Acid reflux, anxiety and fear of cancer
Posted , 3 users are following.
To begin with, i've been dealing with anxiety for around 2 years. Most of the time it's manageable and I am not on medication, i've never been. I'm also 19, male. Recently, (around a week ago), I woke up one day and I was hypersalivating a lot, and I was really nauseous. That lasted for a day, the next one I was no longer hypersalivating, but I was still feeling slightly nauseated. Ever since that happened I have been feeling sick. up until 3 days ago or so I could feel my throat burning, I was seriously bloated and i was burping a lot, or trying to unsuccessfully. I saw a gastroenterologist, told him about my symptoms, he asked me some questions about my dietary habits and others, and even though he was hesitant, he prescribed me medication, omeprazole 20mg once every morning. He was hesitant because he said that it's rare for someone of my age to have this condition without being overweight or having other issues on the side. Now, the capsules, I'm supposed to be taking one every morning, he said that if I don't feel generally better within 14 days I should see him again (or sooner). If it helps, I'm supposed to keep taking them until none are left, and they're 28. I took one for the first time 2 days ago, I was feeling much better during most of the day, but towards the evening I was once again feeling some mild nausea and bloating. Yesterday anxiety got the best of me and I begun to worry about the medication itself, read some stuff about it being linked to dementia and it seriously scared me to the point where I totally skipped it for the day. Needless to say I felt like crap, today I took one again and it hasn't been that helpful, I've been feeling bloated almost all day, sometimes mixed with a feeling of hunger, and a lot of burping. I haven't been eating very well either, I avoid acidic foods and fats completely but to no avail. My fears about cancer are growing stronger every day and sometimes the symptoms are so overwhelming i feel like a walking corpse. Some things i'd like to note are that I have never thrown up, nor have i ever even gotten close to throwing up, to be honest. I also don't seem to have any problems with my bowel movements, no constipation or diarrhea, though I do feel like I don't visit the toilet that often any more, which I'd attribute to the fact that I haven't been eating well. I'm conflicted, I've been told "It's anxiety don't worry about it" so many times before (for different symptoms) that nowadays I'm almost forcing myself to avoid the doctors whenever something new comes up. On the other hand I don't feel well and I fear for the worst. I don't know If i should try to carry on with the medication as prescribed or if I should go see the gastroenterologist again. Help?
0 likes, 2 replies
janet07438 HarrisArgy
Posted
Hello. I'm sorry that you are going through such a horrible time. I've had some similar issues (but i am 46) and for me its been going on for many months. I've tried three different types of PPI with no effect but i found that cutting out foods that a) are acidic b) are hard to digest - like fatty foods) and c) foods that loosen the LES muscle (the muscle between your stomach and oesophagus) HAS reduced my symptoms (although they are still there). The biggest change was cutting out tea and coffee (even decaff). I made changes to my diet which means i lost a LOT of weight (which caused massive panics) but my doctor was clear that sudden changes to diet like smaller meals, no fatty food, no chocolate etc will make you loose quite a lot of weight.
It took 3 months to get referred to a specialist ( COVID means NHS resources are limited) and although I need to go for scans to find the cause, he was not concerned that something sinister was lurking (and i asked him directly because Ive been incredibly worried). These symptoms are INCREDIBLY common. I've found this forum the best because when you look at all the posts, although people are often frustrated or in pain, they have already been through the assessments are not dangerously ill. Its really helped me to see the symptoms are incredibly likely to something like GERD (GORD in the UK) and not the thing your brain thinks it is. Its sometimes best to be honest with your doctor because they may not be aware of your fears or take them seriously. find someone who listens is able to give you some sort of assurance - my doc gave me statistical information which helped.
Also, and perhaps most importantly, anxiety makes the symptoms worse. I dont know why - but again the expert said that i needed to stay calm and stop worrying because it increases the symptoms and also makes you lose your appetite and loose more weight - which itself increases health anxiety - so its a bit of Catch 22 situation.
I hope you're able to get some assurances that your symptoms are just your stomach being an idiot and that your anxiety gets better. take care of yourself x
stefanpavel98 HarrisArgy
Posted
Hi, you might find this reassuring because I believe it can be anxiety related / induced or muscle spasm / nerves related as well. I have had this very same symptoms often (I'm 22), even very bitter, acidic taste in my mouth but usually only when I think I have them and I focus on them for a little while. Try to break out of it and see if its correlated in any way to your mood, notice if you feel it more when you might think you're having them, or when your mood is down (especially if you are generally worried about it and you know the symptoms that people feel normally). You probably don't have this when your mood is up or when you do something that gives you positive emotions. I often try to fight it with my brain by forcing myself to believe that I don't have anything and that I am making it up and in a couple of seconds the symptoms go away fully, or I try to redirect the pain and imagine I am feeling it somewhere else in the body. If this works then you should see an immediate pattern between the way you think (discouraged, negative, anxious) with the level of discomfort you're experiencing physically, especially if you consciously focus/ ruminate on it too much. This made the symptoms go away completely for me as it seems that your brain is inducing either muscles spasms in muscles or it triggers the nerves around that side of your body that produces the sensations that you're describing. So notice if that makes it go way, if it its that then its anxiety related, I know it feels very real but there's actual studies that show how you body becomes more sensitive (mentally) and then gives you these sensations or triggers some of the nerves/ muscles that make you feel this way. But please do the necessary medical investigations either way if necessary, even for your piece of mind! Please try it, its been quite a revelation for me! All the best!