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Upper GI symptoms every day for 3 years, following gastritis

Posted , 6 users are following.

hugh76075
hugh76075

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'll basically try and explain my problem without being too long winded. Im 17 now (14 when it started), and well yeah, I suppose like everyone whose suffering, just want to be better again! I'm not in school/college anymore because of it (currently doing what I can via distance learning) and struggle to get out the house much. I've lost a fair bit of weight aswell, gone from being a respectable 70kg, to 52kg (I'm a 5ft 10 male).

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Back story:

- late December 2011 - started to get mid abdominal pain, nausea, and often vomiting right after eating. Started off being only once every 2-3 days, to every day every time I ate.

Symptom wise felt similar to a stomach bug.

- January 2012 - as it progressed to being everyday for 1 week or so, I went to see my GP about. He diagnosed it as being tonsilitus, esophigitis, and gastritis. Tonsilitus was the only one he could 100% confirm, as he could see it, but the other 2 require a endoscopy to be certain.

I was prescribed 1 week cause of antibiotics for that (amoxycillin I think?)

- 2 weeks later - after finishing antibiotics, still wasn't feeling well, so went back, given Rantidine to take.

Tonsilitis was gone by this point

- around May 2012 - hadn't really felt much better. Vomiting had stopped, though still had stomach aches/nausea/loss of appetite (the typical upper GI symptoms) so was eventually given Omeprazole to take (40mg)

Diagnosis fluctuated being either gastrits/stomach ulcer

- had odd blood tests taken, and Barium swallow test done, in meantime, all seemed to be "satisfactory"

- November 2012 - Finally had an (oral) endoscopy done, though there was nothing to see. They couldn't see an ulcer, negative for everything in the biopsy.

At this point I'd been taking Omeprazole (40mg) for about 7 months, including when I went for the endoscopy, so this probably would have killed off any inflammation had it been there.

- a few weeks later - stopped taking Omeprazole, as it had been giving me side effects making me worse (was vomiting again, struggling to eat more than a few mouthfuls at a time). 

So stopped taking it, and was as I was before (appetite was a little better, but still getting the upper GI symptoms, expect vomiting).

- autumn 2013 - had manonmetry & 2x 24hr impendance done. Manometry found slight swallowing weakness, impedance found acid reflux, but only in mornings (it was from around early morning while aswell, til around just after when I woke up), so acid reflux was ruled out as being at least the "whole problem". 

-That's pretty much all the major things that have happened, and brings it up to now; I'm still ill, not had 1 day symptom free since.

-Doctors have always thought gastritis/stomach ulcer, but since that has been proven otherwise, the most recent time I saw my GP she said she "presumes its some form of IBS")

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What has actually been found:

-Acid reflux in mornings - taking ranitidine/PPIs I've found has helped with this. Problem is I get side effects from taking them, as mentioned above (normally occurs after about 1 month of taking them), and they don't really do much for my other symptoms, eg. difficulty eating, mid abdominal pain, indigestion, trapped burps sensation.

-High blood sugar - was found in a routine blood test, furthur testing showed it was "satisfactory" (not anything serious), so it was just put down as being "If you're not eating well, you may get weird fluctuations in blood sugar"

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Medications I've tried:

(all I've found either haven't worked, or caused side effects that outweighed the benefits)

PPIs - Omeprazole/Lansoprazole

Ranitidine

Antacids - Rennie/Gaviscon/Milk of magnesia/Peto Bismol/Maalox plus

Peppermint capsules

Paracetamol

---------------------------------------------

My symptoms:

-Its pretty much all upper GI, comes on pretty much straight after/during eating, last for a few hours, then starts to subside -

Nausea,

Indigestion,

Heartburn (mostly only in mornings, when first waking up)

burping,

stomach pain (mid abdomen, centre, in between or maybe just below my ribs)

"bloated like" feeling (it feels like a lot of pressure in my centre, mid abdomen, sometime extending up vertically to my throat)

Fullness in my stomach after eating only a small amount

Sensitive/churned up feeling in stomach (hard to explain, feels kinda like when you have a stomach bug. Or if you've just eaten then been on a rollercoaster) 

If I leave a long gap between eating (eg. eat a meal at a later time than I usually would) - I get stomach pain & a burning sensation (again around mid abdomen), which is probably due to the acid building up

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Foods which I avoid - every food/drink I've eaten gives irritation, but some I've found more significant than others:

Caffeine (coffee/energy drinks etc) - worst of them all, real bad stomach ache after

Fruits - particular citrus fruits (bananas are the only fruit I've found be not as bad)

Milk - as a liquid form (haven't significantly noticed it in foods containing milk)

Chilled/cold liquids

Spicy food

So in terms of foods, its very similar to foods which cause irritation in gastritis

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So was wondering if anyone had any advice for me? Or has been through anything similar?

Doctors don't really know what to do, and when I've seen them they seem to treat me in a way that its incomprehensible that I'm not better & that they haven't found whats going on!  Though from looking online I know that there is many people going through similar things to me, which is reassuring.

I read somewhere online that around to 1 in 14 people who had gastritis still have some form of symptoms, 6 months after having it, though haven't heard any personal stories from this?

Sorry, that was a real long winded post lol. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • hugh76075
    hugh76075

    Posted

    Anyone know how to edit posts? I was gonna try and make it a bit easier to read.
  • rita67693
    rita67693 hugh76075

    Posted

    Hi there, sorry to hear of your discomfort, I am going through similar, and have had all the same medication, i am due another down the throat exam as i have had a bug and this has started the whole thing off again.

    However i have good news, the green drink, it really works you need to drink it every day, and start it at a time when tummy is settling a little, its anything green in a blender, ie cucumber advacado celery few green leaves, and anything else you need to make it drinkable, i put a fig in to sweeten it, i know it sounds awful but it works.

    I think all this is due to processed food, try avoiding anything processed at all.

    Good luck let me know how you go on.

    Rita

    • hugh76075
      hugh76075 rita67693

      Posted

      Hi Rita,

      Can you expand a bit more about this drink? (Like do you have a link to a page with more info, or what is it supposed to medicinally?)

      Hi 2185,

      Yes I have been referred to gastroenterologist, around the times when I had the various tests done (endoscopy/manometry/impedance). However since they didnt find anything conclusive, they could recommend anything surgically, so unreferred me back to my GP.

      Hi Lillian,

      I haven't had a stool test done, but I've had several blood tests done testing for that, and I'm pretty sure they took a biopsy during the endoscopy which they would find it. All came back negative for H pylori 

    • hugh76075
      hugh76075

      Posted

      *couldn't recommend anything surgically
    • rita67693
      rita67693 hugh76075

      Posted

      Hi Hugh,

      The green drink is made up of anything green, containing no preseratives at all, I put in a blender half advacado,1 fig,( to sweeten ) cucumber, a few spinich leaves, celery and anything else you fancy putting in.

      I read about this in a book, called you are what you eat, i have tried several different veg, and its not fantastic to down but it works to relieve symptoms, give it a go, nothing to lose.

      keep me informed.

      Rita

  • ann11007
    ann11007 hugh76075

    Posted

    You mentioned the GP but have you been refered to a gatroenterologist?

    Bye the way if you figure out how to edit a post please private message me too.

    Thanks

  • ann11007
    ann11007 hugh76075

    Posted

    You mentioned the GP but have you been referred to a gatroenterologist?

    Bye the way if you figure out how to edit a post please private message me too.

    Thanks

  • lilian05079
    lilian05079 hugh76075

    Posted

    Hi Hugh,

    You may well have a stomach bug..'HELICO'BACTER PYLORI' or  'H. Pylori'

    It is a minute bacteria that lives in the stomach and burrows into the stomach walls using its priral shape causing copious amounts of acid reflux, heartburn and sickness. You can be tested for this via your stool. I would advise you to go back to your GP and ask for a screening for HP.  If you do have it then you will prob be prescribed antibiotics to get rid of it. It is quite common any many people suffer with it.  Hope this helps..best wishes...

  • Polly1951
    Polly1951 hugh76075

    Posted

    You are obviously in need of reassurance...what I can detect from your symptoms, is that you have possible a'nervous stomach', I was advised this can be the case, when something triggers off,any abnormality in the gut, the waves in your bowel and intestines,are moving too quickly which gives you all the nasty nausea and upper Osophagus irritation feeling, especially after food. I was told to take prescribed medication before any food, to relax the stomach, and to eat little and often..no big plates of food, just small mouthsize bites, of fresh food...nothing fried or processed.  It takes time, and your head and stomach work in unison, so when you stop worrying and stop looking out for the same horrid feelings, it should start to get back to how you felt when you did not have all this to worry about. Ask your doctor for some calming medicine to take before meals..I can't say what I was given, as it might not be suitable, but you could try!  Good Luck.
    • hugh76075
      hugh76075 Polly1951

      Posted

      Hi, is the calming medicine you are talking of peppermint capsules? I was given them a while ago as something to try, it was supposed to a "relaxant" kind of thing.

      Didn't make any difference for me though, just gave me heartburn.

      I think they were more of a intestines/bowel type of thing rather than stomach.

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