CENTRAL ABDOMNIAL DISCOMFORT 6 MNTHS

I am 27.  Trouble started NOV 06 after 3 days of overeating combined with constipation.  I have a feeling in my solar plexus area like someone punched me there and left their fist.  It makes it feel like I can't breath good, mainly at night. I cant sleep in my bed only propped up on couch with sleeping pills.  I also have had green stool for several months.  Have lost 20 lbs since NOV 06.  Have had all kinds of tests with no answer.  Endoscopy twice,CT scan,X-rays,Barium Swallow,Hida scan,EKG,24 hour stool/urine test, 2 ULT sounds 1 with contrast,several blood works.  Elevated bilirubin 3.2-4.1 throughout,doc said Gilberts Syn. Neg on all Hep tests. Neg H-pylori test. Have tried numerous meds with no relief(Nexium,Zantac,Levisin,Paxil,Doxepine,Reglan,Carafate,Robinul Forte,Prevacid)all with no releif.  I am 5'08 and used to weigh 165.  Now down to 145.  I don't know what is wrong and Docs keep telling me they can't find nothing and then try giving me head meds.  I know this is not in my head and would appreciate any input.  I don't drink or smoke and have been healthy all of my life. Was not stressed out before this but after 6mnths not able sleep without Ambien Cr and not able sleep in my bed this has really stressed me out.

[ggreg]

Dear Bass,
I am concerned about your situation and think you have had enough.  Because your doctors, while testing thoroughly you to find out what's wrong, have still not adequately helped you.  I sort of think you have a constipation blockage of some kind, perhaps.  

I first offer simple but possibly effective solutions for you to try for a week, to see if they help.  Lemon juice and honey mixed in a glass of orange juice, drink it in the morning, for a couple mornings.  This has a laxative effect.  Get you some probiotic yogurt, Activa, in the grocery store and eat about a third of the cup a day, stick with it for a week.  This will reduce bacteria that may build up from a blockage.  Eat a small bowel of cheerios with blueberries or bananas on it daily, drink several extra glasses of water in the daytime, and do some stretching exercises middays.   Those things loosen up and help slowed-down bowels move.  A warm shower or bath, and an early evening walk will help you relax, so you can handle the stress of your situation better.

If you try these things for a week, and there is no difference in how you feel, you really need to go to the hospital or to a hospital-connected teaching clinic.  I sincerely feel so sympathetic towards you, as I endured many months of ill health and no one seemed to get too worked up about it, even though I, too, was up all night, absolutely miserable during the day, and felt like I was all alone.  You are not alone.  I just hope you have simple constipation, and a resulting bacterial infection and backup, which would cause many of your symptoms.  Do post back soon, because there are other people here who have more knowledge than me about liver type problems and other issues that could be involved here.  I just wanted to extend a helping hand to give you some immediate relief that comes with simple communication.

[ggreg]

Green stool can be caused by too much bacteria collecting in the bowel.  While green is also attributed to other things, with your history of constipation and therefore the possibility you are backed up, bacteria might build up behind the blockage and cause the green stool.  The green can also come from bile, as that is its color.  But this does not automatically mean your liver is the problem here, else your CAT scan and other tests probably would have shown it.  

If you will think of the pain in your midsection as dried out stool partially blocking normal passage of waste, any backup there would cause bacteria to fester behind it.  This would also make you nauseas because your bowels aren't moving fast enough to keep up with your food intake.  This is why I suggested ways to break down your stool (lemon) and ways to put the bacteria in check (activa yogurt).  The bowel crosses the body just above the belly button.  Your endoscopy test does not go that far.  A colonoscopy does.  

To test this theory, push your guts above the belly button, near where you feel that "fist."  Check the areas in front of that place and in back of that place.  Can you find a place that is hard or bumpy?  Does it hurt to push there?  If so, my ideas may be right.

You make mention of a tendency toward constipation.  It goes without saying that various meds can cause this, too.  So, whatever you can eliminate from your regimen without creating more problems, do so.  I could be all wrong.  Green stool can be caused by FAST transit of waste, rather than what I am suggesting.  Also green stool can be caused by too much bile, which would suggest a problem in the liver.  But with your pain in the middle, your history of constipation, and the nausea, any efforts you make to break down your waste might help.  Keep us posted, and I hope others will post here, especially Jaybay.

[JCbass]

Thanks for the input.  I really am glad to know that I am not alone with these problems.  I have had constipation for years and always attributed it to a lack of vegetables and fiber in my diet.  It never really caused any real trouble in the past other than hemmroids.  I only drink water and lots of it.  I pretty much have only drank water for several years now , with the occasional gatorade or fruit juice.  I am on a waiting list to get into a specialty hospital in a nearby state, but this won't be until late Jun or Jul.  I wish I could get an answer for the green stool because it is not normal and it doesn't matter what I eat, it doesn't change to the normal brown.  In the beginning of this I would have extreme bouts of hunger every 3 hours no matter how much I ate.  I also get naseau if I try to lay down flat and ignore the feeling in my upper abdominal area.  That is why I have to sleep propped up on a couch. It feels like someone is pressing 2 fingers into my solar plexus if I lay flat.  This causes a feeling of not being able to breath comfortably.  Well thanks for all of your suggestions and input.

[brazeagle]

Dear friend,
I have symptons that are very much alike, I finally visited a doctor who gave me a good insite of my situation.
I am almost cured, I hope it will give you some help.
My problem is SII (Sindrome (syndrome) of irritated Intestine), the medicine I am taking and it is helping is VITAL-IMMUNE BIOTIC, check it out at  http://www.protherainc.com/prod/proddetail.asp?id=V171-10

Do some reading on this Sindrome (syndrome)

Best regards,