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Gastritis? H pylori?? ..or something worse? Please help me.

Posted , 8 users are following.

sierraa
sierraa

Hi, I'm a recently turned 20 year old female who has been having stomach pains for over a month. This post may be a little long but please read the whole thing.

My symptoms:

- Mild stomach pains that come and go

- Frequent burping or feeling the need to burp

- occasional rumbling/gurgling stomach that feels like upset stomach but no diarrhea 

- Bouts of feeling dizzy/nauseous, but nothing like I'm going to throw up

Here's the story so far:

So around the 5th of September I started having a mild pain in upper left abdomen,

it's not sharp pain, it's hard to describe.. it's like a dull..burning sensation? Sometimes

it feels a bit stingy as well. I completely lost my appetite, I WANTED to eat, but when I ate I would become full very quickly and feel bloated ( although my stomach does not actually look bloated! It's just that heavy feeling ). 

SO, I went to Urgent Care and the doctor diagnosed me with gastritis, and prescribed me to take omeprazole and ranitidine for 14 days. I took both the first day, but after I took the ranitidine I felt like I was going to vomit, the pills were 300 mg, and think that dose is too much for me, so I decided to try just taking the omeprazole instead for the rest of the 13 days. So that's what I did. And it helped! The pain was greatly reduced, and my appetite completely came back and I was eating just like before with no trouble.

However, the pain never went away completely, but it was basically all gone, so I assumed that it was just in the finishing process of healing and that it would all be good...boy was I wrong. Last Friday on Oct. 6th, I woke up feeling fine, I didn't eat anything until dinner time when I had pizza.. and that's where it all went wrong. After I started eating it my stomach felt really upset and uncomfortable. The rest of the night I felt really nauseous and dizzy. The next few days the pain was not going away, and I felt horrible.. so I decided to go back to urgent care.

This time, it was a different doctor, and tbh he seemed very rushed.. He felt my abdomen,listened to my heartbeat and was like " Well maybe it's constipation? ", he offered to take an x-ray and I agreed. He came back and told me I had 2 gas bubbles in my stomach and just gave me laxatives and sent me home... they literally did NOTHING. I think gastritis is more on the line of what is happening.. 

These past few days, the pain has been very minimal and not really there for most of the day. This whole time it's been that way though, it's like it comes and goes in random times throughout the day. Some days it's better after I eat, other days it feels worse after I eat. After I eat I burp a lot, but it's not any loud burps it's very small pathetic ones that barely relieve anything. I have this feeling in my stomach that's just...uncomfortable? It's hard to explain, it's like the feeling before you have to go to the bathroom badly? It just never feels quite right.. I don't know what is going on. 

The more I read up on it the more scared I get of it being something like stomach cancer.. because "there can be no symptoms" or very vague symptoms and I can't stop worrying about it and I know that stress just makes it worse but ugh! I don't know what to do anymore.. My symptoms seem to match most with h pylori gastritis or an ulcer. Although I feel an ulcer would hurt way much more than gastritis?.. I should also mention when I went to the Urgent Care the first time, my weight was 138 lbs ( 62 kgs ) and the second time I went ( Which was almost a month later ), I weighed 133 lbs ( 60 kgs ). I feel like that's just from me not being able to eat very much, and I know that isn't crazy weight loss but aahh.. I'm scared

I have a doctor's appointment set up for Tuesday and I really want to get an endoscopy done so that way they can see directly what is going on.. But I don't know how to ask the doctor about it? And I want to get my blood tested for h.pylori.. aah I am so nervous

PLEASE give me some answers here.. I need some peace of mind. Everytime I try to tell myself it's nothing major my mind just goes right back to "but what if it IS something major?"... sad

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • val40792
    val40792 sierraa

    Posted

    Ask your Dr to refer you for an endoscopy, don't have any nervousness about that at all,  while doing that procedure they can also take a sample from your stomach in order to test for H Pylori. There's no pain involved in this, it can be a bit uncomfortable but they'll give you something to ease the discomfort while doing the procedure. It will take no more than 10/15 mins so stop worrying and if you drink or smoke, stop doing so now. Tell us how you get on.

  • pjeure
    pjeure sierraa

    Posted

    From my own experience, I have had H-Pylori and the symptoms were not as bad as yours. I took the cocktail of antibiotics and I was better. I think your pain could be a few different things, gastritis, peptic ulcer or acid reflux. Do not eat high acidity foods and drinks, try to use liquid Gaviscon about 1 hour before meals along with the omesoprozole. Give your stomach time to heal its self some. I pray it is nothing serious.

     

  • rosie_66965
    rosie_66965 sierraa

    Posted

    Only you Doctor can tell you what it could be. Go see them so you can get some testing done. You will go crazy if you go with what someone else tells you. 
  • silvia48409
    silvia48409 sierraa

    Posted

    Hi!  Try natural remedies to heal the gut like manuka honey,  pomegranate powder and turmeric.  Also watch what u eat like greasy pizza.  Hopefully you get the answers your looking for and it's nothing serious!  

  • ray442
    ray442 sierraa

    Posted

    I have had IBS and Ulcers as well as Acid reflux for most of my adult life. The stomach discomfort and belching sounds most like an ulcer. Don't under estimate how stress can cause these symptoms. Start keeping a journal of what you eat and how you feel in addition to seeing a doctor. I was able to change my diet and take up meditation and other stress reducing techniques to the point that my symptoms have all but vanished.

  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 sierraa

    Posted

    It could be gastritis.  Rich, spicy and fatty foods can irritate gastritis and are best avoided.  Stick to bland foods and eat little but often and don't eat very late at night. It sounds like pizza triggered your symptoms since your stomach got upset after eating it.   Processed foods are not good for gastritis; try cooking from fresh. I would try a food diary and go back on omeprazole since that helped. Burping is a symptom of gastritis.   H pylori can also trigger gastritis and can be detected by stool sample, blood test, breath test or endoscopy.  Anxiety can trigger gastritis and can make gastritis worse. 

    There are no tips for asking your doctor for tests.  You simply tell your doctor your symptoms and ask for an h pylori test and endoscopy. Make a list of your symptoms before seeing your doctor and take the list with you. Tell your doctor about your anxiety.  Your doctor may decide to run these tests anyway without you requesting them.  When testing for h pylori, you need to be off PPIs for at least two weeks for the test to be accurate.

    Only your doctor will be able to give you answers and peace of mind. We can all give you advice on this site, but we cannot give a diagnosis because we are not doctors.

  • val40792
    val40792 sierraa

    Posted

    "When testing for h pylori, you need to be off PPIs for at least two weeks for the test to be accurate."

    Pippa,

    Can you please give me a medical or factual link to your above statement? Thank you.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 val40792

      Posted

      This is standard advice that doctors will give you.  PPIs can make an h pylori test less accurate.
  • val40792
    val40792 sierraa

    Posted

    I can find no authentic collaboration of what you say. It may be your opinion and i've no problem with that, but your opinion only. As I already said, if you've got a link for people to view, it would be appreciated. Thanks.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 val40792

      Posted

      The explanation I have given you is not my opinion but advice given by doctors in other words medical advice..That is why I wrote 'standard advice that doctors will give you.'   I didn't say 'standard advice that  I will  give you.'  Sorry if I didn't make this clear.  Ask your doctor and you will be given the same advice.  It is then up to you whether you accept your doctor's opinion.  Most people accept this advice regarding h pylori testing.  I can't post a link because often links are deleted.

      I can only give you a private message on this.

       

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 val40792

      Posted

      Nice guidlines on h pylori testing.

      'To improve the accuracy of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) testing it is important to have a 2-week washout period after using a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Improving the accuracy of the test will ensure that treatment for H pylori infection is given only if needed. Treatment for H pylori infection is complex and there is concern that treatment without an accurate diagnosis may lead to increasing antimicrobial resistance. In addition, treatment for H pylorican be unpleasant for the patient and has an increased risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and enteric infections such as Clostridium difficile.'

  • janice92660
    janice92660 sierraa

    Posted

    hi,

    think the best thing is to see Doctor,and say what you want to do,

    i.e tests, perhaps in meantime try a natrapath..

    i am sure it will all be ok..

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