Needing some help...
Posted , 7 users are following.
Sorry for the long post...
Ok so about three weeks ago, maybe almost four, I was at work and everything was normal. Randomly, I got a sharp pain in my upper abdomin which lasted a very brief but extremely painful two seconds. After the pain went away I felt ok and proceeded with the rest of my day, no problem. The next day I woke up feeling very bloated and crampy. The cramping was on both sides of my stomach( pretty much like the cramping you get before having diarrhea.) I went to work and tried my best to get through the day but the bloating and cramping had me very stessed out. Eventually I went to use the rest room and noticed I was having to push much more than I normally did. When it finally came out( after a couple minutes) I looked and noticed there was mucus in it. Not a huge amount, but it was deffinately noticable. I came to the conclusion that I must have been constipated, even though I was going everyday. So when I got home that night I drank a cap full of Milk of magnesia and waited for the explosion. Nothing happened.
After about a day or two The bloating had gone and the cramping had gotten a bit better, but my stools seemed to be very inconsistent. I was a person who usually only went one or twice a day now I was going three or more. There was still mucus in my stool but not nearly as much. I also noticed at this point that there was chunks of undigested food in my stool, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and corn(sorry if its TMI) My stools went through many different textures sometimes looking as if a bunch of tiny balls were stuck together, sometimes it would be soft with undigested food, and sometimes I would have both in the same movement. Now at this point I began to grow extremely conserned and stupidly turned to google for answers(Yeah I know huge mistake.) Of course the worst case scenarios popped up Ulcers, chrons disease, Inflamitory bowel disease and of course the worst of the worst colon cancer. Naturally I went into full blown panic mode.
The next day I decided enough was enough and that I would try one last time to clean myself out and If that failed I would go see a doctor. So after work I picked up a bottle of Magnesium citrate(which I heard worked much better than milk of magnesia) and a case of water. The moment I got home I drank the entire bottle of magnesium citrate, two bottles of water, and some unsweeten tea. With an hour I was sitting on the toilet. after about two or three hours of jumping up to run to the bathroom I fin ally felt as if there was nothing else in me, and I felt pretty good. Until a couple days later.
After a good couple days, I thought I was back to normal, my bowel habbits still were a bit off, and there was still some mucus, but the cramping had pretty much gone away. So I was feeling pretty hopeful that I was in the clear. Unfortunately something else started happening. My stomach began to rumble constantly, and I felt as if I had large gas bubbles moving around inside me. When I pressed on on them my stomach would make a large gurrgling sound. And sure enough the cramping had come back, more so on my left side about two inches to the left of my belly button. I decided enough was enough and It was time to make a doctors appointment.
Now I was at the doctors about a month ago and had blood work done. The result came back normal except for slightly high bilirubin, which the doctor said wasnt high enough to cause any concern. At the time I had just got over having a massive panic attack so my blood pressure was sky high. This time when I went, my blood pressure was great. The doctor had checked my throat, felt my neck, and listened to my lungs, before having me lay down. As I lay there she pressed on my stomach in a bunch of different locations. Asking as she pressed if it hurt. I told her it pretty much only hurt in the one spot. She asked how long it had been going on, and I told her the entire story. She didnt seem concerened at all. She came to the conclusion that I was just constipated. I told her that I had taken Magnesium citrate a couple days before and felt like I had gotten it all out. She told me to try again.
So to make a super long story short, I drank some magnesium citrate and again I felt fine for a couple days. Now last night I started having pretty bad cramping and discomfort in the same spot as before. I was also using the bathroom alot more these last couple of days. Yesterday I went probably 4 times, and today I've gone about 4 times. The cramping is pretty bad and seriously irritating me. Its been about three, almost four, weeks since all of this started and still hasnt gotten better. Im starting to really get worried. So my question is, has anyone else gone through this? What should I do now? What do you think it could be?
Here some other info about me:
1. 24 year old male
2. I do suffer from anxiety and depression
3. I have asthma
0 likes, 25 replies
lorraine48045 mike63630
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mike63630 lorraine48045
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lilian05079 mike63630
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I think you need to go back to your doc and ask for a second opinion. Request that you have a CT Scan so the docs can get a clear picture of what is going on around your digestive, bowel/colon area.
Also, just to rule it out have him/her give you a breath or stool test for HPylori which is a tiny bacteria that can cause excessive diahorrea and stomach problems. HP can be treated with antibiotics. A blood test is not reliable for HPylori.
Under the Patients Charter for England and Wales you are entitled to a second opinion....assuming you are a UK resident.....best wishes for a speedy answer to your problem....
mike63630 lilian05079
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lilian05079 mike63630
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If you feel you have to go to urgent care then you must go!...you know your body better than anyone else. Don't be fobbed off ask to have all the tests necessary to try to get a diagnosis so you can be treated and feel well again. You are very young and should not have to be in a state of constant anxiety and feeling unwell. To reiterate get a HPylori test (breath test and stool test) it is a very common bacteria that causes stomach and bowel problems ..just to rule it out..a blood test will not show HP. Also get a CT Scan this can take while to get an appointment but be patient and get one done.......best wishes..x
mike63630 lilian05079
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georgina_80922 mike63630
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Also you don't mention your diet do you have a good diet? Anything changed?
mike63630 georgina_80922
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lynne69494 mike63630
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mike63630 lynne69494
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lorraine48045 mike63630
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You must realize that ER docs are the bottom of the barrel. Their job is to get you in and get you out so that they can take care of gun shot wounds, schizophenics found wandering on the streets, and life and death things--broken bones, etc. At best, they will make you drink Omnipak, give you a CAT scan, take blood and urine, and MISREAD the CAT SCAN!!! This happened to me recently. They never let you know what your blood shows or what was in your urine. And ERdocs will not admit you to the hospital unless you use the majic words, "intractable pain." Best thing for you to do is find the finest gastroenterologist you can by referrals or the Internet, checking the Healthgrades or Yelp rating of the doctor, and tough it out until you get an appointment with someone who is an expert--not a rushed ER quack. Many of the ER docs got free rides at our medical schools, and are not really qualified to practice. They make lots of mistake.
Go to a gastroenterologist and get the help you deserve. But it has to be a great gastroenterologist. Hope this helps.
mike63630
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lilian05079 mike63630
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Well that's good news Mike. At least you are making a bit of headway. Continue with what the doc has advised you and go back as he said whether your symptoms are the same or not.
You were right to follow your instincts!!......keep us posted.....best wishes...ciao...x
lorraine48045 mike63630
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lynne69494 mike63630
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one had his symptoms dismissed as virus, breathlessness, chest pain, cough, he pushed for anti bs on 3rd visit, later collapsed at hospital clinic, woke in ic unit, pneaumonia, young so recovered well in time.Another the same, gp symptoms put down to virus, later diagnosed in a and e. Different, parent with young child who kept swelling up, gp said to check food as likely allergy, after a few bouts of it they took him and a and e, tests done showing he was leaking protein from his kidney, been on long term meds since now doing ok.
Just recently parents had their toddler into gps, symptoms put down to teething or something, later that night see thier child with heaving chest, took to a and e, tests showed childs heart veins or arteries wrong way round, needed surgery, now doing well. These are without searching, just local taxi drivers who l use quite often due to my health probs, Some if these drivers now say they wil go to a and e if worried by gps response or lack of it. So it cant be just coincidence in my area surely, Plus lve read posts on here simular and experienced same myself from my gp, many years to get diagnoses of i.c. years of frequent severe pain, poor health, affect on lifestyle, partner, maybe if l,d gone into a and e l,d have got diagnoses sooner and not had so many years of pain along with unneeded surgery and lifestyle affects, now battling again over symptoms affecting life, maybe fibromyalgia, me, still same lack of interest, effort in examination or tests other than standard blood tests. l realise and accept gps cant be experts on numerous conditions, and there are good gp,s, but many dont make much effort, and can fob you off, when youve been suffering severe affects for months or years, but dont refer you to experts even, not good enough. Years ago in 50-70s gps used to automatically listen to your pulse, check your eyes, tongue, say ah, listen to your chest, for some now its radical if they get out of their chair, is it different training now, cut backs, l dont know plus l think were despite all the pr media are not as healthy, more with immume and allergy probs, also asthma, diabetes, resporatory, so think have far more patients and appts, but thats up to authoraties. .For those that have a gp who,s thorough and caring, stick with them like glue. News tonight says a and e,s are mown out and stretched to the limit, they wonder why and predictably blame the old, l think its more likely a lot of people going to a and e not for accidents or emergencies, but chronic symptoms causing debility pain with drastic affect on lifestyle, more so when its gone on for months years, also those who are unable to work, due to symptoms. when having to rely on income to keep house, family, so you cant blame patients, maybe more gps needed to give more time, or different training, not just relying on tech alone, re blood tests, machines to get all results. Glad you got posative outcome Mike.
mike63630 lynne69494
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lynne69494 mike63630
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