I have been dealing with stomach problems since the middle of Feb. I am seeing a Gastro for it but I am going crazy. I just don't understand how you can be fine and then get sick take medicine and 4-5 days after your done with it be messed up. I am not understanding the tests are normal but I am not. I have nobody to talk to about it. It is hard to function and take care of my kids. I want to be normal. The pain gets bad at times it feels like it is hard to breathe(deep breaths) I feel like i am getting depressed about it b/c i can't get back to the way i was. I go Wednesday for an Endoscopy and hope that there is an answer. I can't live like this anymore. The pain stays with me all day so bad at times i can't eat and it is like the Dr's don't care. I went a whole month without eating little things here and there like hand full of pretzels and that is it. My primary just brushed it off for the whole month. I am scared i don't do well with forced change. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what will happen if they can't figure out what is wrong with me.
I had an endoscopy done today. Everything looks normal found small hiatal hernia. I had a sono done of my gallbladder looks normal. had ct scan of abdomen and pelvis normal. blood work normal. I will get results if the hernia shows bacteria or not in 7 days. I want to call them and make an appointment to talk about some of the non finding they said today like i didn't have acid coming back up but i have been getting heart burn and then sometimes i start wheezing but not really bad. i have put that down on sheets before but they never went over it. I want to see if maybe a acupuncturist or a hypnotherapist would help since there seems to be no issues. I have called the gastro office often mostly b/c of pain with stomachaches ever since this has started. It just kind of sucks to make appointments after appointments when you always have a copay.
I had a gall bladder attack that felt like you described and couldn't eat much until it was removed. Good luck!
The digestive tract can have any number of problems - ulcers, gall bladder, pancreas problems, diverticulitis (small pockets can form in intestinal tract and become inflamed if something like a raspberry or strawberry seed gets caught in it), the list goes on. It can take quite awhile for anything that's irritated to heal. It's hard to be patient, but the doctors are working with you and they should be able to help once they know what is going on. Perhaps you can join a pain management group to help you cope.
It is great you are seeing a specialist. Hopefully, they will not blow you off. I don't know all of your symptoms so this may not relate to you. My grandmother was told she had diverticulitis (sp?) because she kept complaining of stomach problems. None of the medications they gave her seemed to help, so they would just keep trying different things and sending her to different doctors (this went on for a few years!!). It turned out she had ovarian cancer. By the time they realized it, it was too advanced. They (MD's) can test for it, but they usually don't!!!! Please make sure to mention it to your next doctor. If they are looking for it, they can catch it on time. Like I said, I don't know all of your symptoms....but I would hate for another woman to loose a battle that could be prevented.
There are about 1000 things that could be causing you symptoms.
What docs do is they rule out the most common & "quickly lethal" (like appendicitis) ones first. With a handful of tests they can rule out about 500 in one visit. And then rule out another 200-300 by seeing if you respond to certain meds that won't hurt you if you take them with no need. If after that, you're STILL having the same problem they're down to about 200 things. So it's time for another round of tests, these more invasive (like the endoscopy). Those tests will either pinpoint the problem, or rule out another 100-150 things. If not, then another round of testing.
The keep testing and trying meds until they KNOW what's wrong with you, and you can be treated.
Only in a case where a person is literally dieing, do they just keep you in the hospital and keep running test after test. Usually, it's a fairly drawn out process if you've got something a little less common.
The simplest trick to speed the whole process up... is to never make your own appointments... but when you get sent to a doctor to have the doctor's OFFICE make the appt. They usually won't, unless you've called already and the appointment is more than a week away. But if you get a "Oh we can see you May 16th or June 3rd sort of thing... you hang up your cell phone and get the office to place the appt for you. (ALWAYS make followup appointments in the office itself. ALSO ALWAYS tell the appointment person when your doc wants to see you. AKA, if he says "Lets see you back he in a week," tell the appt secretary he wants to see you in a week.
And so you know, longer doesn't = worse diagnosis... just a less common one.
best,
r
Make sure the doctor checks you gall bladder and bowles. You may also want to get a colonoscopy. Just to see if something is "backed-up". Hope they find a solution soon. Good luck.
Are you under a lot of stress lately. Has gall bladder been ruled out.
Sometimes unspecified abdominal pain will disappear as fast as it
appeared. You really do not say what your symptoms are. That would
be helpful.
My thought is.... are you SURE it is your stomach?
My Mom, had Pancreatitis, and had problems with her pancreas, and it got worse when she ate certain things. It cause her a lot of pain....
I would look into other sources that your pain could be from...
all the best,
Susan
I have a friend who has struggled with stomach problems for years. They finally found out it was gastric paralysis. Her stomach muscles don't push her food through and it just sits in her stomach. This causes alot of pain, acid reflux and loss of appetite. Some of your symptoms sound like hers. I hope this helps.
K.,
I agree that you should continue to find the right healthcare professional.
I belong to a website where you can listen to health audios. There is a very good one on digestive disorders. I could copy it onto a cd for you or give you the website info if you want it.
Victoria
Try homeopathy remedies.
I switch from traditional medicine to homeopathy 2 years ago, after 3 doctors wouldn't able to cure my children's problems. Now I use homeopathy remedies 70% of the time. They are great with no side effects so far. I haven't attend an homeopathy specialist; I got several books and learned by myself (but it takes time to find the right remedy).
Hope you are better soon.
i dont know what can be wrong, but dont give up trying to find out. get 2nd opinions, 3rd opinions 4th opinions. you are your best advocate, doctors just rely on symptoms that they see in the office which rarely ever occur in front of them. i would start a journal and chart everthing for a few weeks. from what you eat to what you feel to how long you feel it and when and how it started. take it to each doctor and ask for copies of the tests and the results. this way you can go to different doctors and make sure they have your full history. goodluck
it might be anxienty or asthma. when my asthma is very bad, it feels like indigestion. have your doc listen to your lungs or try some St.John's Wort for anxiety.
K., I am not a doctor but I am a Wellness Coach.
Please check out www.SoYouWantToCleanse.com and see what a natural, holistic approach can do you for you.
B.
Family Wellness Coach
Look up Ciliac disease and check your symptoms. Then talk t your doctor / gastro dr. about it. Sounds similar to what a friend said she experienced before her diagnosis of Ciliac Disease. Just an idea. A.
Hi K.,
I really empathize with you. I've had stomach issues for a long time. It seems I hold my stress there! As others have mentioned before, it may take a little while for the doctor's to diagnose the issue and it can be a range of issues. I ended up having gallstones and it took a sonogram to see that and I had my gall bladder removed. Another friend of mine had endoscopes and they never could fine anything wrong. It turned out, she had stones in her appendicitis and it wasn't until her appendicitis was about to burst that they found out. Mention to your doctors if any of these can be the culprit so you are sure they rule everything out. In the meantime, eat yogurt and take a probiotic to help the good bacteria in your stomach. Hope this helps! Feel Better xoxo
Where does it hurt? I had to have my gallbladder out when I was 26 after the birth of my second child and it is really quite common in younger women. For some reason it just stops functioning properly. My pain was so that when i ate i could feel the food move through my system, the pain was on my right side under my ribs first and then went to my lower back and then to nausea and the big d... They did many tests on me too to make sure it wasn't something else first then they did a test called a hidascan. It takes like 3 hours or something and you drink something then lay really still for a long time while they watch the radioactive stuff go through you... mine only functioned at 7%, normally they won't remove it unless it is less than 35%... if that is what your pain is like then that would also explain why the pretzels don't hurt so bad to eat, b/c grease makes it worse due to the fat content. Bland stuff like oatmeal and crackers would make it feel a little better...hope that helps and you get some treatment soon.
An ultrasound is not going to show anything on your gallbladder unless you have stones. Only the hidascan will show if it is properly functioning even though no stones.
