Acute Gastritis OR Ulcer ?????

Hi, I'm 17 years old and I really need help.  On July 5th of this summer I went to a cottage in my area and drank some unclean water via the lake. I did not use sunscreen and had quite a bad sunburn. Now that I look back, my first day being there I was not as hungry for dinner as I usually am...maybe sun exposure? (It was pasta and tomato sauce). The next morning I felt not extremely hungry but proceeded to eat breakfast...and as lunchtime hit I wasn't in any rush to eat as I wasn't hungry. We ate pizza and I really had to force myself. My friend wanted icecream in the late afternoon but I was nowhere close to interested. At this point I was quite nauseous and a very distinct feeling of fatigue, had stomach pains which were sharp, felt disconnection and quite off. I refused to eat in the afternoon and by 5pm I was puking. At first we thought it was heat exhaustion, as I was uncontrollably shivering and was very cold but still required cold air for my face to cool my body temperature down. We read that heat exhaustion takes about 48 hours to heal so I had a cool bath and rested on my bed with cold cloths and a fan. The next day I proceeded to eat and the next day I ate even more. At this point I noticed that my throat felt a tad tight, but I figured that was because my throat was just sore from throwing up the day before. This tightness then gradually became something more. I then lost my appetite completely and took a turn for the worst and spent all my days in bed. My throat became more acidy than tight and I had TERRIBLE waves of nausea. Eating was torture and I had to really force myself to eat anything. Eventually I took a Gravol and I felt great relief. I told my doctor my symptoms and she said I most likely had Gastritis as a response to the unclean water I drank at the cottage. She prescribed Lansoprazole 30MG and once daily (morning). Days turned into weeks then almost two months. I now feel the same as I did--but without waves of nausea. I still feel nauseous and queasy because of the Gastritis in my throat but not actually sick to my stomach. The acid has reduced since getting the PPI's, but the acid still burns 24/7 and even causes me to get sore throats. If I eat a cold smoothie for example, I can feel the coldness of the acid coming up afterwards. I do have burning in my upper abdomen in my stomach (especially between meals and at night)...but it usually happens in periods of time for minutes or up to an hour then passes...most of the annoyance is at the end of my esophagus where it burns. I had diarrhea shortly after returning from the cottage but it surpassed quickly, when I touch and put pressure on my stomach it almost feels vacant and empty (even if I eat a big portion of food) and almost feels if I have been punched. I have frequent hiccups and burping and can almost predict when I am going to burp, as the acid increases and rises. The burning in my stomach I experience is not sharp now (but was for a few weeks after returning from the cottage..and was ON the day of puking beforehand.) After returning home the pain was felt in the upper stomach and intestines. The burn is felt all throughout my throat. I have good days and bad days (some days in bed all day and crying and some where I am significantly better) where some days I don't feel sick because the acid for some reason is not as strong (even though I eat mainly the BRAT diet and don't consume any alcohol or coffee or hot or spicy foods since getting sick). And some days I feel profoundly worse. One thing to note is that every since the beginning of getting this "illness" is that at night around 9-10pm I start to feel much better and don't feel as sickly (the dr. says this is a common symptom of Gastritis). In the morning I usually feel my worst . Around nighttime is also when I grow much more of an interest in eating. 

We have run a blood test to test for H.Pylori being the cause of the Gastritis and possible being the cause of a possible ulcer. My standard bloodwork looked great (normal white blood cells, which I assume would indicate no bacteria) and H.Pylori came back NEGATIVE. This Friday I have an appointment to get an Ultrasound of my stomach to see if I have any ulcers. My father had an ulcer around my age, he was 19 and I am 17 (although he had H.Pylori and a duodenum Ulcer). I had been drinking EXCESSIVE amounts of coffee months approaching to me getting sick, as well as increased alcohol consumption, which may be a cause for the possible ulcer. I also was stressed in the month of June with final exams. One thing to note is that halfway through my treatment with Lansoprazole, I was feeling much better day by day and I decided to eat pizza (I became very hungry). I ate a lot of pizza and hours later I felt the acid increase and I once again, took a turn for the worst. I have been very careful with what I eat, and eat plain rice, plain pasta, applesauce, smoothies, white bread etc. Along the way I have noted some trigger foods--chocolate chip cookies, pizza and pancakes. I have not puked since July 5th but felt close to a few days after returning from the cottage. It is now August 21st and I am still suffering. We contacted my doctor and she said that I could up my dosage of Lansoprazole from 1 tablet a day to 2 (every 12 hours)...so hopefully that helps. If no ulcer is found from the Ultrasound, then we are to see a surgeon and a gastroenterologist who will perform an endoscopy and biopsy on me to test for infections and to check for inflammation. One thing that we are wondering is the fact that I am on anti-depressants (SSRI) and the pharmacist said that they may be causing the Gastritis, which is interesting because I have been on these for 2 years now and have had 0 problems until this acute Gastritis struck. I have also read that SSRI's increase your chances of an ulcer.

I seem to be improving SLOWLY because I was under-prescribed and I also gained a tooth infection during my Gastritis treatment and therefore had to take Advil twice every four hours for about 2 weeks during the summer.

If there is anyone out there that reads my story and has any recommendations of what my diagnosis could be--I would love to hear it. I have also tried probiotics and I feel out of ideas and hopeless honestly. I want my life back. 

Thanks, 

Clara

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