HI. I have been diagnosed with diffuse espohageal spasm. I also have GERD & Barrett's esophagus. My episodes include severe chest pain, a squeezing or strangling sensation, and after a while, nausea & vomitting. The onset of these episodes always start with a bowel movement and can last anywhere from 1 minute to over 12 hours straight with little to no relief. There is also some sort of tie to hormones. My GERD symptoms were always worse during my menstral cycle and I was on birth control in addition to prilosec to control the GERD. Now, the severe spasms seem to coincide with hot flashes (I did have a hysterectomy and use an estrogen patch - Vivelle). Have you seen other cases where upper GI or motility was affected by hormones? I currently take Protonix (40mg 2x per day) and Donnatal Exten (2x per day).