Chronic nausea, inflammated intestine

I'm asking on behalf of my mother who don't seem to be able to get any answers on why she's sick eventhough she waits patiently for every test. Her symptoms are nausea of varying levels, a dull ache in the stomache above the navel, general fatigue and extra fatigue in her legs. Before this started she was a healthy, regularly exercising 48 year old woman who doesn't smoke or drink.

It started last September with a deep ache in the lower back, pains when swallowing near the orifice of the stomache and a general sense of feebleness. The doctors prescribed Losec which helped against the swallowing and reduced the other pains aswell.

A month later the nausea started, at first she believed it was food poisoning. When it didn't go away tests were performed to see if it was a hiatus hernia which it didn't seem to be. A gastroscopy showed some polyps in the stomach which were believed was from the Losec. It also showed a small inflammation in the stomache and a fungus covered inflammation in the duodenum.

She was the perscribed Fluconazot for four weeks and reduced the Losec which alliviated the symptoms a bit. An ultrasound of the stomach gave no new information, and she was instructed to stop taking Losec totally. The checked if it was anything wrong with her gastrin-production and it didn't seem to be.

She has taken the following tests (result negative/giving no information):
Pancreatic cancer
Hypothyroidism
Plasma electrophoresis(maybe not correct translation)
Muscle diseases
B12 difficency
Borrelia
No blood in the stool
Rheuma tests (these were slightly elevated)

Worth mentioning is the she about a year ago had an autoimmune irits. A few months ago she had Tietze syndrome.

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

Have they confirmed that the fungal infection has resolved? If the don't have a diagnosis why are they continuing the acid suppression? One issue with acid suppression is that stomach acid kills most of the bacteria and fungi that pass through. Gastroparesis would be another consideration and could be ruled out with a simple nuclear medicine test.

[Librish]

Thank you so much for responding, me and my family appreciate it so much. They have not confirmed that the fungal infection has resolved. She has stopped taking the Losec, am I correct in assuming that that is the acid suppression one?

I have brought up the Gastroparesis and we will be sure to ask about it the next time she sees a physician.

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

She sounds miserable. I am sure an answer can be found with a thorough, thoughful workup. Yes, Losec is an acid suppressor.