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Bubbling stomach and bad back for months!

Posted , 6 users are following.

Marco99
Marco99

Hi all, I have just got back from my colonoscopy at Gateshead QE. The procedure was straightforward and I did not have any sedation or gas and air. So don't be too concerned if you are having one. That aside, the camera showed everything looked fine, but my stomach is bubbling every minute of the day and I have lower back ache especially earlier in the day when I wake up. I go to the gym daily and often my back is fine when I am training hard. However I am curious if anyone has similar symptoms or suggestions as to what may be causing this? I am having an MRI scan next week too, so perhaps this may shed some light too. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Good luck to you all and thanks for reading/ replying wink

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • john1999
    john1999 Marco99

    Posted

    Marco99,

    Lower back pain combined with indigestion as you describe it is typical of a chronic (or acute) infection. There are many bugs out there that can cause this, but most likely culprits are:

    - H.pylori

    - B. hominis

    - Candida overgrowth (unlikely to be a cause, rather a side-effect of some other infection)

    - Some other parasite, such as V. klapowii or similar...

    Typically though, with lower back pain, the cause is H.pylori. It is not easy to prove it, as no test is 100% reliable. Try to do a PCR test for H.pylori as breath test is not reliable. In addition, there are other Non-pylori helicobacters out there, making this whole deal all the more complicated (there are no commercial tests for those).

    • Marco99
      Marco99 john1999

      Posted

      Cheers John for such a quick and informative answer! Couple of follow up questions if I may;

      * what causes these infections?

      * how are they treated?

      * how do you know these things?

      Much appreciated! 😊

    • john1999
      john1999 Marco99

      Posted

      * You probably meant - how does one get these infections? (Causes are already listed in my previous answer and that is by no means an exhaustive list!). Usually you get them from restaurant food, children, tap water or dirty hands.

      * Antibiotics if you go to a doctor and if they get a positive result on a test which is unlikely. These buggeres know how to hide and your test results largely depend on some poor soul loosing his eye seight by staring through a microscope for 8 hrs a day... (unless you do a PCR test which is much more reliable and also much more expensive)

      * I have been dealing with them for a few decades myself.

      In the end, my most important experience is that "If you want someting done well, do it yourselr". I had to spend thousands of dollars to finally learn that doctors and tests cannot be trusted. An average patient is a perfect example of "Confirmation bias" and cognitive dissonance (they all say "Oh, s/he is a great doctor!" and when you tell them that they have not gotten better the answer is "Oh, that's because _______"), while an average MD is a perfect example of a "Semmelweiss effect". So try to learn as much as you can on your own and supervise everything doctors do. They are not in it to help, but to make money, and cured patient is a customer lost forever.

      BTW, if your symptoms started recently, you have a better chance of finding out what it is. I would start with tests for those things above, and go from there. There are many other possibilities, but with strong sounds and such, I would lean towards some type of parasite, perhaps even something quite prosaic like pinworms and such. In that case, Mebendazole should be good enough (heck, even good old castor oil may be able to do the trick). Tip: usually prescribed length of therapy is not enough. Better to overmedicate then to undermedicate in any case (except with highly toxic meds).

    • prickly_75324
      prickly_75324 john1999

      Posted

      Hi John, I know you haven't posted on here in a while but I hope that you read this. I came across your reply last night and you seem very knowledgable. 

      My symptoms include extreme gassiness and bloat every morning and general gas throughout the day. For the last year and a half I have also been experiencing a swelling (I think) that has caused my left rib cage to stick out. My guess is that it is my stomach or intestines that are swollen with gas. This swelling is constant and sometimes dull and achy in that area. It sometimes also feels "internally" itchy if that makes sense. I also have fairly constant dull low back pain. 

      I have been to my gastroenterologist and had all tests done--colonosocopy, MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, blood tests, gallbladder test, etc. All tests have come back normal except for low vitamin D. I have also seen a couple of alternative naturopathic doctors who tested my stool for parasites infection but those came back normal as well. 

      I suspect I have a parasite, despite my tests coming back normal. These syptoms began after I had been living in Spain, and had a bout of salmonella. My main symptom is the gas and the swelling. I guess my question for you is, what parasitek/infection does that sound like? And how would you recommend going about treating it. I am only 27 but in so much discomfort every day I really want to feel normal again! I really hope you can respond. Thanks so much!!

  • john1999
    john1999 Marco99

    Posted

    Oops, just noticed "...for months" part. Then, it's chronic, and getting harder and harder to both diagnose and treat.

    Here are some clues that may help you decide what tests to do:

    - Acid reflux / heartburn / feeling of pressure in your throat or like you may throw up (sometimes, usually couple of hours after food), and poor/slow digestion is most likely H.pylori. Also, usually, in the AM you don't feel hungry either.

    - Terribly offensive gas, and lots of it, and porely formed stool, often with a bit of dull pain, usually means a protozoan infection such as B. hominis, D. fragilis, Entamoeba histolytica, G. lamblia, maybe even T. gondii...

    - Strong sounds, feeling of heavyness, recent trip to a strange place (Africa, S. America, China, far east, middle east, E, Europe, Mexico, even southern US states), could be one of the larger parasites - from tapeworm to any roundworm. Luckily those are easiest to treat. Eating green salads and fresh cabbage usually helps, and that's how a good therapy should be started as they don't like greens.

    Whatever it is, eating sugar (you may notice you have sugar cravings from time to time), is a no-no, especially  during therapy. During therapy, you should eat as if you have diabetes, no exeggeration.

     

  • Marco99
    Marco99

    Posted

    Hi John and thanks for the information again. I have since done the following;

    * had an MRI scan awaiting results

    *' started to take 3 billion probiotic, and linseed. The symptons are not as acute but very much still present, so clearly something is wrong somewhere. 

    * did H Pylori test on stool sample and that is negative

    * booking in for an endoscopy to look in my stomach next

    not sure if the slight easing of the symptoms is more to do with the warming weather in England (granted its slight) or the probiotics I have been self medicating on.

    My son said my stomach sounds like it has 'space dust' in it (the crackling,popping candy sweet). It seems much more prevalent in the morning when the stomach is emptier I can hear it clearer and feel the sensation more clearly.

    what the heck is it?

    as ever, thanks for reading and replying and good luck with your hunt for answers!

  • Guest
    Guest Marco99

    Posted

    Hi Marco, any news on the matter? Your symptoms sound an awful lot like mine and my docs haven't been able to diagnose me (yet) either.

    Thanks and good luck!

  • leonlee
    leonlee Marco99

    Posted

    WOW, this is very refreshing to read.  Thank you to all who responded, especially John1999 and Marco for posting it at all.  Marco's symptoms pretty well mirror my own.  I am sure I have some kind of parasite.  It seems that every few years, I get an H Pylori or some infection that lingers on for 2-3 months.  I've had this current one since October although this time it's really taken me on a wild roller coaster ride.  Went to GP and just this past week went to gastro specialist.  I demanded H pylori stool test but I know those are not even reliable; waiting for result of that.  He also thinks I am lactose intolerant and have celiac disease...given all I've been through in the past few months I would not be at all surprised.  Some years ago I had H pylori antibody test but it was negative (again, unreliable, I know I had it.)  I have never had "a bad stomach ache" but have had my life's share of abundant, horrible stenchy gas, bloating, and hunger pangs.  I'm glad I still have my usual appetite and have not lost weight as a result of this whole thing.  The gastro doc has not yet recommended scoping my stomach or colon but I think it will probably be happening eventually.  Anyway, this has all been very helpful.  There's not much information about this online.  Tons of "Gas and bloating, what the hell is this?" type posts but nothing as specific as this.  Thanks again.  I'm hoping to get some antibiotics and lick this stupid thing once and for all.  It's really had a negative effect on my life - social, work, etc. 

  • scott14774
    scott14774 Marco99

    Posted

    Sorry to hear you're experiencing this, I know how frustrating and exhausting this can be. I started having this gurgling stomach about 3 years ago, it was also accompanied by a crawling skin sensation which cause insomnia. I had the full gastro workup including colonoscopy and Barium Meal Xray etc, stool tests etc. Everything came back normal. My Dr. kept telling me it was stress. Eventually I went to a different GI Dr and he ordered some new tests and they found B. Hominis. If you look online, this pesky little parasite can cause these symptoms and is not so easy to treat. My Dr. has since treated me with antibiotics (Xifan) and antiprotozoal medication (Alinia) 3 times and I am still having symptoms.I don't know what else to do at this point. I can deal with the gurgling stomach, but not the lack of sleep. Sorry I don't have a solution but if anyone else has any suggestions for what could help, I'd love to hear them 😃

    I'm not giving up until I get this sorted out!

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