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Functional dyspepsia

Posted by josephkahn @josephkahn, May 8, 2017

Hi everyone,
Really happy to be joining this community!

In 2013 I started experiencing symptoms of chronic dyspepsia as well as early fullness. Constantly feel discomfort in stomach, nausea and occasional constipation. The main problem is early fullness: I feel totally sick after a couple bites or sips of anything. In the last couple years I've lost a bunch of weight.

Four different medical teams have tried to figure out what's wrong. Two CT scans, an MRI, 4 endoscopies, a colonoscopy, multiple pathology tests, a gastric emptying study, and four upper-GI series. I've not undergone any procedures or been put on medication for more than a week or two at a time.

At the moment two different medical teams are arguing about what's wrong with me. One believes based on an MRI and CT scan that there is an outflow obstruction after the second part of my duodenum, which they think is annular pancreas or some close variant. They believe that by bypassing my duodenum they will relieve me of the symptoms. The other team (looking at the same images) thinks there isn't evidence to justify an operation and thinks the problem is functional. Both teams agree that the duodenum is slightly dilated, and there is some amount of narrowing after the second phase.

I don't know what to do since we've basically exhausted all of the different imaging and scope-based tests as far as I can tell.

If anyone has suffered from these symptoms before or been in a similar situation, I would greatly appreciate hearing your stories.

Thank you so much,

Joseph

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Profile picture for darb
darb | @darb | Jan 10 3:41pm
In reply to @mmorley "Thank you for this info. The upper abdominal pain I experience is a fiery-type burn, not..." + (show)
Profile picture for mmorley @mmorley

Thank you for this info. The upper abdominal pain I experience is a fiery-type burn, not in my stomach. I have had a Nissan Fundoplication in the past, so I no longer have reflux and I'm also on an acid inhibitor but it doesn't help this. The only thing that helps just a little is an ice pack. And the burn happens no matter what I eat. How would you describe the pain you experience?

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I have burning upper right (Just under the rib cage, where my gallbladder use to be located) and it feels like spasms. Can't seem to get it under control. Doc suggested FD Gard. Thoughts?

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1 reply
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mmorley | @mmorley | Jan 10 5:34pm
In reply to @darb "I have burning upper right (Just under the rib cage, where my gallbladder use to be..." + (show)
Profile picture for darb @darb

I have burning upper right (Just under the rib cage, where my gallbladder use to be located) and it feels like spasms. Can't seem to get it under control. Doc suggested FD Gard. Thoughts?

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I haven't tried FD Gard because it is somewhat expensive and only lists symptoms like nausea, bloating, and early fullness. But I have tried different herbs like Artichoke extract and Lemon Balm Oil. Desipramine was prescribed by a GI dr. though I haven't found it nor anything that works yet. An ice pack is slightly helpful, but not always possible. I wish you well in your search for relief and comfort.

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craigjulian | @craigjulian | Jan 14 3:14pm
In reply to @mmorley "I was recently diagnosed with Functional Dyspepsia and the only symptom I have is upper abdominal..." + (show)
Profile picture for mmorley @mmorley

I was recently diagnosed with Functional Dyspepsia and the only symptom I have is upper abdominal burning (not inside the stomach itself). They started me on Desipramine 25mg (a low dose tricyclic for pain but in larger doses it treats depression). I'd like to know what others have found helpful and what symptoms you have.

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Hi,
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I guess I have functional dyspepsia too.
Mine started about 18 months ago after an episode of really bad indigestion that I thought was food poisoning.
Now I have this chronic upper G.I. burning, bloating, belching, nausea, just a sick feeling regularly.
I’ve had CT scans, ultrasounds, and EGD. And they haven’t found much. Have you had any scans?
One of my scans showed that my pancreas was mildly atrophied and that I have some inactive gallstones, but nothing that would produce the symptoms I’m having. I would love to be able to eat and enjoy foods like I used to, but I just can’t anymore. It’s very frustrating and of course I think there’s a more severe underlying cause of this, but they can’t find anything.
I hope your symptoms improve.

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3 replies
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jen1926 | @jen1926 | Jan 15 8:43am
In reply to @craigjulian "Hi, Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I..." + (show)
Profile picture for craigjulian @craigjulian

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I guess I have functional dyspepsia too.
Mine started about 18 months ago after an episode of really bad indigestion that I thought was food poisoning.
Now I have this chronic upper G.I. burning, bloating, belching, nausea, just a sick feeling regularly.
I’ve had CT scans, ultrasounds, and EGD. And they haven’t found much. Have you had any scans?
One of my scans showed that my pancreas was mildly atrophied and that I have some inactive gallstones, but nothing that would produce the symptoms I’m having. I would love to be able to eat and enjoy foods like I used to, but I just can’t anymore. It’s very frustrating and of course I think there’s a more severe underlying cause of this, but they can’t find anything.
I hope your symptoms improve.

Jump to this post

Recently had my gallbladder removed after acute episodes of severe discomfort and a lab report that liver was being affected. Nothing showed up on various scans, x-rays, etc.
Doctor said it was very enlarged, and difficult to remove through laparoscopic incisions. Evidently a duct was twisted.
And, I felt so much better immediately. Realized it had been making me ill for over a year. Thought it was from other conditions.

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for mmorley
mmorley | @mmorley | Jan 17 1:44pm
In reply to @craigjulian "Hi, Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I..." + (show)
Profile picture for craigjulian @craigjulian

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I guess I have functional dyspepsia too.
Mine started about 18 months ago after an episode of really bad indigestion that I thought was food poisoning.
Now I have this chronic upper G.I. burning, bloating, belching, nausea, just a sick feeling regularly.
I’ve had CT scans, ultrasounds, and EGD. And they haven’t found much. Have you had any scans?
One of my scans showed that my pancreas was mildly atrophied and that I have some inactive gallstones, but nothing that would produce the symptoms I’m having. I would love to be able to eat and enjoy foods like I used to, but I just can’t anymore. It’s very frustrating and of course I think there’s a more severe underlying cause of this, but they can’t find anything.
I hope your symptoms improve.

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Thank you and I wish the same for you. I had a diseased gallbladder removed several years ago but the burning has only been for the last few. The scans showed a fatty liver and I had elevated liver enzymes but nothing to explain the burning. The symptoms you mention are listed in the diagnosis of Functional Dyspepsia. I hope you get some answers and treatment...and relief.

REPLY
Profile picture for mmorley
mmorley | @mmorley | Jan 17 1:52pm
In reply to @jen1926 "Recently had my gallbladder removed after acute episodes of severe discomfort and a lab report that..." + (show)
Profile picture for jen1926 @jen1926

Recently had my gallbladder removed after acute episodes of severe discomfort and a lab report that liver was being affected. Nothing showed up on various scans, x-rays, etc.
Doctor said it was very enlarged, and difficult to remove through laparoscopic incisions. Evidently a duct was twisted.
And, I felt so much better immediately. Realized it had been making me ill for over a year. Thought it was from other conditions.

Jump to this post

That's great! I felt better after mine was removed several years ago after a year of difficulty eating and losing a lot of weight. The upper abdominal burning for me didn't start until a few years ago. I've also had surgery in the past for GERD and hiatal hernia repair which took care of severe reflux. Best wishes to you!

REPLY
Profile picture for molly2020
molly2020 | @molly2020 | Sep 19 10:27am
In reply to @craigjulian "Hi, Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I..." + (show)
Profile picture for craigjulian @craigjulian

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Since they can’t find anything wrong with me, I guess I have functional dyspepsia too.
Mine started about 18 months ago after an episode of really bad indigestion that I thought was food poisoning.
Now I have this chronic upper G.I. burning, bloating, belching, nausea, just a sick feeling regularly.
I’ve had CT scans, ultrasounds, and EGD. And they haven’t found much. Have you had any scans?
One of my scans showed that my pancreas was mildly atrophied and that I have some inactive gallstones, but nothing that would produce the symptoms I’m having. I would love to be able to eat and enjoy foods like I used to, but I just can’t anymore. It’s very frustrating and of course I think there’s a more severe underlying cause of this, but they can’t find anything.
I hope your symptoms improve.

Jump to this post

You described all my symptoms. This has been going on for 5+ years for me, also after an episode of what I think was food poisoning. I had a CT scan, and an endoscopy that didn't turn up much. I feel like I have "flare ups" where my stomach is in rough shape for a week or two, then it subsides and I feel okay for a while. But it always returns. I can't seem to pinpoint what sets it off. Have you tried a food diary?

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