I just gotta vent...

[shinigamiPUNCH]

So for the past 8 days, every time I eat something I get these terrible stomach cramps. Like I should be giving birth terrible. On Tuesday I ran out of work and went to the walk in clinic, where I had blood tests and xrays done. The doctor decided I had IBS and just really needed to take a good poo (I have been, there's no issue there). She gave me some meds that are basically muscle relaxers for your guts (which ironically cause constipation so go figure). She also offered to give me some pain meds as I have a job I need to be at Mon - Fri. I declined the pain meds, but by Wednesday I called back and asked for them.

She gave me Tramadol, which apparently I can't have. It causes bad things. So I went from being able to eat 2 eggs and one banana a day to extreme nausea and not being able to keep water down. When I called the doctor back, she told me they couldn't help me and to call my primary doctor. When I called my primary, he told me he also couldn't help me and that I should not be taking pain meds for pain.

The thing that gets me is that no one has once mentioned dietary changes, nor have they asked me what I do eat. They have my food allergies on file but ignore them because they haven't been confirmed with tests (which they tell me they don't do food allergy testing).

I dont know if I should be refusing to eat or if I should keep trying (I do get hungry so that's why I eat a little bit like half a hardboiled egg at a time). As would be expected from severely limiting calorie intake, I am exhausted.

I was told that there is no point when I should get concerned becasue I haven't eaten in X amount of days. Yes I have a ton of "weight" to lose but I also have some hard earned muscle I'd like to keep.

Just needed to vent... as soon as I'm better I am eating a big fat juicy steak!

[Daffy]

I hope you feel better soon!

[chammy]

I don't want to alarm you, but my husband had a similar problem start on our honeymoon, and it ended up that his appendix was infected/close to bursting and needed to be removed. Maybe check for that at the hospital?

[oystergirl]

First, sending you a big hug because it is so difficult to be dealing with a health issue with unhelpful medical professionals. It took me 6 months to be diagnosed with Lyme disease and then only because my father who was a retired doctor "suggested" it to my Primary care physician instead of trying to dose me with anti-inflammatories cause I felt like my feet were broken and couldn't walk. But I digress...

You say you eat and then you get pain. Where is the pain? Under your sternum? Middle of your abdomen? Lower Abdomen? Right side? Left Side? How is your gas? Burping? Farting? All these can mean different things. Maybe you could change what you are eating like vegetable and meat broths that are very nutritious but easy on the gut? Also probiotics are a great idea if you do have irritable bowel. I have irritable bowel and have had it for years and I have NEVER had severe stomach pain right after eating. I would also not be taking NO for an answer from your primary doctor. Call back, ask for an appointment or referral to a gastroenterologist or tell them you are going to the emergency room and will be calling them for a consult.

[ebm1224]

ouch! feel better! yes, as was said above, don't take no for an answer. as someone who has always had a "nervous stomach," when i started having more frequent issues a couple years ago, at first i wrote it off (as did my parents) but the person that knows your body best is YOU...if you think something is wrong, you owe it to yourself to stick with it. did anything change in your diet or other lifestyle issues before this happened? i would call your primary back and, since they don't seem to be much help, ask for a gastroenterologist referral. they know their stuff and i learned alot just from seeing one once. also, there are alot of tests/procedures they can do that aren't terribly invasive that can help you figure out alot. as you probably know, IBS is sort of a catchall when they don't know exactly what is wrong with your stomach. that's ok, but if the changes/medicine they recommend don't help, then you have be your own advocate until you find something that works.

best of luck!

[shinigamiPUNCH]

Chammy - yes they did an X-Ray, blood work, and CT scan and found my appendix was fine. That's what I was worried about.

Thanks oystergirl and ebm1224. I went to the ER yesterday morning, pretty hysterical, and they were nicer to me. But the ER doc explained again that they just can't find anything abnormal in any of the tests they did and to follow up with my primary next week. He suggested a clear liquid diet (been doing that) and gave me some hydrocodone for the pain and something for the nausea. I think when I see my primary I am going to ask for a referral. It's entirely possible this is all due to stress (I am under extreme pressure right now from multiple angles) but I have been under more stress before and never had this effect. Plus I'm kind of sick of chicken broth and sugar-free jello and drug-induced haze.

[Morrigainz]

UGH! Big hugs and well-wishes. Your dr sucks. I don't have anything helpful to add but I hope you feel better/get it figured out soon.

I had some kind of weird stomach thing for a month or so where I got nauseous every time I ate, and a weird gut. It eventually went away on its own, but it was no fun to deal with. Now severe pain...yuck.

Hope you feel better!

[oystergirl]

hmmm......just a question....have you had any fermented food lately or added in a new probiotic? Thing many people do not know is that if you overload your gut with TOO much good bacteria or a big dose, it can cause serious stomach issues. I once drank some kombucha that had sat over night in a hot car. The bacteria in it must have multiplied exponentially and for 5 days I was in agony as my gut dealt with this over abundance of yeast/bacteria.

Also, taking heavy pain pills on an almost empty stomach can cause a lot of damage by burning holes in the lining if you are not careful. At least take them with milk. I almost got an ulcer that way once! Big hugs to you!@

[shinigamiPUNCH]

hmmm......just a question....have you had any fermented food lately or added in a new probiotic? Thing many people do not know is that if you overload your gut with TOO much good bacteria or a big dose, it can cause serious stomach issues. I once drank some kombucha that had sat over night in a hot car. The bacteria in it must have multiplied exponentially and for 5 days I was in agony as my gut dealt with this over abundance of yeast/bacteria.

Also, taking heavy pain pills on an almost empty stomach can cause a lot of damage by burning holes in the lining if you are not careful. At least take them with milk. I almost got an ulcer that way once! Big hugs to you!@

I started a probiotic after the pain started because I thought the pain was there because my guts were screwed up. But it didn't seem to help after a couple days so I stopped it. I am taking all my pain meds with jello because I don't seem to tolerate milk right now. I've had issues with pain meds on an empty stomach before so I'm trying to avoid that. Really, I'm trying to avoid the pain meds too but am pretty unsuccessful in that.

I am on day 11 right now. Water, chicken stock, and jello seem relatively tolerable.

[shinigamiPUNCH]

Felt like updating...

Day 16

1. I am getting through my days with 1/8 cu full fat greek yogurt, 2 3 oz stage 2 containers of baby food, and 1 cup of chicken stock. Usually at night I'll try something a little more substantial, so far nothing has worked.

2. I am scheduled to see a GI doctor 2/20. I have seen 4 docs so far and it has been a pointless waste of my time.

3. They want me to be tested for Celiac disease so I am not supposed to be eating Paleo right now. I use "eating" loosely.

4. I have either Crohn's disease or UC. They have to do painful and embarrassing testing to find out.

5. I have lost 4 lbs, would have been more but I have 0 energy and have been pretty lazy.

I have been very vocal to the docs I've been seeing: I am so disappointed with medical care right now. They don't listen to the symptoms I'm reporting, they don't care about my pain levels or inability to eat, and all 4 docs have said that diet doesn't matter with the condition(s) I have.

[Ryan Sannar]

First of all that sucks. My girlfriends just went through this. Couldn't eat for 5 days. We just curled up on the couch and I held her as she tried to get sleep.

Questions: Does the pain come regardless of whether you eat? Have they done a physical examination of your stomach, by poking and proding? If so did they check a little under your rib cage? If not it could be your gall bladder/gall stones which can be caused by a combination of a number of different things. (Genetic predispositiong+Eating Disorders+Massive Stress+rapid changes in diet and etc...). If its not that I'd imagine its an ulcer or you could have torn the muscle around that area and that's why it hurts. If its an ulcer I suggest drinking juiced cabbage. And juice in an apple because otherwise it tastes horrible.

Also you can ask for a GI cocktail which is a mixture of Lidocaine (numming agent), maelox, and benadryl. I'm pretty sure it was the lidocaine that worked wonders.

The other possiblity is that you might have an acidic gut, so avoid any acidic foods for the time being and see if that helps.

Have they done a endoscopy yet (stick a tube with a camera down your throat)? That's what our instacare doctor suggested if the pain didn't go away. They give you the lidocaine for that either way so its a win win scenario... except for cost.

If you do the cabbage juice, which is the cheapest option, and it works that most likely means that you have an ulcer. If that's the case lower your stress. Learn breathing exercises and let it heal.

Good luck. Keep us updated. Either way I would suggest avoiding acidic foods for now (fats won't help either normally), stick to non paleo bland rice and etc.. In small amounts and with the chicken broth like you've been doing. Also if you can manage it I would suggest a multi vitamin.

[shinigamiPUNCH]

@Ryan - Thanks for the suggestions! They have pretty much examined me as much as they can - seen 4 doctors had CT scans, X-rays, blood work, been felt up multiple times, etc. I just went to the GI doc yesterday and I actually like him. Since I had started eating little bits around the 12th and was preparing for it, he tested me for Celiac (eating all that wheat I know has set me back a bit). He said that if that comes back negative, then I'll have to swallow the camera. Right off the bat he suggested diet changes and even said that even if I test negative for Celiac I would know best if wheat makes me sick and to not eat it if I choose. He thinks it is just a bad case of IBS brought on by the stress of my Gpa's terminal illness, but he also thinks it could be Crohn's or UC depending on what the camera finds.

Apparently they stick that camera down your throat and all the way through your guts. I told him I did not want to remember that in any way.

I have been drinking kefir and taking probiotics and I think that's helped (as well as my multivitamin and magnesium). I am not going to eat wheat and limit the dairy to just kefir and cheese (when I can tolerate it). Since I can tolerate a bit more and the pain has lessened, I feel less frantic. But I do appreciate the tips because I have a feeling if I'm not careful I will find myself in a hurt bag again (God it was seriously the worst pain I've felt)

[shinigamiPUNCH]

Also - I hope your girlfriend is okay now. I would wish tummy issues on anyone.

[Ryan Sannar]

She's been doing much much better thank you.

We're thinking it was an ulcer. Keep us up to date okay?

[Guest guest4729]

Ugh, this reminds me of me when I was diagnosed with my Crohn's, I'm here if you need support.

When I was 12 I discovered my Crohn's not because I couldn't eat but because I was suddenly bleeding from a not so normal spot. Turns out I had a terrible fistula (RE: intestines breach surface of the skin, not pretty) and was in terrible pain for months. I couldn't sit down properly, couldn't lay down properly, couldn't get comfortable period.

For months the doctors tried figuring out what was wrong with me passing me from hospital to hospital. Test after test. Question after question and so on. Only after doing an upper and lower GI scan (what you described above with the cameras) were they able to finally say that it was Crohn's. They thought it was a number of things first like IBS, Colitis and so on, but in the end it turned out it was Crohn's.

Unfortunately there is no known cause or cure, only thoughts and possibilities that make it something you can live with. They believe it could come from anything between extreme stress to even cow's milk. Cows have a very similar disease called Yoni's Disease which has been liked to Crohn's. They were also doing studies on it's possible hereditery spread or if there was a correlation between cancer in the family and Crohn's. My dad (who had pancreatic cancer) tried to participate in a study with me but I had to be 18 and he passed away before that. Unfortunately I don't know what the results of that study were. Another thing they think might cause it is the use of certain steroids in the past like things such as Accutane. They thought it was possible that someone like your parents using Accutane could transmit it to you. So many possibilities.

I think one of the first things you should ask your doctor about are anti-inflammatory drugs and something that will act as an immuno-suppresent. With Crohn's your body is essentially attacking itself and killing off good cells. By using an immuno-suppresent it will help your body calm down and attack itself less. Crohn's is highly inflammatory so an anti-inflammatory drug might be able to help you keep food down.

Another thing that I discovered that came with my Crohn's was Acid Reflux. That also makes it hard to eat sometimes because my stomach would feel so acidic that it just felt like it was melting my esophagus. Not fun.

[Ryan Sannar]

I totally thought you were the OP at first and it threw me off.

[Guest guest4729]

I totally thought you were the OP at first and it threw me off.

Yeahhh...the story sounds A LOT like mine. It's no fun at all. Especially when you're really young and don't know what the hell is going on and your doctors feel the same way. D:

[Ryan Sannar]

Yay! Doctors... Its sad we depend on them so much when most know little to nothing about diet.

[The Tin Man]

Man that sounds similar to what I've been dealing with but with much more intensity and more staying power. It's mostly better now but starting a couple weeks ago I kept getting severe pain in my stomach. It was awful and was hard to get work done. I couldn't find any correlation between food eaten and the symptoms and it was driving me nuts. Lately though I've noticed it when I eat Lara bars, which is sad because of how much I love them. The last 3-4 times I've had the stomach pain it's started within 30 minutes of eating a Lara bar and got worse until I went to the bathroom. I haven't had one since Monday night and have been fine since Monday night. I'm thinking of having one tomorrow or Sunday if I'm still feeling good to see what happens.

[Guest guest4729]

Man that sounds similar to what I've been dealing with but with much more intensity and more staying power. It's mostly better now but starting a couple weeks ago I kept getting severe pain in my stomach. It was awful and was hard to get work done. I couldn't find any correlation between food eaten and the symptoms and it was driving me nuts. Lately though I've noticed it when I eat Lara bars, which is sad because of how much I love them. The last 3-4 times I've had the stomach pain it's started within 30 minutes of eating a Lara bar and got worse until I went to the bathroom. I haven't had one since Monday night and have been fine since Monday night. I'm thinking of having one tomorrow or Sunday if I'm still feeling good to see what happens.

If you're having severe stomach pain get it checked out by a doctor ASAP. The longer these kinds of illnesses go untreated, the worse they get. One of my old coworkers got Crohn's before they had any clue what it was. He went to long without any treatment since they had none at the time and lost his entire intestinal track as a result. Another one of my old coworkers (same job!) let his go for too long since his parents thought he was just a kid whining and he ended up having a portion of his intestines removed because it was so badly damaged.

Intestinal/stomach issues aren't something to mess with.

[The Tin Man]

If you're having severe stomach pain get it checked out by a doctor ASAP. The longer these kinds of illnesses go untreated, the worse they get. One of my old coworkers got Crohn's before they had any clue what it was. He went to long without any treatment since they had none at the time and lost his entire intestinal track as a result. Another one of my old coworkers (same job!) let his go for too long since his parents thought he was just a kid whining and he ended up having a portion of his intestines removed because it was so badly damaged.

Intestinal/stomach issues aren't something to mess with.

!

So even if I'm symptom-free for a while you think I should get checked out? Not that I would not go to the doctor after reading that...

[shinigamiPUNCH]

@The Tin Man, from my experience doctors don't take you seriously if you have no symptoms (I do troubleshooting at my job - if it ain't broke we can't fix it) but I would agree! Go and if they don't take you serious get cranky. I never want to feel that way again! I feel loads better, but I still don't feel well enough to say I'm happy with things the way they are (if it can be helped)

I managed to eat gluten for 6 days and marginally tested negative for celiac so my GI giving me the run around. I believe when I go in next I am going to request an endoscopy to try to rule out crohn's. If it is just IBS or a false negative on the celiac, eating Paleo strictly should help me. Just in case though I want to make sure it isn't Crohn's... we have autoimmune diseases in my family abundantly.

@awsd00 Thank you so much, you really made me feel like I'm not alone with these issues. Sometimes I start to feel like it's all in my head.

[LRB]

Gallbladder?

I know nothing about these things, but have they looked into that?

[Guest guest4729]

!

So even if I'm symptom-free for a while you think I should get checked out? Not that I would not go to the doctor after reading that...

I would say yes just to be careful. You never know what issues could be lying dormant. If you have a family history of intestinal issues or auto-immune disorders I would talk to a doctor. Explain what things you've been experiencing. I would keep a "diary" or sorts of what you eat and when you get the pains in your stomach. Keep track of their intensity and other things that way you can show it to your doctor so they can try and help you.

@awsd00 Thank you so much, you really made me feel like I'm not alone with these issues. Sometimes I start to feel like it's all in my head.

You're absolutely not alone with it. If you talk about it you'd be shocked with how many people have it. Hell, I worked with two people who had it and I didn't even know it at first. My one coworker also had a kid who had it as well. I've also met several other people in the following years with Crohn's or IBD or Colitis.

[KittyMul]

I can't add much, you've already had some excellent advice. I just wanted to encourage you to insist on that endoscopy - I had similar symptoms for years and was told that I had IBS. I eventually demanded an endoscopy and it turned out I had an ulcer that was at risk of perforating (and scars from several previous ulcers). I'd never had reflux or heartburn but I'd been secretly harbouring an incredibly acidic stomach. It was fixed within a few months of a low-fat,low-acid diet and medication. I hope you can find an equally simple solution, good luck!