Upset stomach, losing weight for months

Posted by emmyk314 @emmyk314, Apr 20 10:03am

I am a 45f who has been dealing with diarrhea, dry heaving, burping, nausea, lost appetite, and significant weight loss (13 lbs) since Feb with no answers. It is taking over my life and I feel horrible.

I also have weird symptoms like waking up daily at 430 for no reason, and the palms of my hands often get red and hot. I’ve had breast and armpit tenderness on and off, but doctors don’t feel anything when they examine me. I do have a mammogram scheduled this week to rule that out. I wake up having to use the bathroom first thing in the morning. The afternoons can go a little better for me, but I’m forcing myself to get through the day. I have had a colonoscopy and endoscopy with nothing significant coming up. Blood tests have shown that I’m anemic so I’m taking iron supplements. This may be masking diarrhea as it’s supposed to be constipating, but I’m still having diarrhea at times anyway. I went to my gynecologist as well and he ruled out menopause (said I have the ovaries did an 25 year old) and did an ultrasound which was normal. Blood work has been unremarkable (cbc, testing for celiacs, Lyme, mono). RDW is high. I’ve done a round of doxycycline which showed minimal improvement in diarrhea.

I consulted with a naturopath because l am willing to try anything and she thought I had parasites and recommended supplements that I took once but made me feel worse.

Anyone have these difficulties or any suggestions? I’m feeling lost and don’t know what to do.

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@emmyk314

Thank you for your insights! Yes they did a full thyroid panel, cbc with differential, and metabolic. Iron is low and RDW is high. I just did a repeat blood test today to see if iron supplements worked.
Now my dr wants to do an ultrasound to look at my gallbladder.
I usually only have diarrhea first thing in the morning, but I’m still losing weight. No one has recommended anything to stop it as of yet. The weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue and anxiety have been difficult to endure. I wish we could find what the problem is.

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I’m just wondering if some of your symptoms could be hormonal. When I was in perimenopause, I had all kinds of things happen to me that I had never experienced. I had 72 hour migraines once a month like clockwork, and I even told my doctor that I read an article that suggested I might need estrogen, but he didn’t work with that, so he never gave me any and now I’m finding out that would’ve helped. When I’d get in bed at night my feet would turn bright red and start burning. Something you said reminded me of that. And my breasts were really sore and my doctor even sent me to an oncologist thinking I had breast cancer, but I didn’t. That went away after I went through menopause. Just an idea, Also, the naturopath should’ve done some testing before prescribing anything. They usually do all kinds of saliva, blood, or urine testing. I’m getting ready to go to a gastroenterology clinic tomorrow to see if they can figure out what the heck is wrong with my digestion. Apparently it’s not an easy thing to figure out. I’m sorry you’re going through that and I hope you can find some answers. There’s nothing worse than having digestive issues and not being able to eat properly. Also, someone commented that you’re eating a lot of protein and I know that meat is the most difficult thing to digest, and our digestive tracts were not made for that. The intestines of a carnivore are much shorter than humans. You might try laying off the meat and see what happens. I wouldn’t think the eggs would hurt unless you were allergic. Good luck and I’m sorry.

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Have you had a cta of your abdomen? Gi testing? Other than colonoscopy. Like barium swallow? Motility testing is esophagus? Some of your symptoms sound like Mals. I have this disease. Speak to your gi dr asap!!!! I hope you feel better real soon. Advocate for yourself. Do not take no for an answer.

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@blessedwildapplegirl

I’m just wondering if some of your symptoms could be hormonal. When I was in perimenopause, I had all kinds of things happen to me that I had never experienced. I had 72 hour migraines once a month like clockwork, and I even told my doctor that I read an article that suggested I might need estrogen, but he didn’t work with that, so he never gave me any and now I’m finding out that would’ve helped. When I’d get in bed at night my feet would turn bright red and start burning. Something you said reminded me of that. And my breasts were really sore and my doctor even sent me to an oncologist thinking I had breast cancer, but I didn’t. That went away after I went through menopause. Just an idea, Also, the naturopath should’ve done some testing before prescribing anything. They usually do all kinds of saliva, blood, or urine testing. I’m getting ready to go to a gastroenterology clinic tomorrow to see if they can figure out what the heck is wrong with my digestion. Apparently it’s not an easy thing to figure out. I’m sorry you’re going through that and I hope you can find some answers. There’s nothing worse than having digestive issues and not being able to eat properly. Also, someone commented that you’re eating a lot of protein and I know that meat is the most difficult thing to digest, and our digestive tracts were not made for that. The intestines of a carnivore are much shorter than humans. You might try laying off the meat and see what happens. I wouldn’t think the eggs would hurt unless you were allergic. Good luck and I’m sorry.

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Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It helps to feel like I’m not the only one with weird symptoms.

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Please get yourself checked for EPI. It's a simple stool test. Unexplained weight loss is one of the main symptoms along with diarrhea. You can get it at any age. It means your pancreas enzymes aren't functioning to digest your food causing the weight loss and malabsorption. My G.I. doctor ordered mine but I'm sure your primary care doctor could, also.

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Maybe pancreatic insufficiency. Have u seen gastro ? I have it,

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@mari

Maybe pancreatic insufficiency. Have u seen gastro ? I have it,

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That’s the next test we are doing.

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When you had your colonoscopy, did they do a biopsy? I had all your symptoms and it turned out to be microscopic colitis (the only way they can determine that diagnosis is with a biopsy and look at the tissue under a microscope). Hope you figure this out soon-symptoms are miserable.

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