Anyone with gastro problems?

[birdnutz]

This is supposadly the number 1 reason people miss work and see doctors. Boy howdy do I know that one! Mine started 3.5 years ago and still no diagnoses. I've been on almost all the proton inhibitors with no success. I haven't had carbinated drinks or chocolate in all this time. Except 1 tootsie roll that reminded me why I don't eat it. I still drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning that they want me to give up. I think I've had every test they can give me and still nothing. Except my esophagus, stomack and right colon are inflammed and I have ulcers in my colon.
Went and seen another doctor on Wednesday. He had the audacity to ask if it really bothered me that much! And if I was stressed. Then brought up gastroparesis. (again). I asked him if the inflammation is normal with that? He told me no. So I asked him why he thought that was it. Of course thats the same as my regular GP had said. So when she'd faxed my records she made sure to put that in there. I feel it only muddies the waters and slows down my chances of getting diagnosed.
Every time I eat something I bloat up like I'm 9 months pregnant. Incrediable pressure behind my sternum and difficulty swallowing. And the best they can come up with is reflux! I've been trying out a new diet. Great taste no pain. You can google about it. For me its only partially successful.
Anyone else have something like this? Did you get a diagnosis? What helped? Sorry so long. But I'm getting desperate about this. I drive for a living and had to give up my regular shift of 36 hours and go to split shift of16 hrs. Cant sit that long in a vehicle. The pressure builds up in my chest and makes it real hard to breath.
Sorry so long,but I'm hoping someone might be able to steer me onto something else.

 

[Julie_A]

I have that miserable bloating. I blame it on food allergies... I can't eat eggs or soy.

So sorry you are suffering. I can totally identify. My husband has nonspecific colitis and I have IBS.

There are lots of us out there. Wish someone could figure out a solution for us.

 

[Smoky73]

I have chronic nausea. Dr has told me I also have IBS since having my gallbladder removed 5 years ago.

I would get an allergy test done to see what kind of foods you are allergic too. That will prbably be my next test I get done, though, by trial and error, I am slowly making progress to solve my problems. Also, try to find stuff that helps with digestion. I drink a lot of Ginger Tea, which is supposed to aid in a healthy digestive system. I also take a Candidia treatment from the health food store, as a Yeast infection(Which can be throughout the body) can cause any number of problems and the regular Dr's do not believe its an issue.

This past year, I suffered with almost daily bouts of nausea and diahrrea. Part of my problem with nausea was anxiety and stress, so I take a anxiety pill every morning. That helps. I was chewing a lot of gum and mints (all peppermint) to help with the nausea even more. Turns out, all sugar free gum has Sorbitol in it, which I learned from a episode of "House" that is a natural laxative. I immediately stopped the gum and mints. Things got a bit better with the diahrrea. I still get the diarrhea (Finally spelled it right!) if I eat anything with too much fat, or over easy eggs, or margarine. So am trying new types of butters to see what does it. It has to be something in the margarine. I am leaning toward non-Hydronated fats? (I think thats right- maybe its unsaturdated, I will have to check.)
I am also lactose intolerant, which gives me the bloating, gas, diarrhea and nausea as well. I have to take 2 lactaid pills if I even look at a milk product. Now I have a lot of stress at work because of my boss, so, I think I might have an ulcer too, because I get that pain in the middle. I have been taking Prevacid OTC and seems to help. I also have nausea caused by fluctuating hormone levels, so for 6 days out of the month, I am really bad.
So for me, my problems are mostly food related, so maybe I am slightly allergic to many byproducts and such. I also keep a food diary of what I eat every day, and how I feel afterwards. It might help you identify if there is something in particular that does it.

 

[birdnutz]

The only time I get nausea is if I don't eat. Rarely have diarrhea. Pizza's one thing so far that did that. Doctor brought up about food allergies. But this happens no matter what I eat. I'm starting to think it was caused by the protonix or the statin drug has my pancreas inflamed. She put me on many of them. Had to stop because of pain right below my diaphram. The pain would last about 3-4 days after going off from it. Have been on one type now for about 9 months. But was also on protonix. When I went to her about the bloating,she said was a side affect of the protonix. Been off of all inhibitors close to 6 months and it hasn't went away.

 

[CMV]

I have had severe GERD since I was pregnant. I blew the valve in the top of my stomach out and will eventually need surgery to repair it. I am on proton pump inhibitors-Protonix, in fact. I have lost 10 lbs and my GI guy wants me to lose 25 more (Really? Shall I just cut off my leg? I am not overweight!). I have had every test known to man trying to diagnose this problem. Because of the blown valve, stomach acid leaks into my esophagus and larynx causing excruciating chest pain to the point where I thought I was having a heart attack. My regimen is moderately successful in controlling symptoms. The most important steps I have found in controlling symptoms of chronic stomach problems are

-Stay thin. Really thin. Being thin means you are eating less, staying away from fatty and sugary foods, avoiding alcohol, and all the other things you aren't supposed to be doing when you have stomach problems. This has been key in controlling my symptoms. The more weight I lose the better I feel... aside from the hunger pangs.

-No coffee. Period. That includes decaf (which incidentally still contains some caffeine). I was a hardcore coffee drinker, but I had to totally give it up. Tough, but alleviated a lot of my symptoms immediately.

-Take your meds exactly as ordered. Timing is very important with stomach meds. They only work if you use them correctly.

Hopefully your new doc will be able to help diagnose your problems. It took almost 3 years in my case. It's tough to feel so lousy and have no idea what's wrong. I wish you luck.

 

[AmyBella]

Birdnutz, have you been tested for Celiac disease or gluten intolerance? This is one of the most common but frequently overlooked causes of GI distress.

 

[CMV]

Quote:
These days it is one of the first things you are tested for because it had been largely overlooked for so long and is so easy to treat. Any GI doc worth his salt will look for that and h. pylori first.

 

[Wifezilla]

You are on STATINS??? Are you male or female? For females, statins are worse than useless.
"Authors of a commentary in the January 20, 2007 issue of Lancet say that the use of statin drugs for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (that is, in patients who do not yet have cardiovascular disease) in women and in people over the age of 69 cannot be supported by existing data from clinical trials."

"the decrease in cardiovascular deaths the statins prevent is more than made up for by deaths from other disorders that statins likely cause. As far as your risk for death is concerned, taking statins is a zero-sum game: you don’t die from heart disease but you do die from something else within the same period. What you want to do is not to die. "
"If you’re worried about heart disease, take some niacin, the only substance yet that has been shown to decrease all-cause mortality. And it doesn’t have to be the prescription variety."
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/cardiovascular-disease/statinators-spill-the-beans/

Lots of statin info here
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/statin.html
and here
http://www.spacedoc.net/

I am suspecting diet too. Usually the worst culprit when it comes to GI problems that are hard to diagnose is WHEAT. Wheat is in almost EVERYTHING unless you are eating whole, fresh foods. If it comes in a package, there is usually some kind of wheat or wheat by product in it. Other suspects are soy and corn and high omega 6 oils and foods.

If I were you I would...
1. Have my vitamin D levels tested. Vitamin D helps the body with inflammation.
2. Look in to a Paleolithic style diet. Basically if a caveman couldn't have killed it with a rock or gathered it, don't eat it.
3. When you have high cholesterol, you have to STOP EATING HIGH SUGAR FOODS. This includes foods that rapidly convert to glucose once digested like grains and starches...wheat, rice, soy, potatoes, etc... Also watch the fruit intake. Fructose hits the liver and generates a lot of bad cholesterol. Limit the fruits and stick to mainly berries. I would avoid juice totally.
4. Get thecholesterol test that calculates the particle size. NOT the test where they guess and use a formula. This way you find out how much of your LDL is actually very dangerous VLDL.
5. Make sure I kept my total carbohydrates under 60g/day. You can find out how many carbs are in your food by going to www.fitday.com. It's free.
6. Avoid wheat like the plague. Give it 2-3 weeks and see how you feel. If there is no change, then I would try eliminating dairy. That is another common food allergy.
7. Go for the food allergy testing if it was covered by my insurance.

 

[birdnutz]

I'm a 46 y.o. female and on lovastain because of my high cholesterol. After 3 years I finally got tested for H. Pylori. Which was negative. Never have on celiac or gluten intolerance.
Weight loss has been one of the symtoms, or problems if you will of this. Never had anything wrong except reflux (supposedly). But Dad has type 2 diabetes and I was really starting to gain weight. Decided to drop around 15-20 pounds. My weight was around 155 lbs at 5 ft 6 in. Now I'm down to around 123lbs and still losing weight. Think all of this has led to an absorbtion problem. They even found an undigested allegra pill in my colon 36 hours after I took it.
Wifezilla, thank you so much for the links. Believe me, I WILL be reading them and checking to see about the other tests.

 

[StupidBird]

over the last 20 years I have eliminated milk, sodas, msg, soy, wheat (still working on, keep finding it in stuff), caffeine, chocolate, any coffee or black tea, and now leaning towards gluten. And that's just for my digestive woes. Allergists say its not "allergies" but "sensitivities". Right. Whatever. If I have milk, even the amount of lactose monohydrate as a filler in medication, I will get sinus swelling(with headache towards migraine, and sinus infections), asthma flare and hives sometimes. The bloating with soy causes a "miracle pregnancy" I get so bloated it looks about 9 months...comes and goes ususally within a half hour but some times lingers. The latest round of docs say serious acid reflux, TMJ, and other "avoid stress" instructions. I am getting BETTER though, as I eliminate more from my diet. I'm crying about the coffee and chocolate though.
the stress thing. Working on it - trying the "Franklin Covey" stuff from the library because my sis swears by it. Anyone who can hold a full time job, plus National Guard, AND get her masters degree all at the same time has to have something working right! Its very positive without the touchy-feely therapy - so far anyway.
So, its take fiber morning and evening, vitamins, eat little meals, exercise, eat carefully, pack food anytime I go anywhere. I bought brown rice in a 25 lb bag, and going towards nearly vegetarian, except I eat eggs, and farmtofreezer grassfed beef, and some other meats. Lentils cook great in a crockpot!

my gluten test years ago came back negative - but I'm finding the diet is helping anyway.

For an acute acid attack, the spoonful of baking soda in a glass of water works for me. But I've read it contributes to the imbalances in the long run. Good luck, stick with it.