Esophageal Spasms/Nutcracker Esophagus

Has anyone experienced this?  Severe/acute abdomonal pain with wretching?
I had my surgery January 29, 2009 and have been in the ER 6 times, admitted to ICU overnight once, medivaced from one hospital to another where my surgens are in another city once, admitted back in that hospital (9 hours away btw) 3 times and NOT ONE OF THE PEOPLE TREATING ME COULD DIAGNOSE WHAT WHAT GOING ON!!!  Wednesday I came home from my latest trip back to my surgens and their hospital and went to see my primary phsician at my local clinic yesterday afternoon.  After describing the hell I've been living through for the last 6 weeks he looks me directly in the eye and with hesitation says "well, It sounds like you have what is sometimes called "nutcracker esophagus" or the more technical name is achalasia"  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know what?!  I KNOW I am not the 1st patient these surgens have EVER seen with this problem for them to be as "baffled" and "puzzled" as they kept saying and acting!  And if those lousy ER docs had actually been DOCTORS instead of tweeker seekers, one of them might have caught on to it seeing as I went to the EXACT ER every time I had an attack!!  All they cared about was "is she a drug seeker?"  Well, today, HELL YES I am a drug seeker!!!!  I was in excruciation unbearable pain!  And because of that ****ty attitude I would writh in pain in the ER for a MINIMUM of 3 hours EVERY SINGLE TIME I went in!  Amazing!  The healthier I get the angrier I get thinking about the treatment I received.  At the time I was too "out of it" in pain or on meds when I finally got them!
Well, thank god the ordeal is over and I plan on having it stay that way.  Oh, and by the way, the doc that diagnosed me also gave me nitro glicerine tabs to stick on under my tongue if this happens again and it will immediately relieve the spasms which are at the heart of the problem.  I wanted to pass along my story (in short form!! lol) so that if anyone else is suffering or has suffered and has gotten no answers, talk to your doctors about this disorder.
I'm happy to be home...

Thanks for the Information.

Yes yes yes.  I experience these episodes every now and again.  They don't last long maybe about 5 minutes but that is the longest 5 minutes ever.  It feels like I am having a heart attack because there is pain in my chest, shortness of breath, break out in a sweat and it slowly moves down to my stomach then wala its gone. Does that sound about right?  Well according to my doc, there is really nothing they can do about it and it will eventually pass.  WTF!!!

Oh I wish my attacks only lasted about 5 minutes.  That sounds more like something just got stuck for a minute with what you are describing.  My attacks have lasted 8 hours... 8 HOURS of NON-STOP agony!  What happens with this condition is that whatever is stuck DOES NOT move down because the esophogus won't stop spasming.  The esopogus is trying to pu**** down and the reflexes are trying to get it up.  All of this causes acute pain with in my case could only be aleviated (sp!?!) with dilauded!!  Stronger than morphine!  And every single time I have landed in the hospital for at least 2 days.  What you are experiencing is no doubt painful and a pain in the ... to have to go through but I don't think it's the same thing I've been experiencing.
The treatment for achalasia is nitroglycerin under the tongue when an attack starts.  That relaxes the spasms.  Hopefully I will never have to try it but if I ever do have another attack I am prepared.