is it stomach cancer??
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so this has been.going with me since years..nausea and vomiting..this time it became worse..too worse that i could not eat anything and i was throwing up 20 times a day..had all my bloodwork done everything came back fine and now i am on rebeprazole since a month..my vomitings have stopped..nausea is still there..i also had difficulty.swallowing along with nausea and pain in my breastbone..i have to undergo endoscopy next month..i am loosing weight very fast as since a month i have lost 10 kgs..i fear i might have cancer??do share your stomach cancer experiences..
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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Rabiya, the symptoms you're describing could also be severe oesophageal reflux - particularly the pain behind the breastbone and the difficulty in swallowing. The fact that rabeprazole has helped your symptoms so much tends to suggest the same diagnosis.
I'm glad you've finally taken the first step to getting a diagnosis. Once the endoscopy has been done your doctors will have a better idea of what's going on. I hope all goes well for you.
rabiya27671 lily65668
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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rabiya27671 lily65668
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rabiya27671
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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Good. I'm glad things are moving for you.
rabiya27671 lily65668
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Guest rabiya27671
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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Hi Rabiya, I'm inclined to agree about PPIs. I've never taken them myself. I've had all the symptoms of acid reflux for 40 years now though I never sought diagnosis. As a former nurse I reckoned I would know if it was something more serious.
I've managed to control it by lifestyle measures. Unlike Felinia (below) I wouldn't say I eat a bland, boring diet. However, I decided early on to keep a food diary to help me identify what foods or combinations of foods set off the terrible central chest pain (which sounds just like the pain you're describing). I also worked out what foods I could afford to eat in the evening, as I suffered most of my pain during the night.
I was surprised to find that one of the main culprits in my case was bland, boring bread! I rarely eat it now, and never in the evening. I was recently talking to my GP about this and he said it's not surprising at all - apparently bread is highly acid.
I also started sleeping with the head of my mattress raised many years ago, and this has been very helpful. But it's better to raise the head of your bed or mattress rather than adding extra pillows. The latter can cause you to bend at the waist, increasing the pressure on your abdomen and forcing up even more acid. I learned to avoid constipation, which can increase the back-pressure on your stomach. And, somewhat comically, I abandoned my pride and stopped wearing tight trousers! This can also force the intestinal gases back into the stomach, which makes the problem worse.
The other saviour for me was the medication domperidone (marketed as Motilium, among others, in Europe). This increases gastric motility, encouraging the stomach to empty (but into the duodenum rather than upwards into the oesophagus). The advantage of domperidone is that you only need to take it when you actually have an attack, whereas PPIs have to be taken every day for life. However, you shouldn't exaggerate with domperidone as over-use has been reported to cause heart problems. This is why it's prescription-only now in Europe. It's not an alternative to simple lifestyle measures, but should only be used when strictly necessary.
As Felinia says, reducing your anxiety levels will help too. When we're anxious or stressed we unconsciously tense our abdominal muscles, compressing our stomach. And it goes without saying that you shouldn't smoke and you should keep your weight within reasonable limits.
All the above will take a year or so to put into practice and get results. There's no overnight cure for this condition, just patient experimentation to see what works. If lifestyle measures don't work, and if the hernia becomes so severe it starts rising up into your chest cavity, you could try surgery. However, even if you go this route and it's successful, you'll still have to observe all the lifestyle measures.
I have to say that from reading through your posts again, what mainly jumps out at me is your extreme anxiety. If you can't get this under some degree of control, I'm afraid you'll continue to have problems. If you can't reassure yourself now you know you don't have stomach cancer, perhaps you could try CBT?
rabiya27671 lily65668
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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A really massive overdose of vitamin D would of course cause nausea and vomiting, which clearly hasn't helped your symptoms. However, you don't need to worry too much about this, as it won't have done lasting damage, especially as it only continued for 10 days. Once you stopped the intake, your body would settle down again.
I hope you can soon find a solution and get well again, but don't dismiss lifestyle measures.
rabiya27671 Guest
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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If it's not the hiatus hernia that's causing your symptoms and the endoscopy showed no signs of any other disease, what do you think is causing the loss of appetite and nausea?
rabiya27671 lily65668
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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Guest lily65668
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Great post, thanks - I had never realised bread was acidic, which actually explains a lot. You've reminded me that my main trigger food from my food diary turned out to be gluten and wheat, which created a lot of gas and bloating.
rabiya27671 lily65668
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lily65668 rabiya27671
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rabiya27671 lily65668
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rabiya27671 lily65668
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