Unexplained Weight Loss/Inability to Eat

Posted by Tuckerdoodle @tuckerdoodle, Mar 12, 2025

My medical history: Appendicitis, Gallbladder Removal, Pancreatic Duct Issue & Hiatal Hernia in the past 15yrs. Upper gastric left pain after eating, exercise or lifting something heavy. Also causes dizziness, feeling lightheaded, 35lb weight loss, deep belching, bloating, foul gas and chest pain. Tests: EDG, Colonoscopy, MRI W/O Abdomen, pelvis, brain, back, chest, CT CTA Heart, swallowing study, GP study, blood work, urine, fecal matter, ultrasound, MRA for vasculitis and 16 doctors, 4 GI = nothing. I follow no Gluten, dairy or red meat, alcohol because it makes everything 100x's worse. Small meals 3 - 4hrs a part, no exercise and I own a farm, that I can no longer work. I take Zofran when the nausea hits. It feels like things just chug along very slowly...doctors just say, it's not cancer, be grateful. I was an athlete, small business owner, avid horsewoman, never watched TV and I don't know why. It seems to be all on the left side, tinnitus, HB in my ear, numbness & tingling and it feels like something is pressing on something. Anyway, new doc appointments are 4-5 months out. Any clue to go next ?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Tuckerdoodle,
You have been on a mind boggling health journey. 16 doctors and countless tests, I think you need an alternative way of addressing your health issues.
Take a look at Laura Frontiero, she is a retired Nurse Practitioner who now is a functional Health consultant. She has helped so many women find solutions to their seemingly unsolvable problems.
https://laurafrontiero.com/about/
I wish you good health in the near future.

REPLY

Have you been to ent Dr? Also have you been tested for Mals? Dysautonomia?

REPLY
Profile picture for graceym1 @graceym1

Have you been to ent Dr? Also have you been tested for Mals? Dysautonomia?

Jump to this post

I have been tested for Mals and they have said no. I will look into the other thank you.

REPLY

Get a CT scan specifically to identify a Superior mesenteric artery issue!

REPLY

Around mother's day last year i started having really bad heartburn a couple days pass and I wake up with gas trapped in my stomach really bad and I bought gas meds and for the life of me couldn't pass the gas. A day or so after the gas pressure started, I started regurgitating everything I tried to eat or drink. Very quickly I stopped eating completely in fear that I would make the problem worse, but still every time I would take even a small sip of water I would burp it back up with yellow bile. At that point I took my first trip to the urgent care. They took blood and did a cat scan with contrast and couldn't find anything wrong but told me I potentially had colitis. They prescribed Omeprazole, sucralfate, and dicyclomine. To this point I still hadn't been able to pass the gas that had been trapped in my stomach for nearly four days straight. After I took the Omeprazole the next day I was able to pass the gas and felt a tremendous amount of relief. Later that night the gas returned with a vengeance and I toughed it out til morning then went to another hospital to the emergency room where I was admitted for two days for observation where they did nothing other than another CT with contrast and they wouldn't allow me to take the Omeprazole so I checked myself out took the Omeprazole and had some relief again. To sho ten this I went nearly two weeks without eating anything at all because I was so scared of what it would do to me and in that time I was in and out of the ER about 8 more times admitted a couple due to dehydration. In the last 8 months I've had two colonoscopies and egds and the first time they found nothing but bad gastritis and a small hiatal hernia, the second time still a lot of gastritis with 6 polyps that were removed from my colon. Basically I had tried quite a few different foods in the beginning all of which were causing me extreme pain and bloating and all ive found that I can eat with minimal issues and when I say minimal issues this is still galaxies away from being normal my stomach still hurts all day every day and bubbles with gas all day, eggs toast and bananas are all I eat and nobody can tell me what's wrong with me. I hav what looks like coffee grounds in my stools always and I've lost about 70 pounds. I look like I've aged ten years in the last year and my quality of life has completely depleted. Please I need some advice

REPLY
Profile picture for nathan1124 @nathan1124

Around mother's day last year i started having really bad heartburn a couple days pass and I wake up with gas trapped in my stomach really bad and I bought gas meds and for the life of me couldn't pass the gas. A day or so after the gas pressure started, I started regurgitating everything I tried to eat or drink. Very quickly I stopped eating completely in fear that I would make the problem worse, but still every time I would take even a small sip of water I would burp it back up with yellow bile. At that point I took my first trip to the urgent care. They took blood and did a cat scan with contrast and couldn't find anything wrong but told me I potentially had colitis. They prescribed Omeprazole, sucralfate, and dicyclomine. To this point I still hadn't been able to pass the gas that had been trapped in my stomach for nearly four days straight. After I took the Omeprazole the next day I was able to pass the gas and felt a tremendous amount of relief. Later that night the gas returned with a vengeance and I toughed it out til morning then went to another hospital to the emergency room where I was admitted for two days for observation where they did nothing other than another CT with contrast and they wouldn't allow me to take the Omeprazole so I checked myself out took the Omeprazole and had some relief again. To sho ten this I went nearly two weeks without eating anything at all because I was so scared of what it would do to me and in that time I was in and out of the ER about 8 more times admitted a couple due to dehydration. In the last 8 months I've had two colonoscopies and egds and the first time they found nothing but bad gastritis and a small hiatal hernia, the second time still a lot of gastritis with 6 polyps that were removed from my colon. Basically I had tried quite a few different foods in the beginning all of which were causing me extreme pain and bloating and all ive found that I can eat with minimal issues and when I say minimal issues this is still galaxies away from being normal my stomach still hurts all day every day and bubbles with gas all day, eggs toast and bananas are all I eat and nobody can tell me what's wrong with me. I hav what looks like coffee grounds in my stools always and I've lost about 70 pounds. I look like I've aged ten years in the last year and my quality of life has completely depleted. Please I need some advice

Jump to this post

perhaps a pet scan will show better what is going on? must be frustrating. losing that much weight can't be normal.
positive thoughts for you.

REPLY
Profile picture for nathan1124 @nathan1124

Around mother's day last year i started having really bad heartburn a couple days pass and I wake up with gas trapped in my stomach really bad and I bought gas meds and for the life of me couldn't pass the gas. A day or so after the gas pressure started, I started regurgitating everything I tried to eat or drink. Very quickly I stopped eating completely in fear that I would make the problem worse, but still every time I would take even a small sip of water I would burp it back up with yellow bile. At that point I took my first trip to the urgent care. They took blood and did a cat scan with contrast and couldn't find anything wrong but told me I potentially had colitis. They prescribed Omeprazole, sucralfate, and dicyclomine. To this point I still hadn't been able to pass the gas that had been trapped in my stomach for nearly four days straight. After I took the Omeprazole the next day I was able to pass the gas and felt a tremendous amount of relief. Later that night the gas returned with a vengeance and I toughed it out til morning then went to another hospital to the emergency room where I was admitted for two days for observation where they did nothing other than another CT with contrast and they wouldn't allow me to take the Omeprazole so I checked myself out took the Omeprazole and had some relief again. To sho ten this I went nearly two weeks without eating anything at all because I was so scared of what it would do to me and in that time I was in and out of the ER about 8 more times admitted a couple due to dehydration. In the last 8 months I've had two colonoscopies and egds and the first time they found nothing but bad gastritis and a small hiatal hernia, the second time still a lot of gastritis with 6 polyps that were removed from my colon. Basically I had tried quite a few different foods in the beginning all of which were causing me extreme pain and bloating and all ive found that I can eat with minimal issues and when I say minimal issues this is still galaxies away from being normal my stomach still hurts all day every day and bubbles with gas all day, eggs toast and bananas are all I eat and nobody can tell me what's wrong with me. I hav what looks like coffee grounds in my stools always and I've lost about 70 pounds. I look like I've aged ten years in the last year and my quality of life has completely depleted. Please I need some advice

Jump to this post

@nathan1124 - I wanted to let you know I moved your post here to this existing discussion:

- Unexplained Weight Loss/Inability to Eat https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/unexplained-weight-lossinability-to-eat/

Although we can't give medical advice in this patient community, I think that others may have some thoughts for you from their own experiences. Hoping that here you can connect with others who are talking about some of the same symptoms you've mentioned, including unexplained weight loss @mikey1oregon @tuckerdoodle @graceym1. I'd also love for you to meet @jlharsh.

REPLY
Profile picture for Lisa Lucier, Moderator @lisalucier

@nathan1124 - I wanted to let you know I moved your post here to this existing discussion:

- Unexplained Weight Loss/Inability to Eat https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/unexplained-weight-lossinability-to-eat/

Although we can't give medical advice in this patient community, I think that others may have some thoughts for you from their own experiences. Hoping that here you can connect with others who are talking about some of the same symptoms you've mentioned, including unexplained weight loss @mikey1oregon @tuckerdoodle @graceym1. I'd also love for you to meet @jlharsh.

Jump to this post

@lisalucier thank you and hopefully someone will reach out to me with some feedback that is useful to me because I'm starting to feel helpless

REPLY
Profile picture for nathan1124 @nathan1124

Around mother's day last year i started having really bad heartburn a couple days pass and I wake up with gas trapped in my stomach really bad and I bought gas meds and for the life of me couldn't pass the gas. A day or so after the gas pressure started, I started regurgitating everything I tried to eat or drink. Very quickly I stopped eating completely in fear that I would make the problem worse, but still every time I would take even a small sip of water I would burp it back up with yellow bile. At that point I took my first trip to the urgent care. They took blood and did a cat scan with contrast and couldn't find anything wrong but told me I potentially had colitis. They prescribed Omeprazole, sucralfate, and dicyclomine. To this point I still hadn't been able to pass the gas that had been trapped in my stomach for nearly four days straight. After I took the Omeprazole the next day I was able to pass the gas and felt a tremendous amount of relief. Later that night the gas returned with a vengeance and I toughed it out til morning then went to another hospital to the emergency room where I was admitted for two days for observation where they did nothing other than another CT with contrast and they wouldn't allow me to take the Omeprazole so I checked myself out took the Omeprazole and had some relief again. To sho ten this I went nearly two weeks without eating anything at all because I was so scared of what it would do to me and in that time I was in and out of the ER about 8 more times admitted a couple due to dehydration. In the last 8 months I've had two colonoscopies and egds and the first time they found nothing but bad gastritis and a small hiatal hernia, the second time still a lot of gastritis with 6 polyps that were removed from my colon. Basically I had tried quite a few different foods in the beginning all of which were causing me extreme pain and bloating and all ive found that I can eat with minimal issues and when I say minimal issues this is still galaxies away from being normal my stomach still hurts all day every day and bubbles with gas all day, eggs toast and bananas are all I eat and nobody can tell me what's wrong with me. I hav what looks like coffee grounds in my stools always and I've lost about 70 pounds. I look like I've aged ten years in the last year and my quality of life has completely depleted. Please I need some advice

Jump to this post

@nathan1124
Ask for a barium swallow test.

REPLY

I felt like my stomach was on fire and was miserable for years, I read a book called SOS diet. Stop only sugar. I read labels and religiously didn't eat anything with sugar in it. Also most fruits are high in fructose, especially bananas, fructose is basically sugar. Flour is bad. After a few weeks my stomach felt like it was on vacation, I couldn't remember when I felt so good. One bite of a banana today and I'm miserable. Hope you find something that works. Mike

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.