Abdominal pain and 3yrs of chronic diarrhea - 34yrs old

[sweetlilgina]

Hello, I am 34years old and for the last three years have suffered from chronic diarrhea, and constipation (as in a bowel movement every 3rd day, not pushing or exertion). For my new years resolution I vowed to eat and live healthier. I have never been in better shape. I was jogging, Eating lots of salads, fruits, vegetables, lean protein.. in May I stepped my workouts up from jogging to a cardio workout. Since then I felt good in that I was getting stronger and doing pushups and such, but suddenly this severe pain set in the middle of my abdomen and my digestive system went haywire. I was suddenly belching, holding the urge to regergitate after working out, pain for hours all night long that felt like stabbing and punching.

I've since had a CT Scan of my upper abdomen where they said I had gallstones, but a follow up blood test said they weren't bad enough to be removed. The pain continued and felt like it was moving toward my lower groin area so I went to the OBGYN who said I had tiny cervical lesions, but they were benign. He felt the swelling in my groin area during my physical and suspected it was a swollen colon. So then I went to the GastroIntestinal specialist.

There I had an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. He said I have erosive gastritis and hemmoroids but no ulcers or colitis. He prescribed Omeprazole, Aciphex, and suppositories day and night as well as an extremely bland and high fiber diet. No more dressing, spices, carbonated drinks, caffeine, anything fried, or chocolate.

My painful belching and gas have gone away, but still any physical activity causes extreme pain in the stomach throughout the entire night. I have switched from the cardio to back to jogging which still hurt, then I tried Yoga which still hurt, and even swimming which also hurt. The days I do not work out, the pain goes away.

I'm only 34 years old and while I do not like to work out, it really bothers me that it doesn't seem like an option anymore to have any physical activity.  When the pain sets in not only does it hurt, I can feel something throbbing inside of me like a heartbeat in my stomach. Could there be something else they havent tested for? pancreas maybe? what would swell and beat inside of me and also make my stomach hard?

Luckily I have new insurance starting this week and would like to start fresh with a new doctor and requests exams that might help find the cause of this pain. Oh, also my stools have gone from diarrhea to pencil stools, but that's still not normal.

Sorry this is so long.. hoping to find some good advice on what I may want to check for and how I can return to "normal" for a healthy 34 year old person. One last test I did not mention, in 2009 my PA tested my stools for parasites and found nothing. They have not checked them again since. The doctors tell me they can't find anything serious, but they also won't look at me and tell me "it's normal for a 34year old to have chronic diarrhea for three years and abdominal pain that wakes you up at night" so I'm not convinced that I'm fine. If I am, someone please tell me that this is normal for 34year olds that eat well and take care of themselves.

[singwithkatie]

Did you have a HIDA scan done of your gallbladder to determine function %? Your symptoms sound a lot like my original Crohn's symptoms so I would get a new GI for a second opinion and have another double endoscopy to biopsy for Crohn's/UC. You also need a blood test and biopsy for Celiac disease which can cause every one of your symptoms alone.  I have both Crohn's and celiac and had my gallbladder removed due to 12% function. I was diagnosed at 17 and am still sick at 24.

also, in terms of your diet high in fiber...what fiber is it you are eating? If you have Crohn's/UC or even IBS, you have to be very careful about how you get your fiber.  Fiber from roughage like salad, raw veggies, fruit skins and even things like berry seeds can irritate your GI tract.

Be lucky you got into your 30s healthy and active and know you can be active again someday. You just can't give up until you figure it out. It took 9 months to my diagnosis and many doctors, but now that I have the right team, I know things are looking up!

Feel free to message me with more questions about these tests/diagnosis.
Katie

[sweetlilgina]

Also forgot to mention that I drink plenty of water (at least 60oz of water a day, usually closer to 90) so I doubt that dehydration is a factor in the pain after exercise.