H. pylori causing gastritis? Or Chronic Reflux?

I went to a trip to the Philippines from May 21-29. While I was there I developed an eye problem on the first day, on the plane. It felt like there sands stuck in the corner of my eyes. I wasn’t able to open my eyes for 2 days. There we went to a doctor there, got some antibiotic eye drops and the pain was slowly going away. I also noticed that while I was there, whenever I pooped blood would come out. I just assumed it was a hemorrhoid since I have had them there. 

After my trip to the Philippines I noticed that my throat would get super dry. I also remember feeling that there was something pushing my left eye, as if something was pushing it out. I got the occasional brain fog and would constantly and would forget what I was saying or doing. On June 2nd I went to the ER and the guy there said it was nothing, but the pain persisted, so I went to my primary doctor on June 5th for this and they said that it could just be allergies that I got from the plane and they said it’s very common for people to develop allergies after being in a different country because you’re exposed to new allergens and pollens. She checked my left ear and noticed that there was mucus in the left ear so she prescribed me a nasal rinse which did work. 

Then out of nowhere I started developing a really severe ear pain and I went to a different doctor on June 18th and she prescribed me Flonase which did not work. Also she did blood work to see if I had any problems that I got from the trip, but everything was fine. My ear pain still persisted and it got to point where just being in a room full of people caused it to flare up so much and I would have to push on my ears so it wouldn’t hurt. 

My mom then told me to go her chiropractor so I did. I went to her on June 20th she cracked my neck and told me that my left side of my neck felt really congested, like something had been knocking my head down with a hammer. After seeing her my ear pain went away but it was accompanied with shoulder pain and back pain. 2 days later after that however, I noticed a terrible tight pain in my chest. It was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack. A few days passed, the tightness went away but then I felt like something behind my sternum was tight. I remember telling my boyfriend when it was happening that I wasn’t able to burp and noticed my stomach was getting bloated after eating anything.

I went to a different doctor, told him about it, and he said it sounded like Acid Reflux. He prescribed Ranatidine for it and I took it two days later because I didn’t think it was reflux. Well it turns out it was reflux and when I took the ranitidine I felt better. I took it every morning and night and it did help, but the problem was still there. I made a big mistake and stopped taking the ranitidine onJuly 5th and noticed that my stomach pains got really bad, like something was gnawing my stomach. I felt so bloated in my upper abdomen, right below my sternum. When I didn’t eat it felt just as bad. 

I went to my other doctor on July 5th (she was the one who prescribed me the Flonase and did all the blood test) and she prescribed me Omeprazole, and told me to stop taking the ranitidine and that’s when my problem got really bad. She also mentioned that my tonsils were inflamed and did a strep test (came out negative). Whenever I ate anything it felt like it was stuck in my upper abdomen, right below my sternum and 6inches above my belly button. I would weigh myself and could not gain weight no matter how much I ate. I had such a hard time eating because of the pain and had to eat soups and soft foods. I also noticed severe bloating to the point where I couldn’t walk normally without holding my stomach. My diarrhea would be yellow with chunks of food in it. 

I couldn’t take the pain anymore and went back to the chiropractor on July 10th and told her about what happened after our visit and that I started getting stomach problems. She felt around my back and said that she could feel where the problems were, then told me to lay on my stomach. She told me she was going to pull down my stomach because it wasn’t in the right place (it was too high up and she said the LES wasn’t functioning properly). She told me to breathe in, then literally pushed her fingers a bit under my rib cage and pulled down. I felt instantly better, like all the food had gone down. I was able to walk again with no problems and was able to eat again with no problems. I stopped taking the omeprazole the next day.

However, on July 13th I felt something else. I noticed that whenever I would eat bad foods(or trigger foods; I ate a subway sandwich) my ears would swell up again. My throat would get really dry and I would get pain in my sinuses. I now have constant post-nasal drip, and the feeling of Globus in my throat. For 2 days I wasn’t able to talk properly and felt like I was losing my voice. I also noticed that I got obscenely bloated, way worse than before. I looked online and saw silent reflux as the symptom and followed a low-acid/alkaline diet. I also tried taking the omeprazole again but it didn’t seem like it was working so I stopped 2 days later which was July 15th. I tried the ratindine which seemed to help a bit. The low-acid/alkaline diet helped with my throat a bit and the Globus feeling and I was able to actually talk more, but it still hurts when I talk too much. I can’t get my voice to a high pitch anymore and have been talking very monotone because of it.

After getting off the Omeprazole for good I noticed that my bloating wasn’t as bad as before but I would still get a bit bloated after eating small meals. Also, after switching diets I lost weight really fast. I stopped eating after 7 or 8 PM. On June 22nd my bloatedness was not as bad as before and I was actually able to walk without feeling like I was pregnant all the time, however I lost weight way too fast (this is where I weighed 133 and last month I was 143). I went to my doctor (the one who prescribed the Nasal Rinse) on July 25th and told her what was happening. She then prescribed me Famotidine 40 mg everyday and night and said that she wanted me to give her a stool sample so she could check if I had a H. pylori infection. She said that if it came out negative then she would try an endoscopy to see if I had a hiatal hernia. I then mentioned about my sinus/ear/throat issue and she said that the acid could be getting up there and affecting my sinuses and ears and throat. She handed me a pamphlet of foods to avoid and I went on my way. 

The next day I took a stool sample and noticed black specks, similar to coffee grounds, in my poop. My poop was also a brown color, which was normal, but there was some yellow and red chucks in there as well as the black specks. I put the sample in a container, put it in ice and handed it to the doctors. Today, I noticed my bloatedness has come back after taking the Famotidine and I noticed a weird discomfort under my left breast after I eat. Also, I poop right after I eat, which is unusual because last week I wasn’t doing that. I’ve been having a hard time keeping on the weight, but I must note that I haven’t actually had enough calories to gain weight. Mainly because it’s hard to find foods that I can eat without getting pain and also because when I eat I poop it right away. Also, I don’t eat after 7 pm anymore which probably is another reason I’m having a hard time gaining weight. Also, I placed books under my mattress to elevate my head at night because I noticed that my chest/ sternum area hurts a lot when I wake up. Now that I’ve elevated my mattress, it doesn’t hurt as bad. 

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So my question is, what is this? I don’t have the regular heartburn and I don’t feel nausea. When I ate bad food before my diet I mostly felt fullness in my ear, a really dry throat, terrible post-nasal drip and metal in my mouth. Now that I change my diet I don’t feel it as much but I do feel a weird discomfort underneath my left breast and gurgling in my stomach. Also, I have this weird feeling behind my sternum. Whenever I tense up my chest or hunch in my chest I can feel a weird stinging sensation, the same kind I feel when I wake up in the morning. I literally hugged my boyfriend for 3 minutes and when I let go I get that pain behind my sternum again. Also, in the morning my phlegmIs yellowish and usually around 8-9 pm I get so much frothy phlegm. My throat gets really dry at night and my post-nasal drip feeling gets worse.

Could this be a H. pylori infection causing these symptoms of gastritis or LPR? This all came after my trip to the Philippines. I haven’t felt the same since and it really sucks. Eating delicious food was the only comfort I had and I can’t even do that. 

Also I know anxiety makes it worse, and it’s not so much the diet that makes me anxious. It’s the losing weight so rapidly that scares me. 

Sorry for typing too long. Thanks guys. 

Also, I’ve heard of something called LNS, which is like nerve problems as well as depression that makes it worse and people being prescribed elavil for it. I don’t know much about that though. 

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that my dad has acid reflux a lot and so does my sister after eating spicy food, but when they take ratinidine the pain goes away immediately. They told me they get regular heartburn, but I’ve never experienced that. 

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