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Multiple symptoms related to stomach pain. Need help

Posted , 4 users are following.

cody_03767
cody_03767

I'm new to this site and am hoping for some insight. Let me give you some background in hopes it will help. I'm a 22 year old male. 5'11 145 lbs. Always been on the thin side, not by choice. Starting at age 10 I had severe stomach pain that prohibited me from getting out of bed. This went on for about 7 years ultimately putting me in a home schooling program. It was a sharp pain like being stabbed with knives above the belly button. I was in and out of the doctors multiple times a week. The doctors went through ever possible scenario from being lactose intolerant to depression, and every other situation they could think of. I bounced around from specialist to specialist with no answers. I was rushed to the er one morning and they scanned me and said my appendix was up side down and about to burst and I needed to go in for emergency surgery and then changed their mind? After a couple hours. Gave me some morphine and an Iv and sent me on my way. They finally told me it was acid reflex and a hiatle hurricane, which I don't really believe but it was nice to have some answers after so much pain and so many years of searching, even if they weren't correct. Anyways I seemed to outgrow it and fortunately was able to regain a normal life. I still have pain here and there but have built up a pretty great tolerance to it. Anyways my faith in doctors seemed to disappear after that and I haven't been back sense. Recently I've been having some stomach issues and am curious if anyone can point me in the right direction. I'd say the last 3 weeks I've had diarrehea every night and only at night. I feel like I need 10 hours of sleep just to function. I've been achy and can't put on weight to save my life which makes my day in day out routine very difficult as I have a very labor intensive job which requires 10 hours of standing work with heavy lifting. I really would rather not go to an MD unless absolutely necessary. I'm just hoping to find some answers so I can move on with my life. I eat a lot of food every day and eat fairly healthy. Breakfast includes toast eggs bananas and the occasional cinnamon rolls. Lunch is usually pasta with either shrimp or chicken and dinner is usually bakes potatoes, meat, salad and milk. Any ideas or opinions are more than welcome. Thanks in advance.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • sanya11314
    sanya11314 cody_03767

    Posted

    I am so sorry,

    so many seem to have unexplainable abdominal pain, which is terribly disabling.

    I am sorry to say, that I fear you have to go back to a (different?) MD.

    I shall give you a list what we were checked for  still unexplainable huge abdominal stabbing/cramping, which don't allow normal life and which ideas are still pending, just for you to click through if done. We got on the 'psychological' (hence psychological therapy and antidepressiva given) and 'IBS' draw pretty quickly too and nothing there works either...

    Bare in mind, sometimes tests are false and different when repeated.

    Especially imaging comes very much down to the care, experience and eye of the radiologist.

    Breath tests and direct enzyme test in biopsie: lactose, fructose, sorbitol, maltose

    Breath tests and direct test in biopsie: Helicobacter pylori

    Stool test for pathogens, parasites, repeated after clean out (they can 'hide', a colonoscopy preparation can flush them out but must not interfere with test. Preferable you have PCR test results for parasites additionally to culture and microscopic evaluation, otherwise often false neg)

    Antibody, genetic blood test for celiac disease, biopsie for celiac.

    Serum IgE, IgG and IgA compared to stool IgA and stool alpha1 antitrypsin

    Serumelectrophoresis

    typical blood works: white/red blood count, electrolytes, liver, pancreas enzymes, CRP

    Gastroscopy, Colonoscopy, MRI enterography,

    ultrasound of abdomen, for hernias, for organ structures

    carcinoid urine test screen (HIAA)

    laparoscopy

    removal of even macroscopic normal looking appendix

    (11% of visually normal appendices are actually histologically not normal, 34% of all normal appendices that are removed, are still giving the patient a relieve after removal. Strange. We don't know everything as to why)

    barium follow through study

    a gastric emptying study (take the 4h test, not 2h rushed test) - we are gastroparese positive unfortunately, but could be a side effect, secondary of guts not working correctly, not the primary reason for pain.

    For us a capsule endoscopy is outstanding to check the small intestine.

    For us the blood and urine works for porphyria (neural form), FMF is outstanding, so is any auto immune disease (see AGID and similar GI manifestation of sclerosis, lupus, neuronal antibodies, done by rheumatologist, who knows GI stuff as well).

    Have you done a food diary (was completely inconclusive for us) ever.

    also, I read somewhere under sport page, that pelvic ligaments can be damaged, then therefore causing the abdominal muscles to cramp due to sagging.

    It seems awfully hard to diagnose, to find a radiologist with muscular/scelettal experience and therapy is physio and sometimes operation. ligaments never ever heal on their own. But you were symptom free.

    For us, one handstand can actually cause the symptoms to worsen. Hence we thought of something physical like muscle or ligaments in abdomen/pelvis, too.

    Good good luck!!!!!!

    All the best

     

    • cody_03767
      cody_03767 sanya11314

      Posted

      Thanks for all the time you put into your response, it was very much appreciated. I have done the food diary in the past along with roughly 90% of the other tests on your list. I am leaning towards going back to the local MD and follow their recommendations as far as tests. I'd be willing to duplicate some of the tests given the amount of time that has passed since my last run and since the symptoms have changed slightly. I work a lot and am hoping I can fit that in around my work as I'd hate for this darn stomach of mine to take over my life again. Thanks for all your input
  • sanya11314
    sanya11314 cody_03767

    Posted

    PS: pity your appendix was not removed. Sometimes the decision is made on blood CRP and white blood cell count, as one of those two parameters has to be pathologic to indicate an appendcitis, says statistic. But if the image showed something odd, you rather wanted that little worm out than having it staying despite blood parameters.

    Appendices can also become a chronic pain without acute inflammation.

  • sanya11314
    sanya11314 cody_03767

    Posted

    PS: forgot easy test "Calprotectin" in stool. Is an indicator for IBD, BUT in 6% of people false neg. Still awsome screening test.
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