8 YEARS OF PAIN

[02teach]

The whole distended abdomen sounds very familiar. My husband has had that for about 8 years now. He is 29 years old, does not smoke and is otherwise healthy. His stomach is extremely hard and large, as if he were 7 months pregnant. He has also had frequent stools (3-5 times per day) that are very urgent after eating. Sometimes he can't wait until he has finished eating. We have looked into the whole early dumping syndrome, but I think that there is more to it than that. He also has a SEVERE gas problem. Both ends are constantly doing something!!!He has had the abdomen pain in the lower left pelvic area that also moves toward his lower mid back. Tests??? Well we have been to many doctors that had done CT scans, gall bladder functioning tests, colonoscopy, endoscopy, X-rays, bloodwork (several times) and I am now looking into having an ERCP done. His last bloodwork showed his liver enzymes to be quite high and the doctor ordered more tests to rule out Hepatitis. These tests came back clear and now with no confirmation of anything wrong, it is like they have simply diagnosed it as a mental problem! My husband is becoming very frustrated considering he has went through this for 8 years with no relief or satisfaction. If anyone has had these problems or can shed some light on this it would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!!!

P.S. out of all the tests the only thing that showed up was a hiatal hernia, which was blamed for the chronic heartburn.

[PAJ]

Make that the article below

[PAJ]

Your husbands problem is almost certainly a yeast infection, the gas & distended belly are classic as are  the headaches & negative test results. i didn

[02teach]

I am not sure what the exacts of his scope tests were. I know that the Dr. just said that everything was normal except that he had the hernia. I have been reading up on the Celiac disease and a lot of sounds like him, and his dad. His dad died about 7 years ago but he was an alcoholic so all of the Drs. pretty much passed all of his problems toward that. My son was just diagnosed with short stature and considering that Celiac disease is hereditary and this is one of the common symptoms in children I am pretty concerned and eager to get this checked out. Another thing is that he has migraine headaches about 2-3 times per week that do not respond to treament.

Any other ideas if Celiac is not the problem??? We really appreciate all of the help here.

[Suziepie]

When they did the endoscopy did they check for a gliadin antibody?  That would indicate possible Celiac Sprue and/or parasites.

[02teach]

Nanci,

Thank you so much for the input!! We went for more blood work today and will ask the DR. about this when we get the results next week. I am so glad that somebody has responded, we were feeling very frustrated and now I feel things could possibly turn around. By the way how old is your son in law and how long were his symptoms present?

Tina

[nanci]

Has he been tested for Celiac Disease.  My son in law was finally dianosed a few months ago.  His symptoms sounds exactly like those of your husband.  It's a hard disease to diagnose and he finally had it confirmed during a biopsy via a scope.  His doctor happen to suspect it, that's why he found it.

In essence, my son in law is allergic to gulten based foods.  He changed his diet and is now symptom free.

Do a check on Celiac Disease to see if it clicks with what your hubby is dealing wtih.