Severe stomach pain
I have had several years of pain in my stomach and not sure what to do. i have had ibs, acid reflux, gastritis, internal hemorrhoids. A few months ago I had a slighly irregular Z line, mildly erythematous found in the antrum and nodules were found in the ascendingn colon.
I have taken xypaxin for pain but it no longer helps. I throw up daily and have diarrhea, I have headaches. My stomach cramps so badly that I can go anywhere because of the pain. What should I do?
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A couple things I want to mention…maybe another avenue or two to explore:
Median Arcuate Ligament syndrome or MALS… it’s a compression of the Celiac artery to the stomach and can cause similar symptoms to what you’re experiencing.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/median-arcuate-ligament-syndrome-mals/symptoms-causes/syc-20505001
A group discussion in our forum with other members of MALS might be worth a peek to see if this is familar to you.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mals-and-lower-abdomen-chronic-pain/
The other is the possiblity of a blocked Celiac artery, which a close friend of mine experienced. Her symptoms were very similar to yours and debilitating. It took some time for a diagnosis. Nothing would show up on the endoscope or MRIs. Finally a relentless honey badger of a doctor found the cause…it was a blocked Celiac artery. My friend had surgery and which brought immediate relief 2 years ago and she’s still going strong.
I’m so sorry you’re going through all of this. How miserable. What’s concerning are the other neurological symptoms your having. Have you mentioned these to your doctor as well?
@tinatoren my chest pain can be triggered by merely bending forward as in picking up something from the floor, or doing anything that requires me to bend forward - even simply vacuuming! In those instances, and even if woken up from sleep with chest pain, I find a few sips of water eases the pain within a minute or two. Sometimes the pain will reoccur but I keep taking sips of water when they do and eventually I am pain free. I always have a bottle of water on hand.
@loribmt I am in Canada so on a government health plan. Doctors will not order any test the government will not pay for. And the primary physician decides whether you need to see a specialist for further testing - we cannot ask for investigational testing. Even if the doctor orders, say, an MRI if the MRI technologist decides the MRI is not necessary based on results of a CT scan you cannot get that MRI. I have asked my doctor for an MRI after ultrasounds and CT scan did not reveal cause of the pain in my upper right quadrant, as well as the mysterious bulge I have had for years on my lower right side just above my hip bone but the radiologist has deemed an MRI unnecessary. Everything really boils down to what the government plan (in the case of Ontario, the OHIP plan) will approve or disapprove.
@loribmt which specialist does one have to see to investigate a blocked celiac artery? A year ago I was referred to a gastroenterologist who tested me for celiac disease and nothing showed up with that test. Can’t remember if it was a blood or stool test.
I didn’t realize the limitations for getting further testing in Canada. That has to incredibly frustrating when you’re the one feeling awful and would like to know the answer!
Celiac disease is completely different than a blocked celiac artery.
A cardiologist, vascular surgeon or Interventional Radiologist would be the person to see to investigate a blocked Celiac artery. It’s not common and there are other arteries feeding the intestinal tract. So that’s not generally the first route to take when looking for digestive tract issues.
What did your doctor say about the mysterious bulge above your hip bone? Is it tender?
Thanks for the info. Wow there are so many diseases out there that you never heard of. My pain gets relived about 40 min after eating and that is provided I'm laying down. It usually stays better until my stomach starts getting emptier BUT if I stand up with food in my stomach the pain comes back right away. So it does seem my stomach is weighted down and pulls on some ligament or nerve when I stand. I also get heartflutters when standing and a strange pulling feeling in my chest. Also when I sneeze or cough I can get tiny nerve shocks across chest and into arms. So that part would probably match a very inflamed esophagus but I have no visual damage so I could be wrong. I do wake up with pain at night.
Yes my neurological symptoms are very worrying. It started acutely and I was cramping and jerking intensely in my body. The myoclonic jerks have subsided lately and are not happening so often.
I also feel that my arms are weaker and I do think I have nerve damage in my right arm but I don't know if it the pinched kind or the destroyed kind. My lips tingle when I eat and my nose tingles off and on and I have pain inside nose that comes and goes. I also get these waves of vibration tingles in scalp and arms legs etc plus internal vibrations that also fluctuates. I'm waiting for another brain mri, spinal tap and cervical spine mri.
Like I mentioned here before Im afraid it was a reaction to Prilosec and nexium. I'm so very afraid to try them again. I'm on pepcid now but they go straight into the brain so they could potentially have a bigger risk of causing neuropathy. It's all a mystery and I just have to keep trying to find the answers. All I know for sure is that Ive acid coming into my esophagus for 30 years and that I had no idea until 2014 that I had a hernia. Nor did I understand the severity of reflux disease until 2019.
I had burning in my upper intestine also even having surgery for reflux. Turns out I can't digest fiber very well and it sits in my upper intestine fermenting and causing gas and acid and bad pain and even pushes up me rib cage ! I had to cut out all fruit, most vegetables and breads, pastas, etc! I know we're told we need these foods but some people like me have a malabsorption problem for whatever reason. Once I eliminated it the pain went away almost immediately. Every now and then I eat some fruit which I love and get the pain within the next several hours! Love salads but had to cut that out also! Try the elimination diet, you may find it's your diet!
Yes water is a great help. I cannot even bend forward after eating because I will get stomach content in my mouth so my sfincter is on permanent vacation!
@loribmt I have mentioned it to anyone (my own physician, several specialists to whomI have been referred for various other problems, etc.) who will listen and they all just shake their heads and say they have no idea why I have this bulge. Everybody can feel it, but nothing shows in ultrasounds or the one abdominal CT scan I had. Even a colonoscopy does not show up anything. It feels like a hernia but there is n pain when palpated. Some doctors say it’s just fat, but often I feel I am carrying a sack filled with something in this area. 🤷🏼♀️ This is why I have asked my doctor several times to get me an MRI but if the radiologist says it is not necessary she has to abide by his assessment. If a procedure is deemed “unnecessary” OHIP will not pay for it. That bulge is a real mystery - I know I have rolls of fat but this feels different.
Anyway, this is something other than my GERD and the pain in my upper right quadrant (which too has no apparent cause, as the GERD does).
Yep sounds just like it is here in Sweden! Luckily I had to sell my apartment this fall and move in with mom because of the rising cost of living and the fact that my mortgage would tripple. So there was some money left over and I could order an out of pocket mri on brain and abdomen for 2500 us dollars. I opted out of contrast though because I'm afraid of it but maybe my next brain scan will have to with contrast. We do have clinics for mris and colonoskopys etc that you can pay for. Health care really sucks here. Primary doctors decide everything!
We have good hospitals in Stockholm and good research in Sweden but ordinary people never benefits because primary docs don't give referrals.