Esophagus Spasms. Not Everything Is PPS
A Reminder: Not EVERYTHING IS PPS . . .
Esophagus spasms are not uncommon in polio survivors. At the Post-Polio Institute, we found that low dose Klonopin (clonazepam), taken 30 minutes before eating, is effective in treating spasms of the esophagus muscles that prevent food from going down. But, as always, you have to rule out causes other than PPS that may trigger muscle spasms or swallowing difficulty: Note this comment that came my way -
"I had spasms and choking where food would get stuck in my esophagus, very painful until food went down. Foods that would especially cause the choking were bread and spaghetti. I would even choke on my saliva at times. I also had a lot of coughing. This had been going on for many years. In the last year, I was embarrassed to go out in public because I would get strange looks when I started coughing because of COVID. I thought it was due to a sinus drip. I mentioned choking, spasms and coughing to my doctor four months ago. He said symptoms were caused by acid reflux and not a sinus drip. He prescribed pantoprazole (Protonix). I went in for a checkup recently. He asked how were the pills working. I said they appear to be helping out a lot.
Since I have been taking that medication I haven’t been choking or coughing."