luck with using peppermint oil and/or peppermint tea in treating this condition? He ingested some last night (5 drops in 10 ML of water) and it seemed to help significantly (ie, he was able to eat much more than usual and without pain), however he woke up in the middle of the night with terrible chest pain, the severity of which was very unusual. We are wondering if this is a side effect of the peppermint oil, and if so, if tea may also be effective treatment, but without the side effects? The results were very encouraging until the middle of the night when the pain woke him up. It seemed to relax the esophagus significantly for several hours, but it's not worth it obviously if it comes with that type of pain.
I am wary of surgery for this condition unless it's really necessary. I was hoping that I could find a homeopathic solution, but I do understand that is probably a dream....I feel so bad for him and anyone suffering from these extremely stressful and painful conditions...
Any help or suggestions are very much appreciated!