18 year old battling stomach issues - what should I do?

Okay, It is just pain then? No poop issues? Gas issues? Others can weigh in on pain (not my issue). I have only a few recommendations:

1. Slippery Elm "tea" (inner bark) supports the mucosa of the gut. Pain might = inflammation. I take 1/2 teaspoon in hot water in the morning, first thing, but Google what might be best for her.

2. Stomach massage, to move stool and gas along. See the UK's NHS routine here: https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/uploads/25773.pdf.

3. Bitter gourd. Sold at some Asian markets, either fresh or frozen. It helps me. There is a study posted to the NIH website. Google "NIH and bitter gourd." I put some in multi-veggie soups. It is definitely bitter, but I it makes a difference and I eat it often for a happy belly. If it is magical for her also, see what you can do. Maybe freeze-dry it for college and she can add it to canned soups.

4. If this genetic condition is amplified by stress, consider Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the hypnosis route. All you do is listen to a recorded reading daily (the therapist creates a different one at the weekly session, the other days, its recording is your "homework"). Seven weeks and you are free; you can then induce the same gut benefits on your own, wherever you are, and listen to a recording again for a reboot. GI Psychology in Burke, VA. Virtual sessions. My therapist was Tina. I love that it is short course and then independence and success.

Good luck -- I am sure others will have some useful medication and other ideas.

Try eating smaller bland meals with low acid items. Don’t drink carbonated beverages. Only water and unsweetened almond milk which is alkaline. No citrus or vinegar products. See if that helps.

Thank you for the tips. Established her with a patient ID today so now need to go through the referral process of getting her in. These tips will help to get her by until she can get a doctor that can truly help her.

@jwool89

Along with small meals .. 4-5 or more a day .. have her keep a journal. It can help with finding triggers for her pain .. after eating certain foods or exercising or taking medicine or stress situations or simply bending (like doing laundry or tying shoes).

This is great. She is seeing a dietician who has been great about adding fermented foods & making her eat immune boosting foods. She had been prescribed antibiotics which did not help at all. She started a journal three weeks ago. She had issues with formula as a baby & decided two days ago to give up dairy after feeling awful following consuming Skyr. I think she may be lactose intolerant but not sure how you know for sure. We’ll see if that helps.

Hi there, I'm beginning to think that the DRS are less than useless. What genetic condition do you have? Any autoimmune diseases? You said food tests and celiac look normal. Have either of you had an endoscopy with biopsies tested at a pathology lab?
I have plenty of severe GI issues that no dr. and no meds help. I have Celiac with severe villi destruction, yet I am asymptomatic on/off gluten; pSS, primary Sjögren's syndrome, this affects SO MANY OTHER BODILY ISSUES, not just dryness. My pSS is increasing lymphocytic infiltration in lungs and pancreas (due to pSS), CIC -completely Treatment resistant for 17 yrs. I have to keep my poop very thin with miralax. I am 65, fighting everything for 15+- yrs.
If you want to, what are yours and your daughters symptoms? I am just another sufferer like you guys... but maybe we have ideas, from trial and error, that we could share. Take care, Shelley

Oh wow I never heard of this and I am sorry you have suffered so long. Ours is called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and it affects mostly lung and liver but also many other organs in the body. Not technically autoimmune but there are similarities. All of the women with this gene in our family have lost their gallbladders. My issues are esophageal & just discovered I have a small hiatal hernia on top of severe asthma/allergies/sinus. My daughter has severe stomach pains after eating, sometimes gas & bloating. Diarrhea only sometimes. Also major sinus issues. She has been off dairy one week and I am suspecting lactose intolerance. What is the test for that? She has been allergy tested and is not celiac. As for me inflammation is my biggest problem (I get a lot of pain in neck & shoulders). I am still trying to figure out what foods cause it in me the most. Mayo Clinic is allergy testing us both end of July & very happy we are both visiting GI too. I now know how impossible it is to see GI.

Did your daughter have an endoscopy to rule out celiac? For the lactose intolerance, you might try NOT ANYTHING with lactose, it sneaks into many foods and medicines. Or, try using Lactaid, it supposedly cancels out the lactose, I don't know, hey, thanx, you reminded me of something I DO NOT HAVE, that seems rare. On the severe gas after eating, I suffered with that as far back as a teenager. I got to a point that I didn't even want to go on a date, if a meal was involved. I learned about Activated Charcoal years ago and I am never without it. It's cheap, zero side effects, no bad taste.. but it needs to be taken away from any other meds, cause it will be trying to absorb the gas and the meds too. I take 3-6 capsules depending on how bad the pain is. Drink lots and lots of water with it, you need to get it down to your stomach as fast as you can, you don't want it dissolving in your throat or esophagus. I use a heating pad too. I had horrible period cramps, my mom had me use it, curled up with a pillow and, this is a weird one, keep your/hers feet warmer than usual. I don't know why this helps but it does. Tell your daughter I will swap my 💩CIC for her diarrhea, at least for a few weeks we could both get a break. 🤪I have no idea what you're family alpha-1 ...is, I will read up on it. Inflammation, I think, plays havoc in almost every aspect of our body troubles. Ginger, turmeric/curcumin are all good but, I have learned it really needs to be pharmaceutical grade and very reputable company. I add ginger plus Phenergan for my nausea from migraines, it helps... but again lots and lots of water. Don't take it if you feel like you really might 🤮, it 🔥coming out your mouth. My hubby started Krill Oil, Kirkland brand at Costco, 500mg 1x daily, he has noticed that it's helping with his inflammation. He rarely uses any supplements ever, so for him to get a benefit from this means something, I am going to try it, after my parathyroid surgery is over, I just can't add anything else to my body right now. Oh, you mentioned that you have a hiatal hernia, me too. My dr said leave it be if it is not causing problems, I was skeptical....then I read a post here, 2-3 different people had surgery for it and maybe another problem, anyway their stories were pure HORROR. The fix involves attaching body parts to the stomach or esophagus and their stories scared me far away from surgery. I had an inguinal hernia at 16, very odd for a teenager and even odder for a female. But it was nothing like the hiatal surgery. Pain in your neck and shoulders, why is food involved? Have you had a recent MRI? I have primary Sjögren's syndrome, it causes a lot of joint pain, whole body. It also has been causing my discs in my neck, other places too, my discs are disintegrating, bone spurs (osteophytes) are on the C-4,5,6 vertebrae in my neck. Best I can find has been a very intelligent and gentle chiropractor, heat, never reach out, high, or low, the pain shoots through my neck and arms like being electrocuted. I have seen 5 completely different chiropractors, who knew there was such a huge difference in treatments. Shelley